"Mysterious Fires Breaking Out in Prince Rupert, British Columbia"--John Reeves"I can't believe there's another one," read Henry Peters in surprise. "It must be 5 houses in the last 2 months. Why would anyone do such a foolish thing?" "Dad, they don't even know if someone is already fixing them!" "Oh Billy, wake up and smell the smoke. Fires don't start themselves." Billy knew this as he walked away, but since he was the cause of all the fires he didn't want anyone to know. He was ashamed that the only way to make money was to start fires and then be called to the fire station as a part-time worker. He had no other way to earn money for his girlfriend and her Christmas present. He tried to continue living this life for as long as possible, but he wasn't sure how long he could do so. If he had ever been caught, God knows how long he would have been locked up. Coming from a small town, no one was used to all the buzz going on. Billy was nervous. That's all the talk was about in the shaded streets of Prince Rupert. "Billy, Billy!" Henry screamed. Stepping out of his dream world, Billy confided, "What?" “Go into town and get some eggs, will you?” "Yes, of course, dad." As he walked down the street Billy wondered if he was really doing the right thing. He had convinced himself that Christmas was the time for forgiveness and that he would just get a little more money to be able to give more to his girlfriend; he was doing the right thing. As he looked around at normal gathering places like the barber shop, he noticed the somber looks of all the veterans and couldn't really put two and two together for... half of the paper... At that moment eighteen Christmases flashed before the Billy's eyes in about 5 seconds. He remembered all the times he ran down the stairs to snatch presents. Then the boy ran back around the corner. Billy took off through the woods faster than he had ever run before, he didn't know what else to do. Feeling he was doing the right thing, he went to the police station and returned all the money he had earned from the fires. He too turned himself in. "Billy, do you know what that means?" He asked the police chief, Sergeant Bilks, "No, what's going to happen to me?" "Well, Billy, depending on what the jury says, you could face the death penalty. But until then I'm afraid we'll have to keep you in a cell. "But officer, it's not fair." Billy pleaded. "I'm sorry Billy, sometimes life isn't fair."