A Candle Story

This is something that I wrote for my creative writing class as an exercise in sensory detail. Now this is something that any writer can do and I promise you it will be a good relaxing exercise for those who feel their work may be lacking some detail to really tie everything together. Or you may just want to do it to kill some time and enjoy the scent of your favorite candle  while you write. In my opinion it really helps to keep your eyes closed when you write everything down because you really allow the scent of your chosen candle to transport you to an entirely new world. One you may have never visited before. Or one that you know like the back of your hand. Either way, I hope you all enjoy the passage 🙂

As I close my eyes, I sense a faint light in front of me. The source comes from a fluttering flame, attempting to find a balance in its chaotic existence; burning its wick without fear or choice of an inevitable end. I imagine the color of the glass enclosure; simulate for the hue of coconut pulp, and inside lays a molten wax of similar origin.  I am sure a factory in distant lands used some of the precious coconut meat to extract part of this fragrant bouquet gently massaging my olfactory receptors. The scent takes me back to a beach of an exotic locale as a motion picture plays behind  closed eyelids. I can feel the sand bursting between my toes with each step as I make my way out of the warm, translucent water. With each bound, I grow closer to an intoxicating aroma filled with fresh coconut –as mentioned -, pineapple and a slight citrus note here and there -a tangerine tree maybe?- at any rate it seems to be coming in and out of range with the ever-changing sea breeze. Back to reality as I open my eyes and see the white-glass candle sitting in front of me, still lit with determination. The sea-breeze turns out to be just the buffeting fan in my room. As I blow the flame away, it smolders and gives off its last remnants of the tropics as the emblazoned wick returns to its black, carbonized state.