Bonfire night revelries elicited whoops and screams of awe from the gathered
crowd. The air was thick with smoke and lights projected from the town turned
the night orange as it mingled with a sulphorous amber glow.
The family, husband, wife and one child, were enjoying the display as were
most of the families that night. The girl shied away from the blazing bonfire and
rejected the sparkler offered by her father.
"Do you not want it Meg?" he said. The girl shook her head and fought back the
tears. Her dad had been trying for six years to get his daughter to come to a
display and each time she refused.
"I dinny wan it!" she cried.
He supposed it was wise that kids were scared of fire but for so long? Meg
huddled with her mother as a volley of firecrackers lit up the night sky.
"Aw come on Meg. Let's go get some baked spuds."
Then it happened.
The chilly air became electric with the power of the moment and time slowed to
near standstill as the future shaped itself around her.
An explosion filled the night and everyone started screaming. Everyone except
the girl who stared open mouthed at the man who ran toward her with a
firecracker in his hood.
He dropped at her feet and she stared at the burning man until her parents
managed to force her away.
It was a year before she spoke again and when she did, the Meg everyone
knew had been replaced by someone else entirely.
One Sunday morning the girl came down to breakfast and kissed her father on
the cheek. She had lines under her eyes. He stroked her face. In her hand she
held a candle, her face fixed on the flickering flame.
"Morning Meg." Her dad didn't expect a reply. Meg merely went over to a vase
and dropped it on the floor. It smashed and her parents sighed.
"Oops," she said with a smile.
******
Chatelherault Park, near Glasgow
5 November, 1979roger crow 1998/2000