Sleeping Fire
The roaring, blinding flames lie undisturbed in an enchanted
sleep. The disguised flames lay enclosed and protected in a rectangular
enclosure and they wait, like a dying plant desperate for a drop of water, for
the moment when they will awaken from their sleep and sizzle to life.
A matchbox is an object we use and see in our everyday life.
Therefore we may take its value and importance for granted. But fire is no
ordinary discovery. It can perhaps be called ancient mans greatest discovery.
A matchstick is a thin, smooth slice of wood, delicately cut
into a rectangular stick. The tip of this stick however, is covered with a
charcoal like black substance. This is the resting place of the birth of the
flames. These flames will only awaken from their deep slumber when they are
scratched along the side of their rectangular enclosure.
The matchstick scratches itself along the side of the
matchbox in a swift movement and then all at once, as if by magic, a
mesmerizing flam of crimson yellow and blood red appears. The flame is not tame
and will not stay obediently at the tip of the matchstick. It slowly and
threateningly makes its way down the thin slice of wood until eventually it
reaches the end of the stick where it meets its fate. All too soon, the flame
disappears as quickly as it appeared, leaving no trace that it ever existed.
In a traditional fairy tale, the sleeping princess is locked
away in an eerie and irksome tower of a castle in a land far away from
civilization. In a similar manner the
matches are forever locked away in a dismal prison- a cardboard box. This
prison can range in all shapes and sizes just like in a fairy tale. However, no matter what the size, what the
shape, its properties are still the same.
The smell of a match box remains a mystery to all for it has
to particular smell. The mystery of the fell of the matchsticks has been
uncovered. The wooden stick is smooth but the black tip is a sharp contrast for
it is rough.
The matchbox has clearly found its place in our lives. Its
importance is unimaginable and we are ignorant creatures if we fail to
recognize this.
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