Flash Fiction Month 2016

Day 4: Fireworks (TT AU)

Raven sighed, leaning against Kory's shoulder as they stared down at the fairground far below. The enclosed carriage of the Ferris wheel was slowly lifting them into the sky.
"Something is wrong, Raven," Kory observed. "You have been unusually quiet, and your smiles are not as... shiny, as they normally are."
Raven raised an eyebrow at the description of her smiles, but there was no energy in it.
"Yeah. Sorry Kory."
Kory put an arm around her.
"Do not apologise. Tell me what is wrong."
Raven stayed quiet.
"It is your family, isn't it?" Kory guessed, lowering her voice, though there was no-one to overhear them.
Raven blinked rapidly as tears rushed to her eyes.
"It's mum," she whispered. A whisper was all she could manage; her throat was too tight. "The doctors are saying... three months."
Kory slipped her free hand into Raven's.
"And dad... got fired."
Raven let her head fall onto Kory's shoulder, tears leaking past her eyelashes and splashing silently down her cheeks.
"Everything's just... crashing down..."
There was a screaming sound from outside, followed by a burst of light and colour. Nine o'clock. Fireworks display time.
The two girls watched the explosions ignite in the darkened sky as the Ferris wheel carried them higher and higher above the fairgrounds. Kory held Raven close, letting her cry into her shoulder. Raven saw the fireworks as rainbow blurs through her watery eyes. Normally the display would've inspired her; maybe she would've found a way to describe the explosions in a poem. But tonight, grief was more potent than joy, and there was no inspiration. Only pain.
So she took the comfort of Kory's hand holding hers, of her arm around her waist, and held onto that comfort like a lifeline. Without it - without Kory - she feared she would be washed away, left to drown in the mess of her life.
The display ended in a shower of golden sparks. The tiny flickering lights rained down around the Ferris wheel. If it weren't for the enclosed carriage, Kory could've reached out and touched them.
"I am sorry, Raven," Kory said at last. "I wish there was something I could do."
Raven shook her head a little.
"You're doing just fine, Kory. You're doing exactly what I need you to do."
Kory squeezed her hand, and kissed the top of her head.
The rest of the ride passed in silence.
The silvery smoke from the fireworks was slowly spirited away by the wind.