()()()
BURNT WATER
"waltzing Matilda,
waltzing Matilda,
who'll go a waltzing Matilda with me..." Fox sang in a drunken voice.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP went the smoke alarm.
William sat up in bed, and sniffed the air. "Fire!"
Fox sniffed the air as well, "I'll be right back, stay here." He ran into the kitchen where the smoke seemed to be coming from, his eyes were stinging from the contents of the air. "Dana!"
"F-F-Fox..." Dana coughed.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
She nodded. "I was boiling water... and..."
Fox laughed.
She glared at him, though she appreciated his humorous attempt. "I guess I woke him up."
"Don't worry. It's okay."
Fox and Dana walked down the hallway to William's room; only to find him standing in front of the wooden door. He looked frightened as he held onto his ragged teddy bear. Both parents knew there was something wrong.
"William?" his father asked, exceeding his pace.
Dana knelt down beside her boy and took him into her arms. "What's wrong, sweetie?"
He did not say a word.
"Let's go get you some warm milk," the mother suggested.
Fox was impressed with Dana's parenting skills. He'd always known she was a good-natured woman, but she seemed so natural with her son. There was something that William and his mother shared that went deeper than their appearance. Their souls were connected, and sometimes they seemed to communicate using telepathy. Or maybe Fox was just paranoid about such matters.
Dana put her son on the counter, and gave him a mug. She took out a jug of milk and poured some into Will's cup. "Wanna cook it for me?"
He nodded and put the cup in the microwave. Beep-beep-beep. One minute, ten seconds. The room was silent until he said, "I saw a man in my room."