Kelly Dougher #1 - Fireworks

It was summer, and the boardwalk had free fireworks every Wednesday night. It was sticky and warm, with the dark beach in front and the bright lights of rides behind as the crowd stood facing the ocean breeze. Everyone talked loudly and in good humor while they waited, watching the shadows scurry along the shoreline, setting up in the sand. Minutes before the show started, a mother told her three daughters the story of the accident that happened here years ago. She was a young woman then, standing near this very spot watching the fireworks display, when one rocketed bizarrely off in the wrong direction and hit a small boy in the face. Gold and red shone everywhere. They rushed him to the hospital, but it was too late. Suddenly, sharp crack made the family jump and look up, startled, as the display began. The girls laughed at themselves and turned their faces upwards. Their mother watched carefully the bright reflections in their eyes the entire time.