Comet

Comet

The Comet was dazzling as it flew through the air. The Black/blue
velvet theater curtain
of the night, was the perfect backdrop for it's awesome
brilliance.
The main body of the comet was blinding with its light, and the tail
crescendoed from
this amazing torch, blazing a trail across the sky, that proclaimed
"Come bathe in my pure
light, stand with face upturned in awe at my splendor, rejoice in my
innocent wonder" The
Crowd were enthralled.
They had been talking about the comet on the television for weeks,
singing it's praises,
and quoting it as being the best one yet. The biggest. The brightest.
The most colourful. It
was truly amazing.
The boys were mesmerized, as it traveled across the sky,
"Was it Miles?"
" Was it infinite Miles?"
"Was it Mere Feet?"
The boys didn't know.
" How fast was it traveling?"
" Where would it stop?"
These were all questions that were thrown into the night without
response, to mix with
the oooh's and aaah's. Paul Ellis said very grandly, because he'd heard
a man on an old
Television program say the same thing, When he was talking about the
launching of
Apollo 7
"Never again in our lifetime, will we see such an awesome
occurrence"
Paul was the brainy one. Dave Mawson Said
"Wow"
And Billy Jackson, swore to remember this night for the rest of his
life.

Billy watched as the comet started it's descent. He gasped in
excitement and staggered
backwards, when he realized that it was going to land close to him. As
it sailed over his
head, he began to run towards it. If he ran fast he could be the first
one on the scene to
watch the death throws of the comet. He didn't want to miss a single
second of this
wondrous things life. His heart thumped, the adrenaline pounding
through his body. His
endorphins, dancing with joy as he ran to claim his trophy.
He reached it. It was his for the taking. The others were still a good
fifty yards from him.
He bent and picked up the still smoking comet, He held it lovingly for
a second, before
holding it aloft, and waving it to the sky.
"The boy who caught the comet"
He heard someone shout
"Oh Shit"
Someone else screamed
"Billy ... NO"
Yes they would all want to hold the comet, and they would have a great
wrestle soon.
But for now, for this second, he was the victor of the comet, and he
brandished his
treasure, with pride.

The sign in the toy shop window had said
"The one and only COMET. An innovation in firework history. You have
had the
"Bomb it's" Now try the Comet!. The biggest and the best, only ?14:99
"
The friends had all clubbed together to buy the coveted comet. Paul,
who looked much
older than his 13 and a half years, and was by far the most sensible
looking of the boys,
had drawn the short straw in the vote to go and buy it. The expedition
had been a success.

When the explosion took Billy's hands and most of his face, and burned
over 80\% of his
body, he felt no pain. Just a moment of nothing. White, quiet nothing.
In that moment he
was aware of screaming, confusion, and panic, but none of that was his.
He felt nothing.
In that moment he saw his right hand blown free of his wrist. His left
was dangling by a
few ravaged ligaments and sinews. Time stood still in that moment, as
he felt the sight
leave his eyes. Yet still he felt the wet sticky viscous fluid strem,
as his eye popped with a
sickening wet plopping sound. The eye itself melted, but the debris
which it left behind
slapped onto his cheek as it dangled slackly from the optic nerve. He
smelled the burning,
before the fireball that engulfed him, took his hair. His eyelashes .
His skin.
Oh God The moment was over. Please bring back that "Nothing moment"
and take
away this pain. Pain that made him scream the Scream of the damned, as
his lips sizzled
back from his teeth, to expose gums that were themselves, blistered and
bursting. God
heard him, and the pain didn't last long. The "nothingness" took him
quickly.

Billy's parents were enjoying the peace.
The kids were old enough to make their own entertainment .Weren't
they?

"Remember, remember the 5th of November. Send your kids out to play,
and they'll
come back an ember"

Billy's parents snuggled on the sofa. Oblivious for the moment of the
fact that they would
have every other night to snuggle on the sofa in peace.