Excellent When the calm of Christmas Eve is replaced by panic! Too Good To Be True by Dick Waters True Story Contest contest entry

Too good to be true. When you sense the calm isn’t going to last… When the smell of the candles is replaced with an unpleasant odor… When the soft sound of Christmas music is drowned out by a pronounced crackling noise… When the hot chocolate suddenly tastes bitter… When the room is oddly much warmer… When I see the orange flame reflection on my wife’s very wide eyes… That’s when the Christmas eve festivities turn to panic! Simultaneously we all realized there’s a FIRE in the house. The first thought was that the fireplace logs had exploded into the living room. Not so lucky! NO, the hanging candle in the front entryway had burned through the leather hanger and the flames were now expanding against the ceiling. I had meant to see the dentist about my loose tooth, but it was no longer a problem when I yelled FIRE! Our best friend meant well when he threw his drink on the flames. NOT a good idea. Alcohol and fire are not a great combination. The amazing thing was that there must have been more water in the drink as the hanging mess just hissed its displeasure. They say when the adrenaline rushes in your system you can become instantly sober…fortunately, we just proved that correct. Fire extinguishers were on everybody’s Christmas list the next year! Author Notes Do NOT put any candles in a leather hanger like this (courtesy of Etsy)

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