You must be butter because you’re on a roll! Good stuff, like the irony of how fire is a symbol of dampening/loss here.

Might I suggest using “aged” instead of “age” … Or maybe not. It’s great the way it is. An element is a great symbol of life, of memory, and fire is a brilliant choice to represent the life of a soldier.

Nice section separations. Your description, as always, is very real and emotive.

I sort of see this as his life flashing in front of his eyes before he dies. Is that what you intended or just my personal interpretation?
Either way, tis cool.
Abby x

Thanks a lot, both of you! I really did envision it as a sort of series of flashbacks before death, or at very least a condensation of a life into a few short moments, unified by the role of fire. It didn’t work out quite as nicely as I’d planned, though – there was more that should’ve fit into each ‘flash’, but as it is I’m rusty with Ficly and have yet to get used to the character limit. Oops.

Also, DI, we’ve talked about this ‘butter and roll’ business. You know what happens if you mention them again. Ahem. That is all.