American River Review 2022 - copy - Flipbook - Page 50
when his left side seemed to explode
and he fell to his knees in front of
that big yellow handle and its half
green, half red switch.
He fell down on his back without a
single, second thought. He never considered calling out to Ben and Mila.
With all the smoke and noise, they
had no way of even knowing he was
there. To his left the flowers bloomed
their instant spring and sparks rained
down on him.
He thought only of Jenny and that
first time he’d kissed her.
“Better watch yer eyes, hon,” he whispered and reached up for that big
rubber yellow handle.
He threw that sucker into the green
right as that little red dot came down
with that conductor’s wand and the
kettledrums thundered and the horns
blasted and the “Big Boom Box”
exploded with a million sparks and a
thousand colors.
And out of that huge explosion shot a
streaking white ball that rose above
all the red and green and blue and
yellow sparkles, the bursts, and flashes. Straight up, it sailed.
And it never stopped.
It just kept going.
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