"Hi," she said, giving a little wave of her fingers. Without a word the other girl returned the very same gesture. "It's my birthday today. I'm turning nine," she informed as she pointed to herself with a wide smile. The other girl pointed to herself as well and smiled the same way, but didn't say anything. "Wow, it's your birthday too, huh? That's funny!" She announced with a twirl and a giggle. The other girl copied her every move though not a sound was made. "Oh, I know! Let's celebrate together! I'm all alone here because Mommy and Daddy went away for a bit. So how about you come and play with me!" She suggested slowly, nodding her head with enthusiasm. The other girl nodded with her, reflecting wide eyes and a forced grin. "I already lit the candles, now I just have to put on my party dress," she told the other girl as she turned to survey the frilly pink dress on her bed.

           Meanwhile, down below in the kitchen, a match with a glowing orange tip was making a black mark on the table.

           "Mommy bought me this dress yesterday from a store downtown," she said as she turned to look back at the other girl. "I told her I didn't really like it, but she told me to be thankful that I get so many pretty things," she lectured with a frown as she nodded her head slowly. The other girl mimicked both the expression and the movement. She turned her back on the other girl and slowly began to undress herself. "Mommy and Daddy always go away a lot and they always bring me pretty things," she explained as she carefully lifted her purple t-shirt over her head. She couldn't see, but the other girl had done the same, continuously silent. "I like pretty things, but I'd rather have my Mommy and Daddy," she said, pulling down her leggings. She sat on the pale blue rug and peeled off her socks before pushing her leggings off over her feet. Behind her, the other girl continued to do the same, a mute listener in the background.

           Like the lit candles on the cake, a small flame had sprung from the glowing orange of the match. The black mark on the table began to grow outward.

           "Mommy always makes me wear tights with my dresses. I don't know why though. They're so uncomfy!" She complained as she walked to her dresser, taking a quick peek at the other girl to see that she was still copying her every move. She yanked open a drawer and fumbled through different coloured socks, some of the pairs spilled out onto the floor. Grasping the thick, white, nylon tights, she pulled them from the confines of the drawer. She turned to stare at the other girl, tights bunched up in her hand. The other girl stared right back. She giggled quietly and threw down the tights, jumping on top of them. She grinned almost maliciously as she stomped and hopped, flattening the nylon beneath her feet. "Mommy isn't here; she can't make me wear tights or frilly, pink dresses!" She declared, sticking her tongue out at the other girl who did the same back to her.

           Flames grow from small to big as people grow from toddlers to adults. Half the table was consumed by a mass of burning red, orange and blue. The smoke in the kitchen was dense and the crackling of the flames was loud. A gray cloud had drifted up the stairs as the fire dripped to the floor and began to eat at the carpet.

           She danced and twirled and ran around in circles, all the while the other girl was silently imitating. She sang and laughed and drew herself up to as tall as she could be and breathed in deeply. She doubled over, coughing and waving her hand in front of her face. The other girl had also begun to cough. "Why is it so smoky?" She wondered, muttering hoarsely as she looked to the other girl for an explanation. The other girl looked back without a word. She tried to inhale deeply again, but started to cough instead. She slowly turned her head to look out her door at the staircase.

           The fire had devoured the rug in eight seconds before it found the carpeted stairs. The flames crackled and spat their delight as they leapt to the first stair. Heat reflected orange on the wall, dancing like specters of shadow.

           "Fire, fire, fire," she murmured repeatedly. She took stiff steps toward the other girl. "Help me put it out," she said, leaning down to grab a black, sequined, party shoe that she had been told to wear that day. It was brand new and unscuffed. She gripped it tightly, knuckles going white, and drew back her arm. She flung the shoe as hard as she could and fell on her rear from loss of balance. The shoe hit the other girl in the face and with a loud crack and the sound of tinkling bells, the mirror shattered into hundreds of pieces. She crawled through the shards of broken glass, cutting her hands and knees on the sharp edges. She sat amidst billions of reflections, all of them resembling the other girl. Her shoulders shook as tears welled up and cuts grew red. "Mommy, Daddy, there's fire," she whispered before wailing like the siren of the fire engine that had just turned the corner.