What if candles could hold memories and burn them back to life?

What if every time a jar of candle is lit, a very specific memory and moment is triggered — to be relived, re-experienced? And what if the person who lights it encounters various choices and outcomes that may distort the original memory, depending on their mood and state of mind at the time of lighting? There are some who cling to memories. Each time they fear the end of the candle jar, that fear feeds the experience, and they may wind up either traumatised by it, or simply decide the memories are no longer worth keeping. There are also some who are precious with it, lighting it only on rare occasions, taking years to finish a single jar. The best of these scenarios: they are old, at their deathbed, and the candle is left burning to keep vigil. No painkillers needed because the state their memories lovingly hold them in is its own painless, soothing balm. Others might use it ritually for every special occasion, or as a weekly check-in with themselves, to set the emotional stage as…