“When, Mammie?” Sally fidgeted on Bella’s lap. Bony butt on bony thighs on a hard bench. It hurt, but Bella ignored the discomfort.

“Any second now,” she responded. The crowd’s hum amplified the thumping in her chest. Heart to ribs. Heart in throat.

A rumbling started. Imperceptible at first, then a rattling that shook the ground, and a moment later, sound.

Two beams shot up. Lit the night sky.

“Goodbye, Eric,” Bella mouthed, tears overflowing. She held Sally so tightly that the child protested. “Find hope, my love. Find life. Then come back for the rest of us.”

For Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers

Photo prompt © Roger Bultot