Photo ©Jimmy Fell
At first, the burning angels were a source of great worry and fear. They appeared in random places and burnt ferociously. After a while, it became apparent that it was a waste of time calling the fire brigade as the angels burnt down of their own free will and no amount of dousing by the fire fighters made the slightest difference. As it was, they left only a scorch mark on the ground and never once set fire to anyone’s house or singed any plant outside the base perimeter.
There was a common factor. Cyril Rum. Cyril lived at the end of our street and was always to be seen across the road from every burning angel watching the fire sometimes commenting to neighbours, but always he was there.
Most of the angels burnt in the front of peoples yards. We thought they were, of course, random acts of vandalism until people started to note that certain things happened inside the houses the angels burnt in front of.
Mr Turner who had long been struggling against fruit fly in his Orange orchard found the fruit fly gone and his oranges bigger and juicier than ever. The Weston’s whose son William was very ill and not expected to survive found that after the fire their son showed an amazing recovery.
The burning angels worked in so many ways within our community. The Casey’s were a family with loud music, loud cars and very loud obnoxious people. They fought and argued with their neighbours threw rubbish in the street and generally showed a disregard for everyone. One night an angel burned in their front yard. It only burnt for less than five minutes, but the next day the Casey’s were seen moving out, claiming victimisation and a haunted house. We saw it as a form of retribution.
At the far end of the street, the opposite end to Cyril’s house lived Catherine and Tommy deGrugin. They were an old couple and Catherine in her later years suffered badly from the ravages of cancer. Her condition worsened to a stage where she was so drugged up she lost consciousness and become a body barely breathing. Tommy would often be seen on his front veranda sitting there looking into the distance the look of incredible sadness on his face. The reality of dealing with a wife of fifty years who now suffered so much was more than he could handle.
One night an angel burned in front of his house. It burned for forty minutes, the heat intense, there were fears this time the house might go up as well. When it died down, there was an eerie stillness in the air.
Inside the house, Tommy sat beside his dying wife as the inferno raged outside. When the fire stopped he felt her hand in his, he looked at his wife and saw her looking up at him. She smiled and told him she loved him. She held his hand as together they said their farewells. They were blessed with three final hours where they lay beside each other, pain-free, remembering the love they had so happily shared all those years.
The next day Tommy went to Cyril’s house, the first time anyone had entered Cyril’s house and said thank you.
A follow-up story can be found here:
https://summerstommy.com/2016/06/26/writing-prompt-165-collage-26-cyril-rum/
Written for: https://janedougherty.wordpress.com/2016/06/24/microfiction-challenge-2-burning-angel/
Morpethroad 
Oh WOW.
Thank Stella, those angels come in all forms you know…
They certainly do. You probably know one of my fave scripture verses: Hebrews 13:2…about entertaining strangers, angels unaware… As I write this I’m filled with a sense of so many many angels we encounter on the blogs…
Yes you never know who you just might be communicating with do you…
🙂
“A lot of neighbourhoods could use a Cyril Rum, she sighed. “Powerful story telling.”
Thank you so much, he could turn into a character in his own right couldn’t he..
“Oh yes, he could. Reading your comments, it appears other people think the same. The Fixer. might be a name for his helpful character.
Hmm.. Maybe…I’m more inclined to write his backstory and see how that goes.
“Back stories are fun to play with. Looking forward to him going backwards,” she giggled, giddy over the lamb she was going to bbq later.
Hmm not sure Cyril has a great sense of humour. If he has it’s very dark.
“I like dark humour — you would be the one having fun creating the character. He need not be always funny, but he could have a warped/dark sense of humour — a slight touch that makes him human.” “Sorry,” she added “I got carried away with Cyril’s biography.”
Well it all helps…
“Good. Hope to meet Cyril again soon.”
I like Cyril 🙂 We have a parking angel who always comes along for a ride. We never have problems with finding a park !
Now that’s a good idea, does he have a brother? Thanks for stopping by Raili.
I’m sure there’s a whole clan, just waiting to be asked to help 🙂
That was a beautiful ending. I feel sorry for the people who got the Caseys as new neighbours though 🙂
Well you know how it is the Caseys move out and you breath a sigh of relief, though I guess in the back of your mind you think some other poor families are going to have to deal with them.
Thank you Jane for your lovely comment, I did enjoy writing this one.
I could see that 🙂
Wonderful story Michael – and yes, possibly a new character in the making 🙂
Thank you Pat, lovely you could stop by. I hope I can find more divine uses for Cyril.
Pingback: Writing Prompt #165 “Collage 26” – Cyril Rum | Morpethroad
I love this one Michael, so intriguing and a very touching ending
Thank you so much, I thought Cyril was worth exploring a little more…
Pingback: Microfiction challenge Burning Angel: the entries – Jane Dougherty Writes
Ooh, goosebumps. I do hope we get further adventures of Cyril…
I left a link on the end Sarah to another story….thanks so for that encouraging comment.
Pingback: Interview with Blogger Michael Grogen: A Writer With A Superb Sense of Humor #amwriting #interviews #bloggers – Mandibelle16