Remember, Remember...

Melissa loved the colour purple more than anything in the world. Everything she owned was purple or had purple on it. Purple walls, purple bed covers and, of course, her favourite toy Isabella; a small teddy bear with purple buttons running down its chest. One place she could see as much purple as she wanted was the village firework display. She loved gazing up at the stars and watching the fireworks exploding releasing purple sparks and lighting up the night sky. She loved the Catherine wheel; its spinning armature firing out purple sparks all around was hypnotic to young Melissa.1

Melissa was ready for the cold November night, her mummy made her wear her big purple jacket to keep her warm. Melissa and her mummy, as well as the hundreds of others, were like moths to a flame as they swarmed the once quiet park to watch the event. As they walked hand in hand through the large cast iron gates they could feel the chilling air nipping at their cheeks turning them rosy red. Amusement rides and toy stalls had all been set up, their happy-go-lucky tunes blaring loudly. It was to be a good night for everyone; they were set to leave with a smile fixed on their faces. At one of the many amusement stands, Melissa pointed at the big cuddly bear hanging from the roof but her mummy shook her head, as much as she loved her daughter it would become another needless accessory that Melissa didn’t need. After wandering around aimlessly, Melissa was getting hungry. At the candy floss stand Melissa pointed at the purple candy floss and said,
“That one please.” She smiled showing the few teeth she had. Melissa and her mum walked off after paying.2

A man's deep voice boomed over the speakers announcing that the fireworks were going to be ten minutes late, Melissa had no idea what the man said but by the expression on her mum's face the announcement wasn’t a good thing. Melissa smiled trying to cheer up her mummy. Five minutes passed and Melissa was getting very tired now. Her mum had spotted some friends, they were happily chatting away about clothes, shoes, and that gay guy on Big Brother. Melissa had given up and wanted to leave until she heard a small bang to her right. Her eyes widened in fear then relaxed as she noticed some older boys playing with a small toy that gave off a shower of purple sparks. She watched another toy fizzle and spark before it exploded releasing a purple sparks into the air. She tugged and pulled on her mum's arm, she wanted to go and play with the big boys but her mum was uninterested. Melissa broke free of her mum's grip and embarked on her own journey. She slowly traversed the marshy grass, wading through the crowds. She saw the boys put down another toy and it started to fizzle shooting out golden sparks. A small grin appeared on Melissa’s face as she toddled, arms outstretched, towards the toy. She was on autopilot and nothing was going to stop her. She only needed to take a few small steps but, for a small girl like Melissa, it seemed like an eternity. After a few more steps she had arrived.
She picked up the long cylindrical toy and gazed at it as the sparks shooting out the top slowly died down. The shooting sparks lit up Melissa’s face. She turned and began running back to her mum yelling,
“Mummy! Mummy!”
Melissa’s mum turned, only just noticing that Melissa was no longer at her side but running towards her with a firework in her hand. Her eyes widened realising the extent of what was happening, or what was going to happen. Melissa’s mum ran towards Melissa yelling her name and commanding her to drop the firework. Melissa couldn’t hear her mum over the loud music blaring out the speakers and kept running. Then the sparks shooting out the fireworks disappeared and less than a second later Melissa’s young smiling face disappeared in a shower of purple sparks and smoke. Melissa’s mum collapsed to the ground yelling her daughter's name as tears streamed down her face. As the smoke cleared it became all too real, Melissa was no longer running towards her mum, instead she lay lifeless on the marshy grass. What had started as a fun night out for hundreds of families turned into the worst nightmare the small rural village had ever seen.