Bear Heart (Book 2)

Chapter 14

14. Sparks and Fireworks

Night had fallen, and the smell of burgers and hot dogs filled the air. Everyone was having a good time, eating and laughing. However, I would constantly get lost in my thoughts. I kept thinking about what Sonia told me. Could I live knowing that he won’t have his memories? Even worse, the realization that I interfered when I brought him back to life. The weight of what I had done was taking its toll. What had I done? My heart sped, my breathing grew quicker, and I began to feel lightheaded. “Clair?”

I felt a hand place itself on my shoulder. Lifting my head, I saw golden eyes looking down at me with concern. “Are you okay? You don’t look so good. Do you need water?” Kenai put a hand to my forehead. “You’re a little hot.” As I looked at him, I began to feel myself calm down. “No, I’m fine. Sorry for worrying you.” He smiled. “Take it easy, okay?” I nodded.

Suddenly, boom! A blue firework short across the sky. More followed, and before long, the sky was filled with fireworks, their colors lighting up the night. Everyone began to cheer and hoot. “Hey, wanna go onto the roof and watch them?” He asked in a loud voice. It was hard to hear over the loud screeches and pops of the fireworks. “We can probably see the fireworks show all the way in Palmer if we climb up!”

“But I’m kind of scared of heights,” I replied. “Are you scared of everything? Come on, it’ll be great!” I breathed a sigh. “You better not let me fall!” I tell him. He ran around the corner of the house, dragging a very long ladder behind him. I look around and find Sonia and Alex near the table of food. I walked over to them. “Hey, Kenai and I are going to go up onto the roof and watch the fireworks, want to climb up with us?” Sonia shook her head. “You two go on ahead,” Alex said, “we’re going to eat some more.”

I laughed. With that, I walked towards Kenai, who had somehow managed to place the giant ladder against the house. He waved me to follow, and so up we climbed. The roof was relatively leveled, so it wouldn’t be hard to sit on.

The sky was decorated in booming lights. Reds, blues, yellows, whites, and greens filled the sky with an incredible glow. You could see fireworks for miles. It looked beautiful. “I love it up here!” I said. Kenai laughed, grabbing my hand and leading me to the other side of the roof that faced town. We sat, letting our legs dangle off the edge.

For a while, we just sat in silence, enjoying the view. It was nice, having this moment. “I’m not patriotic, but I really like the Fourth of July. I love all of the fireworks.” Kenai looked over to me with a smile. “Why do you like them so much?” I thought for a minute, swinging my feet back and forth. “I think it’s the colorful glow that they make in the darkness. I think that’s why I love the northern lights, too.”

“I’ve never seen the northern lights. What are they like?”

“They’re like… like river of dancing colors. I think they might be the best thing about living in Alaska. You haven’t had a chance to see them since you came around summer time, but wait until the winter. They decorate the sky almost every night. We take trips during the equinoxes to go see them. You should come with us. Something about the equinox just makes it feel more magical.”

“I really look forward to it.” He gave me a big smile. As I looked at him, the feeling of guilt started to overcome me. Did I do the right thing by bringing him back? Am I doing the right thing by deciding to let his memories stay suppressed? This whole time, I’ve been meddling with his life simply to make myself feel better. No one ever asked him what he wanted. He never had a choice. If he knew, would he be happy about what I did? Would he want his memories back? Or would he be angry? Would he hate me?

“Can I ask you something?” My voice was uncertain and timid. He nodded, his eyes still fixed on the sky. “This is something I saw in a movie a little while ago…” I lied. “Say that you died, but your best friend wanted to bring you back to life, only you would be brought back with a different body. Would you want them to bring you back?” He tilted his head slightly to the side, thinking. “How did I die?” He asked. “Someone murdered you,” I said immediately, “and it was for no reason. You were innocent.” He took a deep breath.