Fireflies in the Garden

         SHRIEEK! BANG!  Sizzle… Sizzle… Sizzle…

         Jessica loved watching the fireworks but jumped every time she heard them explode.  Usually she only got to see them from a distance but this year the neighbors were setting them off in their backyard, which didn’t make Daddy very happy.

         “Don’t you like fireworks, Daddy?” the seven-year old asked.

         Daddy shrugged as he scooped ice cream into the blender.  “Sure, honey, I like fireworks.  It’s just been so dry this summer I’m worried the sparks could start a fire,” he explained.

         Jessica saw the pretty colors sparkling in the sky.  “Should I not watch then?”

         “I didn’t mean that, honey,” Daddy apologized, dropping a cherry on the top of each milkshake.  “Let’s go out on the patio and watch them together.”

         Jessica grinned up at her father and reached for his hand.  Once she was settled in the chaise lounge, Daddy handed her a milkshake.

         Sizzle… Sizzle… Sputter… SHRIEEK! BANG!  Sizzle… Sizzle…

         The fireworks seemed so close Jessica thought she could reach out and touch them.  “Look at all the sparkles, Daddy,” she cried.  “They look like fireflies in the garden.”

         “They do,” he laughed, getting into the festive spirit.  Father and daughter continued to watch long after the milkshakes were finished.  “Had enough fireworks?” Daddy asked when the big finale was over.

         Jessica yawned and nodded.  “I think so.”

         A few stray bangs echoed through the neighborhood as Jessica got ready for bed.  “G’night, Daddy, I love you.”

         Daddy pulled the covers up to his daughter’s shoulders and planted a kiss on her forehead.  “Sleep tight, honey,” he whispered, turning on the nightlight.  “See you in the morning.”

         Jessica soon drifted off to sleep but was awakened later that night by the barking of a dog.  She stretched and rubbed her eyes, not used to being up so late.  Through her sheer bedroom curtains she saw a few sparks of light float past.  Fireflies?

         Pulling the curtains aside, she peered out the window to the garden below.  The bushes and flowers glittered with dots of light.

         “Daddy, Daddy!” Jessica cried, jumping on the end of his bed.  “There’s fireflies in the garden; lots of them!”

         Daddy opened one eye and looked at his daughter.  Pulling on his robe, he looked out the window and gasped.  “Those aren’t fireflies!” he shouted.  “The plants are on fire!”

         He grabbed his cell phone from the nightstand and plucked his frantic daughter from the end of his bed just as the smoke alarm started to blare.  Safely outside and across the street he saw smoke pouring out from the eves and billowing up into the midnight sky.

         Jessica sobbed into his shoulder as he called 911 and waited for the fire trucks.  “It looked like fireflies in the garden, Daddy.  It only looked like fireflies.”

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