Explosion. As soon as the sky flashed, very loud explosions
echoed around one after another. The place where I saw flashes
and heard the explosions was Iruma Base. It was a base of the
Self-Defense Force. You may think, what happened in this peaceful
Japan? Surely the explosions were loud. But don't worry. They
were not bombs. They were fireworks, one of the most beautiful
arts in the world. Especially the sights when I watched them for
the first time were very fascinating.
It was twelve or thirteen years ago when I was only six or
seven years old. About six p.m., I went with my family to the
summer festival which was held in my father's working place,
Iruma Base. There were many people, many chouchin
(lanterns) and many stalls, oko-nomiyakiya, takoyakiya,
kinayosuk-ui (scooping up goldfish till the scooping paper is
torn), toy stores and a haunted house. The haunted house was so
dreadful that I never went into it, even if my father said,
"Let's go with me." When I just played manage, I had my picture
taken. A few weeks later, the picture appeared in the local
newspaper. When I found it, I was delighted and proud of it. It
is a good memory. Though it is a good memory, it is not the
memory that always reminds me of summer. The memory is fireworks,
especially when I watched them for the first time.
When the time came at eight p.m., all lights were turned off
after two announcements. It said that the fireworks display would
start soon, so lights would be turned off. Then I lay down on the
ground with excitement to watch fireworks. Many people lay down
like me. A few minutes later the first firework was launched.
Huuuu ... pa...dogooooun.... In a moment, the biggest flower that
I had ever seen bloomed on the black canvas of the sky. And the
sky shook. My heart shook too. The shock with a loud explosion
and flash was comfortable for me, because I felt the shock made
my bad feelings and heat of summer be blown away.
The next firework was launched and a big flower bloomed again.
The size of a flower like a monster sunflower was really big.
Since I had never watched from just under it, I knew the
fireworks were bigger than the size of any which I had ever
seen.
In succession, fireworks were launched. They had a lot of
variety. For example, one exploded and flashed twice, and another
shined brilliantly, and another was like a willow tree, and
another spun like a rat, and so on. Those fireworks vanished
very, quickly. But they left sounds and little lights. Those
sounds and lights mixed with the next firework's explosion and
flash, making a dynamic picture in the sky. It was very
beautiful, because it was not just a picture. As time went by, it
changed the details as if flowers had grown and had died. That
was a work of art in the summer night sky. The picture (it was
suitable for calling it a movie) remained in my mind. I was
excited in the flower movie and seriously fascinated. I think
that was the first time I was fascinated seriously and I knew
what beauty was. So I remember the art in the summer night sky
every summer.
After one hour passed, the fireworks were over and I went home
with excitement. After I reached my home, I tried to write the
fascination and picture of the fireworks in my diary. But I could
not, because the fascination could not be expressed by words. So
I decided to keep them in my mind. This is my special memory in
summer.
Since then, I go to the summer festival in Iruma Base every
year. And whenever I hear fireworks' explosions, I become excited
and come to want to watch them to remind me of the fascination.
Everyone surely has some special memories with which they were
seriously fascinated, and new memories may be made in Iruma Base
this summer. And now, the summer is coming . . .
by Ryo Aoyagi
