Sooner than any of us realized, the sky darkened, then the fireworks started, unannounced, with a sudden bolt of lights in the sky. We sat right under the launching point. Each flare rose high into the sky and shimmered embers above us. A nostalgic melody played together with the rockets. The wind swept a cool breeze around us. Oohs and ahhs murmured from those watching behind me. I couldn’t help but feel a little moved by all of it together.

As I watched the crackling sky, memories of small moments here passed through my head, things almost forgotten…

Though the sun had started setting earlier than I was used to, especially for summertime, I didn’t at all mind. Walking the streets at night had a way of charming my heart open wide. Lit storefronts with displays of odd dishes and other treasures, flower shop counters with foliage tumbling out of their doorways, cafes reassuring you that – no matter what time of day – you could always stop in for a cup of coffee…

Suddenly, the emptiness of the room became too much to bear. I have to get out, I thought.

I grabbed my bag and water bottle, pausing briefly before deciding to take a notebook, and rushed into my car.

My mind was staggering as I jerked the car forward and sped along the roads until I found one that just seemed to keep going without interruption. I didn’t know where I was going, but I just needed to be anywhere else but alone in that small space…

There’s something awfully nostalgic about walking in the rain, ankles bare. No matter how big the umbrella, the backs of the ankles always end up with tiny droplets hovering just above their socks.

Dampness mixes with the mosquito bites teasing the skin where your shoes rub your ankles, the bumps shifting uncomfortably against the fabric of your pants. Mosquitoes here have a particularly persistent saliva, as their bites always turn into the worst kind of welts that nothing but the thickest layers of tiger balm can alleviate the itch from…

As I walked along, the clouds dotting the sky started moving together and formed a cover overhead. Lately, the humidity had been building, and light pellets of rain landed on my head and my outstretched palms.

The verdant summer leaves drew my eyes upward. Leaves in the shape of small circles dotted the overcast sky above. Next to them, the green maples sliced through the air with their serrated blades. Long, lazy cherry tree leaves rolled out into the canopy with their dark green underbellies. The warm rain fell as I crouched on the ground, bum touching the heels of my shoes, noticing the shape of the leaves as the rain fell through the holes…