“Ugh, why such a fuss all of a sudden?”
“Just because. Hehe…”
“Did you do that to your husband too?”
“Yep. Suddenly, everyone started showing up, grabbing me and begging me to let them take a vacation!”
“W-well, it wasn’t that extreme…”
As I whipped my head around, the rapidly passing scenery started to fill my sight.
“By the way, why are we at an amusement park all of a sudden? You don’t like crowds.”
“Hmm… I don’t, but today is the fireworks festival. Plus, it’s also mom and dad’s wedding anniversary tomorrow… so I’m treating everyone this time.”
“Oh my, really? Honey, do you remember that? 20 years ago, when you proposed to me in the mountains? It was around this time.”
“Ahem… Y-yeah.”
For just recalling the same memory, their expressions couldn’t have been more different.
Mom looked like she was dying of laughter.
Dad looked thoroughly embarrassed.
“…What happened?”
I knew.
I’d heard it many times.
An unforgettable story.
“Uhuu… Back then, your dad didn’t have a car. So he couldn’t go to the city and we only played nearby, but one day he said he rented a car. He got his license just three days before.”
But still.
I wanted to hear it again, and feel it.
The days of happiness from mom and dad.
The happy expressions of mom and dad.
“Yeeah…”
“So he says let’s go to the city and brings the car home. But, heh… I started to notice the popped balloons in the backseat?! So I figured it out. Ah, it’s that day.”
Three hundred balloons, all blown up without a machine.
Balloons only in the colors mom liked.
Balloons tied with thin strings, just a bit more comfortable.
“So mom was super excited, thinking we were going to some fancy restaurant. With baby Noah being such a quiet little one, I thought we’d go somewhere peaceful. But… Ahaha! He took me to the mountains?! At night?”
“Uhm… He didn’t know that kind of place needed a reservation. It was terrifying…”
Slowly, their expressions started to look more alike.
“Haah… So, as we went up the mountain, there were popped balloons everywhere along the way. Your dad was so worried about waking the sleeping Noah that he was sweating bullets while carefully holding you.”
From joy to happiness.
From embarrassment to happiness.
“And when we finally reached the top… there was this incredibly… incredibly cute big tree decorated with balloons.”
The biggest tree on that mountain.
A tree that has become a landmark now.
“And there were these really tacky candles… Hehe… They weren’t even event candles, just plain white candles, like something for a ritual. Can you believe he bought those?”
“Uhuh! But honey, you were shocked back then too.”
“Of course I was shocked. I mean… strange candles all lined up in a creepy mountain.”
“…Was that what it was about?”
Dad’s ears turned beet red.
“Anyway… arriving at the top. Your dad, holding Noah like a loaf of bread, knelt down and thanked and apologized, and then gave me a necklace.”
Not one knee, but both knees.
“I asked him to hold Noah for me… but as the necklace was slipping around my neck, the fireworks went off with a bang!”
“It was like a drama, hehehe!”
“But even little Noah, who would cry at anything, started laughing at the fireworks. He woke up from his sleep and didn’t cry, just being all giggly and happy.”
After laughing together for a while.
“I turned to see dad’s face and he burst into tears. Hmm… He did look scary. And with the fireworks casting shadows on his face, I can only imagine how terrifying he must have looked in the dark.”
“Twenty years ago… I wasn’t too bad-looking for a guy, was I?”
“In my eyes, you were handsome. Of course, you still are.”
“…Uhm.”
Watching mom and dad, who felt less like a couple and more like a young couple, made me chuckle.
After that, more stories from mom and dad flowed out.
Stories I had heard countless times.
Ones I could never forget.
The stories I knew so well.
As I savored those tales,
I indulged in the remnants of happiness that had turned to ashes.
*
“How’s the view? Isn’t it amazing?”
“Ugh… Stop shaking and hold still…”
“Ahahaha! Scared, huh? Are you scared?”
The moment dad’s body shook, the crazy, swinging Ferris wheel began to toss me around.
“Ahhh! Mom! Hurry! Dad!”
“Ugh, what are you doing? Acting like a baby. Just hold on. Hehehe…”
“Ahahaha!”
“Ah!”
While I clung desperately to the thin handle beside me, sweat pouring, the bright lights below suddenly went out.
After a moment,
a brilliant beam of light shot up into the sky.
Boom!
