The deep blue van pulled into the fenced fairgrounds closely followed by a black car. The van and car slowly inched their way through a line of other vehicles (twice even spotting a motorcycle or two). Finally the van pulled into a free spot, and the car parked right next to it. Soon two adults, three teenagers (two boys and a girl), two younger kids (a boy and a girl), and a little baby, a girl, piled out of the van, excited and armed with blankets and chairs. The car door opened and a young couple joined the family. They had been married only a week and a half.
~The two couples staked out their place on the short, semi-soft grass. They, with the help of the teens, laid out the blankets and unfolded chairs. The two younger kids were already begging for sparkling. Their father told them to wait.
~Finally, everything was settled. The adults had chairs. the mother held the baby in her arms. The baby was busily employed with a plastic toy that made sound, if it was turned on. The baby, confused but not discontent, played quietly. The two younger kids were running about with sparklers. The teens sat on the blanket, waiting for what they had come to see. The two boys were chatting. The boy who sat in between the other two was the girl's brother. The other boy was a friend from church.
~The young couple sat together on a chair. The young husband had pulled his wife onto his lap. Soon the father called to the sparkler-happy children to join them. The young wife looked over her shoulder and spoke to her father, smiling. The father laughed and replied.
~Suddenly, three fireworks boomed in the sky, shining the colors of blue, green, and purple. A radio over a loudspeaker began. Music began playing as the fireworks exploded into the sky. The teen boys felt the low boom vibrate in the ground and in their chests. The little baby looked up, fascinated. The young wife smiled as she watched, remembering how much she enjoyed the fireworks when she was young. She had called them sky flowers then.
A new song over the radio began playing. The teen girl watched the fireworks. She strained to hear the music, but usually only caught a few words before the next booming explosion. The young husband felt tears prick his eyes. His wife saw them and spoke softly to him, resting her head on his shoulder. The husband smiled gratefully and kissed her forehead. He had lost his father during war, but this family had made him part of their small circle so quickly he couldn't help but be comforted.
~The fireworks themselves were gloriously bright and beautiful. Red, green, blue, yellow, they boomed and sizzled everywhere. They lit up in the eyes of the young and the old. They rumbled and boomed and exploded. High enough for everyone to see, even those who hadn't gone to the fairgrounds. Some exploded and sparkled, imitating the sparklers the children had used.
The children clapped loudly at the finale of the fireworks. The explosions were constant, and the light was bright enough to illuminate even the darkest corners of the grounds. The baby began to get scared, but was soon asleep with her mother's soothing. When everything died down, the family packed up and hurried to the cars to avoid the traffic.
~It had been a fun evening. It was one of the best nights of the year. A day that celebrated the victory for independence.
