A Tiny Pop

You asked for an explosion, so I went searching where secrets sleep quietly. On the dark hearthstone, I found a single dry, golden popcorn kernel left behind in a cracked saucer. It looked entirely harmless. I nudged it closer to the warm iron edge near the lingering embers. For a long, silent minute, nothing happened. I tilted my head, waiting patiently. Then, with a sudden sharp SNAP, the hard yellow shell burst open in a tiny white flash! It leaped two inches into the air and landed right against my front paws, blooming like a puffy cloud. My ears gave a quick twitch.