It was late August, decades ago. The night wind played tag with the trees. Leaves whispered secrets to one another and the slowly darkening sky listened in with twinkling eyes.
Settling into the old lawn chair, I lifted my eyes to look at the blanket of summer stars above the house. The entire night sky was colored with a vivid pink glow. Streaks of red, trailing off like kite tails, blurred into shades of ripe peaches and flamingo coral.
Cotton candy colors splashed the sky, tingeing the world with their gentle glow. I held my breath, dumbstruck. I had never seen anything like this.
I went inside to turn on the radio, excited and afraid of what I might hear. Radio in hand, I returned to the porch and eased back into my chair. I looked up and stifled a gasp of delight.
“...
and we have been told by the experts at the St. Louis Science Center that the red sky we are experiencing is the result of the Northern Lights, which are very rarely seen in this part of the country. There is no explanation for this phenomenon, and its occurrence is a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle.
We suggest you sit back and enjoy...
” I wanted to see Mom. Something this magical needed to be shared. If she was afraid, I wanted to be there to reassure her.
If she was excited, I wanted to be there to be excited with her. There would never be another night just like this; I wanted to share it with my best friend. I could see her long before my car turned into her driveway.
She stood motionless on the sidewa.