Ritual

The match head scraped along the side of the box, throwing sparks before bursting into flames. As Tom stood before the Pit, staring into the bright flame, memories flooded his mind, memories from childhood, watching his elder brothers as they endured their initiation into manhood. It was a rite steeped in ancient ritual and tradition. For countless generations, going all the way back into prehistory, when the males of Tom's family came of age, after months of training and instruction in arcane knowledge, they all faced this final trial.

Tom remembered his birthday last year, when his dad and Uncle Horace took him deep into the woods and performing the first of three ceremonies. They sat him on a log and handed him the first tool he would need to complete the final test. They showed him how to handle it the right way. In order to learn, he had to unlearn first. He had to learn new ways to do things he'd been doing all his life. It felt very strange at first but the more he practiced, the easier it became.

The flame burned lower on the match as Tom stood transfixed. He couldn't move, couldn't even blink. As he stared, pictures flickered in the small bright flame.

After the first ceremony, Tom's dad gave him ancient texts to study, filled with legends and tales of heroic feats of many of his ancestors who'd survived the final ritual into manhood. There were also tales of some who failed. Oh, nothing really bad happened to them, but afterwards they were always treated differently by the family, kind of like relatives who stay too long after the holidays. There was even a story of a distant uncle who went mad and spent the rest of his life living in caves and howling at the moon.

Tom cursed and dropped the match and stuck his burnt fingers in his mouth. He'd let his mind wander for too long and paid for his mistake in an all too painful way. He glanced up to see his dad and uncle staring at him across the Pit. He could see the disappointment and worry in their eyes. He glanced at his three older brothers, laughing and pointing at him. The only one who showed any encouragement was his baby sister, Casey, who smiled at him and gave him the okay sign.