The boys egged him on. ‘Do it. Jump in.’ They wanted to see what the flames would do to that reptilian skin of his. I’m not sure he wanted to do it, because I know he always struggled to fit in, so he wouldn’t want to disappoint any of them. He wouldn’t want to be dull. At least, I think those things were playing on his mind.
Those burns cut deep. Of the boys that were with him, only one got away without permanent scars. One died.
That fire awoke something in my son. Something long dormant. Now that it’s out, I don’t think there’s any way of putting it back in.
Paddy Dobson
29th April 2022