Work Text:
Phillumenist
Everywhere she went
you could see her asking about matches
her goal was to have a pack of matches
from every place she had ever been
After dinner, even at the finest of cafe's
she'd reach deep into the bowl
or box or case of matches, at the cash register
taking a pack or two for her collection...
She had been collecting matches now for many years
and was a member of the local phillumenist club
she never missed one of their meetings
in all the years that she was a member
Others there at the phillumenist club
many times tried to fix her up
with matches of another type
but she just wasn't into dating...
She had tried her hand at love
and men, and dating
but her every attempt seemed to fail
and all she ever got was one more child out'a the deal
She had three children, so far,
even though she never had been married
she managed to take care of them
and herself just fine alone...
Although her busy life gave her little time
to her self or to spend with her kids
she knew she was doing the right thing
and she was proud that she was doing it by herself..
Many of her friends and co members
of the local phillumenist group all told her that she should
hide her matches collection away from her children,
but she never listened to them
She proudly displayed her great collection
of matched from every place she had ever been
in a great fish tank on one'a her coffee tables
right there in her den, the room the children played in
Thing's were getting tuff for her
and school was gonna start soon,
she needed money for new school clothes and books
and her car needed to be inspected soon...
She asked her boss if she could work a double shift
at least for a few weeks just to get her ahead a little...
now that the kids need new school clothes and books
and since she knew her tires would never pass inspection
One evening, after working a double shift
she turned the corned from the main street
into her apartment complex only to see a great fire...
her building was on fire!
The great cloud of black smoke mixed with the August wind
and seemed to circle high above the flames
Flames that looked as if they'd never stop
flames that would never stop burning...
She stopped her car,
near the police barricade
and ran towards her apartment building screaming
"where are my children, where are my kids"?
The fire chief grabbed her and holding on to her tightly
looked deep into her eyes
and told her that no one survived the explosion
that no one was alive at all...
He went on to explain
that from what they could gather
a gas stove had been left on
after the pilot light had gone out
Children had been playing with matches
in the den of her house that had been filled with the odorless gas
that caused the explosion and fire and
all indications pointed to this conclusion
She never did go back to her phillumenist meetings
she never did collect matches again
she don't even have a photo of her children
she never will be the same...
©1999 Jim Nasium
phillumenist (fuh-LOO-muh-nist) noun
One who collects matchbooks or matchboxes.
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