Fireworks!

An explosion of light in the sky and a slight jump from everyone in the crowd. It has begun. A young girl stands amongst the people, she is unhappy. It is not the cold air that makes her miserable nor the noise surrounding her; she is alone. She lives with her mother in a small suburban cottage and she has never known her father, he left when she was born. Her mother was supposed to be there with her, but they had an argument the day before and they were still not talking to one another. The sky lights up, but she only glances up once or twice, she is not drawn to them, and she feels emotionless. She continues to look distant. She is thinking about school. The torment she goes through every day, the temptation to end it all. A delicate smile crosses her face, a fond memory perhaps. The smile does not stay long, in the blink of an eye it disappears. She looks up to the sky and realises why the crowd are so fascinated with the display. They burst into clusters of brightly coloured stars; she is amazed, but only for a moment. As she looks away someone notices the tears are beginning to fall from her glittering green eyes. They want to approach her, the crowd keep moving, it is too late she is out of sight.

Someone who knows her, who knows her past searches for her, it is becoming impossible. Frantically he continues his search; still he fails to notice her. He knows he will be ridiculed for associating with her, but he does not care, all he wants is to find her. While he is scanning the area around him someone bumps into him, mutters a quick apology and hurries off away from him. To begin with he pays no attention, then he quickly realises that it was her; he would recognise that voice anywhere.

Alone she sits, away from the crowd, in a silent corner of the car park. It is now that she gazes in wonderment at the sky. She lies on her back, on the bonnet of an old abandoned car and watches the clusters of stars fall to the ground. The clear sky with the bright clouds of colour is hypnotic, she is unsure of her own existence. Again the thoughts of ending her torture enter her head. As she lies perfectly still a breeze picks up. It rustles her long red hair; she barely notices and continues to stare contentedly at the glowing colours all around her. Life had been terrible for her for as long as she can remember. Those in school tease her about her family history; they tell her she is worthless and that she will always be alone. She fights with her mother on a regular basis; she feels that her mother does not love her. Not a day goes past where she doesn't feel abandoned. The feeble smile returns for longer this time. It is not a memory that makes he smile so sweetly, it is love. Gazing at the falling stars, as she likes to call them, makes her feel at ease. A warm feeling goes through her body, one that she had felt for two years. Something told her she was being watched, but she ignored the feeling. The smile fades once more and she continues to admire the explosions of light above her.

She begins to relax and drift off, but something unnerves her once again. She is being watched. She slowly eases herself into a sitting position and scans the car park. She does not see or hear anyone or anything, but she has become unsettled, she cannot shake the feeling of unease. Maybe she is just imagining being watched, maybe she is not. She begins to feel panicked and it is noticeable. Her voice has left her; she cannot bring herself to ask if anyone is there. A single tear falls from those eyes once more and he appears out of the shadows. She is startled at first, but quickly regains herself. She recognises him. She recognises him well. He asks if he can join her, she agrees. Unsure of what to say to one another they sit in perfect silence, until she asks him how he knew she was there. He hesitates and replies "I just knew". She smiles that smile that made him fall for her in the first place. She knew this was it, the moment she had been waiting for. Maybe now she would not feel so alone, she hoped with all her heart. The smile stayed, their eyes met and they kissed a soft long lasting kiss. Exploding all around them was the grand finale of the display. They stopped, looked at each other and watched the fireworks die out.