"Sometimes," Sawyer went on, his voice wobbling, "she stays in bed all day. Sometimes she cooks everything in the fridge and laughs at nothing. Sometimes she won't talk at all. I don't know which mum I'll get when I get home from school. Dad took her to the doctor; said we have to be good because she is not alright in the head. Does that mean she is crazy, Connor?"
Connor remembered staring at him, not knowing what to say.
"At least your dad comes home," Connor whispered, kicking the fence post. " My dad is gone all the time. Sometimes I don't even remember what he looks like… I don't think he even likes us anymore. Mom says he won’t come home anymore."
Sawyer snorted a little. "That's dumb. He took us to that rugby match, remember? He will come back for you."
They laughed remembering—boy laughter, boisterous and bright in the November dark.
They turned toward home once the fireworks ended and the field went quiet.
That's when they saw it.
There was a mesmerising glow at the edge of the estate.
Orange tongues of flame flickered as if reaching for the sky.
Sawyer frowned. "Someone doing more fireworks?"
But as they walked closer, the glow grew, then roared.
Sawyer's house was on fire. And the one beside it.
Sawyer's scream tore through the night. "Mum! Dad! Matty!"
They ran. Connor's legs burned as he tried to keep up. Sawyer fell twice, only to get up and kept running.
But by the time they reached the road, they heard the whine of fire engines and firemen fighting to douse the flames.
The neighbours were gathered around in their nightclothes, watching and whispering. There was an eerie, terrible quiet beneath it all.
Sawyer pulled against two firefighters holding him back, sobbing.
Connor didn't see Matilda at first.
Then he spotted her, sitting cross-legged on the front lawn. Only she made it out.
A blanket was around her shoulders, and there was soot on her face. Her favourite Winnie the Pooh toy hung limply in her hand.
She stared at the fire with wide, empty eyes.
Connor never forgot those eyes.
***
Fern's back straightened a fraction.
"Their parents fought constantly. We could hear them go at it every single night. I didn't understand it… her dad was so nice, always helping my mum around the house, while my dad was hardly ever there. But that night... " He breathed in sharply, jaw clenching.
"Matty didn't speak for days. And when she finally did, she told Sawyer that their dad had told their mum that he was in love with my mum. They fought, and he went upstairs. Then their mum set the house on fire. She didn't even care that her children were in that house. She told Matty that families needed to stick together."
Fern's eyebrows rose, but she remained silent.
"When I grew older, I learnt that their mum was bipolar. She had some other mental health issues that I didn’t really understand. ”He stared somewhere past Fern, lost in an old memory. "That day, she didn't just start the fire; she made Matilda light the curtains. She was terrified, but she did it as her mother held her hand. Then she ran before she could shut them all in."
His hand closed into a fist on the table. "The house burned fast. Her dad must have tried to pull her mum out, but neither made it."
Fern exhaled slowly through her nose. Her eyes seemed soft for brief second before turning expressionless again.
