The fire leaped high in the darkness, chasing away midnight eyes and star shadows. I stared into the heart of the flames to seek a vision which would not come. The logs spat and crackled merrily, dancing with a joy beyond my reach. My heart yearned for that which I could not have. Not yet.
The fire danced in its glory, potent in its fury and delight. Underneath, the coals glowed white, giving foundation to the glittering towers of light which sprang from the rapidly disintegrating wood. Fire was an element of nature, as basic as the light which poured down from the sky with such diversity. Fire was the stuff of creation and destruction. Fire warmed the world, bent nature to its whim, tested the strength of all it touched and came away victorious. The wise harnessed fire with humility and temperance. The foolish toyed with it, taunted it and bore its mark of destruction and pain. Fire had no patience for the unwary. Fire was godhood in its own right. You might extinguish it in one place, but it would always burn somewhere else long after all our bones had turned to dust.
I approached the fire with humility and reverence, mindful of the power and danger. True to its nature, fire was inconstant and untrustworthy. Fire moved on whim and wind, spreading its power where it could, waiting when it could not. Fire could be tempered and directed, but it could not be tamed.
I settled my mind and concentrated on clearing away the chaff of my thoughts. I steeled myself, then leaped into the center of the hottest flame.
The pain was excruciating. Fire licked at my skin, tasted my flesh, wondered at my rash act. I screamed in agony, but even as I did, I knew my body was still whole. My clothes peeled away like tattered embers, leaving me naked and vulnerable to the very stuff of creation. My mind, my heart, my soul were pure, and I kept them that way lest I burn away with my impurities. I fell to my knees as the power engulfed me. I bowed in its presence, and it accepted my sacrifice. In a heartbeat, I summoned your face to my mind, and your name to my lips. Then, all was dark.
When I woke, I lay outside your door, naked and shivering. The night sky shone down at me with glittering beneficence, pleased with my reverence and desire. With a light heart and a soul that sang with happiness, I knocked on your door. Hot as the stars in the sky may burn, the flame you stoke in my heart burns hotter.