Rene was enjoying a quiet rest—until a very, very faint voice whispered near his ear:
"…Don't blow me… I'm fragile…"
He sat up with a jolt, eyes darting around in the dim cabin.
"Who said that?"
A flickering light caught his attention near the small table by the bed. A single candle glowed.
"You heard me." said the candle, Its little wax mouth stretched into a frown. "You were breathing too loud. I almost lost an ear."
"You don't have ears."
"Not anymore!" it yelled, a chunk of wax drooping off its side.
Rene stared, trying to process if he was dreaming or hallucinating.
"I must be losing my mind…"
The candle shivered. "You better be. That's the only way this makes sense. But while you're lucid—can you please rotate me two degrees? I'm facing the wall and it's humiliating."
"…What are you?"
"I'm a candle. Obviously. But not just any candle. I'm Tom. Guardian of Illumination. Friend of Flame. Father of five… all burnt to death."
"…You had kids?"
"Tealights. Don't ask."
Just then, Nihara's voice called from outside the cabin.
"You good in there?"
"Uh." Rene glanced between the door and the candle, who was now completely melted. "Yeah, I'm good."
"...Okay."
Rene covered his face in his hands as he tried to comprehend what happened. A talking candle? It was certainly real. What kind of magic did Nihara use?
"Nihara, get in here right now!" he shouted.
She quickly pushed the door wide open in panic.
"What's wrong?"
"What was that stupid candle?"
"Oh, who knows. I did some Myen experimentation."
Nihara steadily stepped out. He let out a sigh, dropping back down onto the bed.
(Okay okay no more short chapters for a while, just wanted to include this for fun)