By Nick Brevik, TIWP Student

The curse of love is a dangerous game. 

Especially when you can’t touch people. 

When the gods came down to earth and cursed humans for generations to come, the humans laughed in their faces. But here I am, living proof that the gods weren’t f*cking around. The Burners, as we’re called, were babies born in order to burn out the population. 1 in 100,000 babies are born like this. I just happened to be one of the really unlucky ones. See the Burners look just like humans, act like them, even feel like them. The one key difference is that every living thing they touch burns away. When I was born, my father refused to see me after he saw the doctors place that white sheet over my mothers charred corpse. My life has been similar. In and out of foster care, the Normals who try to raise me can’t. I’ve learned to expect disappointment. But that changed when I got paired with a burner couple. They lived in a quaint neighborhood, with lots of trees and beautiful brick houses. I started to smile more, live like I wasn’t a blight on society. Jeff and Jana taught me that I was loved. 

On my 15th birthday, a new family moved in across the street. They were normal people, but they had a son my age. I remember seeing him for the first time, his dark brown hair and green eyes, and falling instantly in love. It’s forbidden though, both culturally and legally. When I spoke to him for the first time, there were sparks flying in my heart. We became close after that, so close but never touching. Jeff and Jana had to sit me down, explain the rules again, make sure that I knew, we would never happen. Liam confessed to me when we were 16, telling me he’d liked me since we’d met. I blushed and told him his feelings were reciprocated. The hangout’s our parents knew about became more to us. We’d sneak each other love notes, wishing that we could be happy together out in public. How the rules against Burners and Normals were stupid. On my 17th birthday, Liam surprised me. 

“I have a picnic waiting for us.” Giddy, I grabbed my bag, letting Jeff and Jana know I was going out for a little bit. He’d been talking about a surprise for a little while, but I didn’t expect this. 

“It’s beautiful!” I exclaim as I step out of the car and stare at the beach before us, the ocean stretching out as far as the eye can see. There’s a slight breeze, making my hair blow away from my face. I laugh as I rush down to the blanket Liam set up for us. All our favorite foods are laid out before me. 

“Liam, it’s perfect!” I yell as I turn around, expecting him to be up the hill. He’s right behind me though, close enough to touch me. I step back, startled. “Hey, you can’t get too close. You know the rules.” My smile fades a little at his serious expression. 

“But what if I want to. Ally, I love you so much it hurts me to not be able to hold you. Plus we don’t even know what will happen.” Liam’s tone is pleading as he steps closer again. I shake my head, making space between us.

“No, no, no, I was told what happened to my mother, how I burned her alive when I came out. Every living thing I touch burns up. I’m not risking it with you.” My heel hits a plate and I can’t move back further. Liam closes the distance, so close we’re almost sharing breath. 

“I need you Ally.” His voice is a whisper.

“Touch me and you’ll burn.” It’s a warning, the Normals are forbidden. 

“I don’t care.” With that he pulls me in close, cupping my face with one hand, and kisses me. I’m left in shock for a second before I melt into it. The kiss is tentative at first, but morphs into tenderness. My hands go up to his cheeks, the feel of his skin imprinting in my head. Tears pool in my closed eyes, escaping down my face. Liam pulls away, his warmth dissipating, and I open my eyes. 

“Thank you.” He whispers as he leans in one more time. One final kiss. His warmth envelopes me as I pull him in hungrily. Again, his warmth leaves me, but this time it’s final. I open my eyes again, alone as I watch a cloud of ash swirl away. In that moment, my heart breaks into 100,000 pieces.