Prelude:
Independence
Day in L.A. County
I
Laughter was heard somewhere in the
darkness. With a punch to the arm, they resolved their issues like they always
had.
When they received unwanted company, they
ran inside, hid behind bushes, and denied everything. This was tradition. What
started as cheap thrills turned into experimenting with how long it could work.
A swaying bottle dangled between fingers.
Their guinea pig fumbled with the main attraction for another few minutes.
“You ready?”
“Jus ‘bout.”
The man tripped over the sidewalk dip.
Everyone laughed as he ran several feet before falling onto the grass.
The bottle shattered. Liquor soaked into
the weed-infested lawn. With an exasperated sigh, he pushed the shards aside.
The guinea pig flipped the cap to his
zippo.
Underneath the shadowy light he declared,
“Who would like to do the honors?”
The grass-stained man ran a finger down
the scaly circle.
“All right.”
With a deep sigh, he recalled tradition.
“THREE… TWO… ONE!”
“We have liftoff.”
He hugged his friends with anticipation.
This wasn’t something from the Red Devil booth. It was a special import. They
knew a guy in San Diego who made the rounds every June.
Here it comes…
They watched the projectile enter the
night sky. Now it was everybody’s problem.
K
A
B
O
O
M
Everything was perfect (for a split
second). A car alarm signaled the next step. They locked the door and shut off
the lights before cracking open bottles and clinking in celebration of another
successful year.
II
Niamh Belinda Arness-Joyner, known to
friends as Bel, covered her ears and pulled the blanket off her mattress. She
imagined war footage. Bombs raining from the sky. She thought of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki and how innocent people suffered for other’s arrogance. Those
devastating injuries changing a happy life in an instant. Why would
anyone cause such madness when…
B
O
O
M
Okay, that one wasn’t as bad.
She took deep breaths. That’s what she was
supposed to do. Anything to steady her heart. She prayed for something to stop
the pain.
“How are you doing, Ni-Ni?”
A slender hand sprawled over a nearby lava
lamp. The red globs slid around aimlessly while blue fingernails tapped the
sides with blissful percussion. The sight was unattractive to outsiders.
With an angelic smile, she sat on the bed
in a sequined white dress. Every sparkle flashed brusquely.
“I have missed you.”
There was a fluttering laugh. Had it been
the only thing Bel heard it would be the most rejuvenating sound in the
universe.
“Don’t you worry. I’m always here.”
She bestowed a soft hand. Bel imagined
gripping so tightly that she could absorb her confidence, creating a pathway
into her world. She admired the hand, wondering how to communicate everything
this touch meant to her. The anxiety was fading, yet her heart never felt
normal. How could it be when she wasn’t?
She gazed through the darkness.
“You’re looking better.”
“Thanks.”
“Did you get a haircut?”
“One could say.”
Sequins illuminated fractions. Every hair
was finally in place. She did an amazing job with her make-up. Her angular
cheeks on a porcelain face were statuesque.
As another BOOM went off, Bel recoiled. Her legs kicked
her chest as the blankets moved around her head.
She reached over for a hug while
whispering into her ear:
“Everything will be all right.”
Bel thought of those words pouring from
the mouths of her peers, her parents, even people after the funeral, but they
all came with a Hallmark quality. Nobody knew how to describe Bel. Not even
herself. Except her. Arms draping over Bel’s weary torso was the closest thing
to heaven. She wanted to kiss her; to perform some act of gratitude that would
get her to stay this time.
Instead she sat in silence trying not to
ruin the moment.
The fireworks ceased. She opened her eyes
in time to notice the void. She imagined looking at Earth from above and
pondering over its many wonders. Her body was free. The next time she saw fireworks
it would fill her with the same joy everyone else had.
“Mind if I play you a song? It’s one we
used to play in middle school.”
Bel nodded.
Reaching under the bed, the woman
retrieved an acoustic guitar. She strummed before cringing.
“What?”
“When’s the last time you tuned this?”
“I don’t play much anymore.”
“Bel, Bel, Bel.”
With every bent note, everything came more
into focus.
“This song goes out to Bel. Nobody was
listening but you, and I’m glad you still are.”
Bel gasped. It was “Ocean Avenue” by
Yellowcard. A radio staple about escaping this town and running forever. That
was the dream from when they didn’t know any better.
She sang octaves nobody heard her sing
before. Tears streamed down Bel’s cheek as she tried to make out her silhouette
amid distortion of distant lights. Everything escaped except essence. She felt
alive.
As she reached the bridge, she stopped.
“Sorry, I forgot if this part is guitar or
violin. Never learned tabs.”
“Glad to see things haven’t changed.”
Nothing changed over those 20 years.
Bel recalled the album cover of an unknown
girl. She was facing the camera, but the overexposure of the background sun
caused her to appear in shadow. She remembered asking once:
“Who is that?”
“I don’t know.”
Some mysteries were better left unsolved.
The final chords transitioned to a
triumphant, overdone strum. With a fangirlish cheer Bel almost fell from her
chair. She bowed with false modesty before putting the guitar down.
“Don’t worry, Bel. We’ll make it work.”
“I know we did.”
“We’ll have a child and they’ll be the
most intelligent, accomplished person in the world.”
“Yeah, with whose genes?”
“Oh, Ni-Ni.”
There was a pause.
With a silly grin, Bel listened to the
nothingness. She tried to see it as a good thing for once.
“And if there’s one thing you should know,
it’s that…”
K
“I…”
The light pierced the room, temporarily
blinding Bel.
A
She worked her way past the floor and
towards the bed.
B
She was temporarily blinded by the sequins
whose luminosity shot in every direction.
O
“..love…”
O
Bel turned in time to cherish the face she
had so desperately wanted to see.
M
“…you.”
Her heart stopped.
III
For the first time, she had seen Jo Arness
as she always wanted to be noticed. Her brunette hair hung over her face. The
blue eyes delved into Bel’s soul. There was eagerness to lean forward and touch
her while she still could.
She had to accept that reality was
returning. This was Jo. This was Jo as she always wanted to be seen and
never was. She was more beautiful. She was everything.
With the piercing light reaching its
zenith, everything dissipated. Her life was back to how it normally was. In
real time it was only five seconds. But they were some of the most euphoric.
She could reach out and kiss those lips or feel the soft touch of her hand
rolling down her shoulder. Maybe a cute giggle would help her get up for the
next few days.
It used to freak her out how numbing
Independence Day felt. As more time passed, she accepted that nobody would
check on her. She became lost in the lava lamp, mesmerized by its scattered
appearance. It would be a long time before it all came together again.
Closing her eyes, she tried to recall the
good times. With a blanket wrapped around her, she fell into the sweet middle
ground where she was neither asleep nor cognizant of her surroundings.
On these days it was the best place to
stay.
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