Everyone of the village of Evol would abandon their homes on the coldest day of the winter.
For just one night they would flee and sleep out in the snow.
For that night the Flameman came to the village. And everyone of the village Evol deeply feared the Flameman. They feared his presence so much they would leave everything except for their clothes and hearts behind so Evol would look like a ghost town the night he visited.
The Flameman was always cold and shivering despite being made of orange and yellow and red radiant flames.
On the coldest day of winter he would come to Evol looking for warmth. The Flameman was always cold and shivering despite being made of orange and yellow and red radiant flames.
Every time he came he found a dark, abandoned and silent village of black and blue and grey.
The Flameman would snuggle up in all the blankets and cushions of Evol.
Just before he fell asleep, he felt something pull on one of the blankets. He threw everything off him and saw a little girl and her husky.
The Flameman stared at her.
The little girl stared back. ‘My mama is very cold sleeping in the snow. She won’t stop shivering,’ she said.
The Flameman stared at her. ‘Could I please have just one of these blankets for her sir?’
The Flameman wiped some snow off the husky’s hair. ‘These blankets haven’t made me warm at all. So I guess you can have them, sure.’
The little girl felt the tremble in his hand as he wiped snow off her strawberry hair. ‘You’re also shivering,’ she said.
‘It’s winter. What to do about it?’ the Flameman snorted.
‘Well, the people of my village all go sit back to back in one big circle when we try to sleep.’
‘And how’s that working out for your mama?’
‘Well, your hand is pretty warm. Why don’t you join us?’
‘My hand is warm?’ The Flamemans eyes lit up.
He nodded to the little girl and they went to the people hiding from him. They were all asleep next to each other. Shivering.
Together, the Flameman and the girl covered every one of them with blankets so they would shiver less.
The little girl thanked the Flameman and went to sleep in her mother’s arms.
The Flameman stared.
The husky was the only one left without a blanket.
So the Flameman let him snore and sleep in his lap.
He could here the breaths of everyone around him. Their heartbeats. Soon as he tried to sleep his longues breathed with theirs.
His heart burned with theirs.
In that moment his fires flamed a color they had never flamed before. Pink.
And every villager stopped shivering.
When the villagers woke up they were pleasantly surprised by the blankets. Having survived the night they hugged and cheered while the little girl and the husky searched for the Flameman.
But they couldn’t find him.
Everyone walked back to the village in the morning air.
The snow was as white as the clouds and sky was orange and yellow and red.
There was another surprise waiting for the villagers of Evol.
From that day forth every day was a warm one, because all their torches were lit with radiant pink flames that burned forever. The crackling of the fire in rhythmic sync with the heartbeats of everyone.