2017.10.23

Today is Monday.

Charlie told them they were Roman candles and he was going to shoot them off. He held one of them in his left hand and lit the fuse with the other hand. As he waved it slowly in a circular motion, it began to give out sparks. Zoom! A white fire ball shot up towards the rooftops. Zoom! A few seconds later out came a red ball and then, Zoom, a yellow one. Zoom! The last one was green. Faces uplifted in a awed wonder, the astonished children followed the flight of the globes of flame against the dark sky. Each ball hung over in the sky for a moment like a glittering star and then disappeared. The girls, even Mama and Papa, were thrilled. Papa said that something was marvelous. Charlie lit the left one by one and the magical colors streamed heavenward. Soon around the family there gathered an even-increasing audience. From all sides their neighbors and their children came running. From tenement house windows, a multitude of heads streched forth over the sills to gape at the rare treat.