What is an afikomen? It is a piece of matzoh (unleven bread) used in the passover service/meal (called the seder which means "order" like organized in a particular way).
The afikomen is the official dessert and is broken during the service with one part kept at the table and the other part spirited away by the children. This practice is part of the effort to keep children engaged in the service since the purpose of the Seder is to pass the story of the Exodus to them.
The service cannot conclude unless the "stolen" afikomen is returned. This provides the children with the age-honored opportunity to ransom the piece to the leader of the service.
In the Reizner household we do some things a bit backwards. For whatever reason, we do "steal" the afikomen, but we hide it and make Dad look for it. As the years went on we eventually started to make it easier by hiding only in plain view and playing a "Hot" and "Cold" game, i.e. shouting "hotter" as he got closer and "Cold" if he moved away. Otherwise, despite Dad's reputation as the best finder in the family, the service could go on for a long time.
On this particular Passover, Bob wrapped the afikomen in one of Mom's good table napkins and placed it on top of a lamp in the living room. The living room is adjacent to the dining room and at the time the package was placed, the lamp was off. Unannounced to anyone, Mom later turned the lamp on.
At the normal juncture in the service we turned to the hot/cold game and Dad wandered around the first floor, eventually getting to the living room. I could not see the lamp, but Mother, who was seated at that end of the dining room could.
We shouted "you're getting hotter.... you're getting HOTTER"
Then...Mom really shouted, "Oh my g-d!, it's on FIRE!!"
Oops... it did kind of burst into flames. We put it out. The service continued. The afikomen was....let's say... extra crispy that year.
O