It was always burning, since the world's been turning.

Dear Torch,

It's been really great getting to know you over the past year. I've enjoyed reading about you, in police reports and otherwise. I've listened with an open mind when you've talked about the night of the fire in your apartment building. It's a heart-wrenching story. Really, it is.

You've recalled the horror of waking up in the middle of the night to a smoke alarm going off, of realizing that there was no safe exit through the door, and of leaping from your 3rd floor apartment to the ground below. I've seen your medical records, so I know that you're not lying when you recount the physical pain you've experienced since that jump. I do hope those broken bones are healing nicely.

But it's your legal complaints that have me stumped, Torch. You see -- you've filed lawsuits against your landlord, against the hospital, against the jail, and against several other government agencies. You've done this, it would seem, because you suffered some injuries that night. Here's why that confuses me:

You started that fire, Torch. You do it all the time. You set buildings on fire. It's what you do.

That night, you started a sizable fire in your apartment complex. So it's puzzling to me that, 30 minutes after you held a match to gasoline-soaked rags in a hallway trash can, you were "surprised" by the smoke alarm. It seems to me that you maybe could have anticipated that alarm going off. And perhaps if you hadn't been so "surprised" by the alarm, the smoke, and the flaming building, you wouldn't have had to jump out the window.

I'm just saying.

Again, Torch...it's not that I haven't enjoyed your company over the past year. As far as arsonists go, you're very personable. I've become familiar with the twinkle in your eye when an attorney stops a deposition because he need to step outside for a smoke. You only know me as "that girl" who is a lawyer for "one of those places you sued." But all the same, I feel like we've come a long way together. I just want you to be ready for the hard questions come trial. I hope you won't hold it against me. I'd like to remain friends and such.

All Best,
Unfortunate Lawyer