A dazzling firework exploded up high, so bright it felt like I’d go blind just looking at it.
“…Ah.”
I had never seen such a huge firework explode right in front of me.
I had seen plenty of fireworks inside a black sun,
on TV, or on my smartphone screen,
but I had never seen a real firework that conveyed sound and vibrations.
So, I was worried.
Worried that in this world I was reliving based on my memories, I wouldn’t get to see the fireworks festival.
Worried my determination might crumble.
Boom!
But it was an unnecessary worry.
“Absolutely breathtaking.”
“Much prettier than what I saw twenty years ago.”
With such beautiful fireworks exploding,
with such loud sounds reaching my ears, and
with a tangible sensation wrapping around my heart.
Bam!
Every time a firework went off, my entire body resonated.
Each blooming light reached out to me, casting away dark shadows.
Dazzling flowers leaving echoes in my mind as they faded.
With every firework reaching the sky, I found myself drifting farther away from it.
Before I knew it, I was looking up at the fireworks I once looked down upon.
“Noah.”
“…Yes?”
I turned to look at dad calling me.
The brightly shining fireworks lit up dad’s kind face.
“Do you know why fireworks are so special?”
“Because they’re pretty…?”
“That’s one reason, isn’t it? But do you really think that’s the only reason?”
As I tilted my head, mom’s soft laughter echoed.
“I don’t think that’s the right answer, but… your dad sees it this way. They bloom for just a moment. Just a fleeting instant.”
It was the first time I had heard this story.
“They only last long enough to be memorable, and then they disappear. That’s why people go crazy for them.”
“…What does that mean?”
Boom!
“Just imagine if fireworks lasted one or two minutes. What if we saw explosions like that every day? What would happen?”
“Well, that would…”
“At first it’d be great, but over time, everyone would take it for granted.”
Dad held my and mom’s hands tightly.
“Everyone would dull to it, become indifferent, and eventually even hate it. They’d want to sleep at night, but it’d keep flashing and booming. Naturally, they’d start to dislike it, forgetting how much they once loved it.”
Dad smiled.
“But I’m different. I’m an extraordinary person, not like the average guy. I can remember the precious feelings I first had. I remember the weather and time when your mom first smiled at me. I even remember the shape of the sky and clouds on the day you were born. I will never forget that until the day I close my eyes.”
Mom smiled.
“I feel the same way. Each day is fresh and happy so even if I wanted to dislike it, it’s impossible. Your dad tiptoeing to the bathroom so he doesn’t wake me, and you, Noah, looking for a computer before even waking me up… I can never dislike it.”
Fireworks burst.
“No matter what happens, even if Noah turns away from mom and dad.”
A brilliant light washed over us, scattering like stardust.
“Mom and Dad love Noah.”
The final firework shot up.
Higher.
Brighter.
Bigger.
“Forever.”
A firework bursting high, beyond reach.
A dazzling light spread across the sky, almost blinding.
The light shone on our family, seemingly trying to erase our shadows.
Unforgettable.
Remembering burning, etched-in memories of fireworks,
Following mom.
Following dad.
I smiled too.
“…Me too. I too, I too… will love you forever.”
*
“Noah! I’m going to take some side dishes to the elderly woman next door. Can you help me carry them? They’re so heavy!”
Click – The door opened.
I saw mom precariously setting down a shopping bag full of side dishes.
“It’s just carrying them. Our Noah… what’s wrong?”
I shook my head.
“Just… had a scary dream.”
A rough hand stroked my cheek.
“Noah. I have a superpower to know when you’re lying.”
The hand travels from my cheek, through my hair, and down to my back, enveloping me in a warm embrace.
“If you ever have a hard time, tell me, okay?”
“…Yes.”
“If I can’t help, your dad’s here too, right?”
I nodded.
“Yeah… get some extra rest.”
“…Mom.”
I lifted my arms and hugged her tightly.
“Go and come back quickly.”
“Okay.”
“Quickly. As quickly as you can… I’ll be waiting.”
Releasing my arms carefully, mom lifted the shopping bag.
“Okay. I’ll be back soon.”
Then she trudged away, opening the front door.
As I watched her until she disappeared,
I sank down into my spot.
Hugging myself,
I pressed my face down to the floor.
After some time had passed,
the terrible smell of smoke began to fill the air,
and within my memories, the screams
of hellish sounds I could never forget
started echoing.
