Shock of a lifetime

I had an experience of a lifetime. On the 20th of June 2009, I came so close to death. Okay...maybe not that close. But it was close enough for me. It all happened during the scout campfire. I was supposed to help with the fire. All campfires must have a bonfire. So, i was asked to pour kerosene on a piece of cloth prepared for the fire to start. Just before it was time to light the flame, some wire that was prepared earlier snapped. We were frantically trying to fix it back while the speeches were being given.

Fortunately, we were able to fix it. However, when it was time to light the flame, i kinda panicked. I walked up to the middle of the 'perhimpunan' area and started to pour the kerosene. The cover or the lid of the kerosene bottle had holes in them. So i started to pour but it was kinda slow. Everyone was waiting for me. It was like you could feel everyone's eyes burning holes through your back.

To add to the pressure, people were like saying something in chinese. I was not sure if they were talking to me, asking me to hurry up or sth, i really don't know as i can't speak chinese. So i thought they were asking me to hurry up. So, i opened the lid and poured the kerosene. A little too much i guess. Then, the principal pulled the sword from the rock which was supposed to trigger the flame(the theme for the campfire was excalibur). It didn't work. The fire didn't start.

So, with my kerosene filled and coated hand, i lighted the cloth with the lighter. I just didn't think at the moment. More of i couldn't think. So when the cloth burst into flames, it was too big. I was just a few centimetres away from the cloth. I could feel the fire burst past me. My face and my hands felt extremely hot. At that time, everyone was cheering the flame on. The flame actually burst right in front of me. And my hands were filled with kerosene.

I didn't think it was such a big deal until later when i found out that i actually singed off a small part of my hair and my hand had a stinging pain. I realised that the fire had come that close to me, if not burn past me. But i was unharmed. I was fine. I really thank God for His protection over me. If not, i can't imagine what could have happened.