Fireworks

Night had fallen over the peaceful village as the fireworks crackled in the sky. The citizens skipped across the grass, racing towards the Event Plaza for the final show of the summer. It was a bittersweet feeling for the small town. Everyone always enjoyed the fireworks, but knowing it was the last fireworks show for the year made them all feel a little sad. They would all miss the fireworks until next August.

Falling behind the group of energetic citizens was the young mayor of the town. Hinako had her hands shoved in her pockets, walking through the brisk night air. The closer she got to the plaza, the louder the commotion got. She was a little amazed, almost all of the residents of Kiwana were out and about. It was rare to see them all out at one time, especially at this time of night. She always loved seeing her citizens coming together like this.

Hinako could have sworn she had only taken one step into the grassy plaza when a voice shouted at her. “Yo, mayor! Get over here!” Hinako could never mistake that voice; it was Julian’s voice. Julian was known for his smug personality, flirting with almost everyone in town. Everyone was used to it though, that was just Julian for you. Hinako laughed softly, making her way over to the blue unicorn who had called for her.

“How long have you been here?” she asked, pulling herself onto the town tree planter next to where Julian had been sitting. Hinako looked up at the large tree, had it really been that long since she had taken office? This tree had been planted the first day she arrived in Kiwana, the day she was forced into the mayor’s seat. She didn’t know what to expect back then. After all, she was only 18, just moving to a town filled with anthromorphic animals. She didn’t even know how to live on her own, nonetheless be a mayor. But everyone in the town had been a great help to her, especially her secretary Isabelle.

“I’ve been out here for a while, Kid Cat and I came together,” Julian answered, pointing a hoof at the other end of the planter. Hinako stole a glance, noticing Kid Cat and Olivia sitting together. Of course, there was no surprise there. They were the only two cats in town and since the moment Olivia moved in, Kid Cat had taken a shine to her. The mayor had always found it cute, the budding romance between the two cats. Sometimes she would wonder if it was unrequited love or if Olivia shared the smitten feeling. It was hard to read Olivia most days; she always had her nose so high in the air you’d think she would drown the next time it rained. She didn’t seem to have many other emotions. But Kid Cat saw something special the snooty kitty, whatever that was.

“Back with Olivia again, I see,” Hinako mused with a small laugh. Julian shared her laugh, mumbling something about Kid Cat being a love sick cat. Julian and Kid Cat were like best friends. They’d moved in only a couple days apart and had been neighbors ever since. They were almost inseparable. Hinako knew that Julian felt a bit of jealousy towards Olivia. He and Kid Cat had been inseparable, it couldn’t be enjoyable for him to have Olivia move in and come between them. He had to get used to sharing his best buddy. Out of the corner of her eye, Hinako saw Julian lean back, pressing his back against the stump of the large tree. As she looked over at Julian, she noticed Pinky and Ruby standing not very far away from where they were.

As usual, Ruby was in tears for some reason or another. Ruby was the town’s drama queen; she was always overreacting to something. It was her specialty. But that was why everyone loved Ruby, they all knew that Kiwana would be a whole really boring without hyperactive Ruby running around it. Hinako could vaguely hear the wailing of the albino rabbit.

“It’s not fair!” she cried, throwing a paper on the ground and sobbing into Pinky’s fur. No doubt Ruby had bought a fortune cookie from Redd and no doubt that fortune cookie had been another dud. The mayor felt sorry for Ruby sometimes. Every single time Redd came to town, he pulled the wool over Ruby’s eyes. As Hinako looked at the ground beneath Ruby and Pinky, she could see multiple papers littering the ground. Hinako shook her head softly, looking away from the pair. She thought that Ruby would learn after the first few cookies but then again, this is Ruby. She’s not one to give up easily. She may be a bit of an airhead, but Hinako had to commend her on her determination. Even if that determination did end up her sobbing loudly into the fur of her best friend.

At the other end of the Event Plaza, Hinako spotted Biskit and Merengue. Merengue was blushing as she held a small cake on a plate in front of Biskit, who appeared to be drooling over the cake. Standing beside them, an orange wolf laughed, no doubt making some silly joke about Merengue and Biskit being in love. Chief meant well, but sometimes he didn’t know when his jokes inappropriate and unneeded.

After looking around the plaza some more, it had occurred to Hinako that there were two residents missing from this party. Tammy and Paula were nowhere to be seen, but that didn’t surprise Hinako. Paula was still new to town, only having been there for a few weeks at most, but Tammy had instantly taken a shine to her. Tammy had always acted as the big sister to everyone in town, but she seemed to look up to Paula. It was almost like the two had adopted each other as true sisters, they had become inseparable ever since that day Paula had invited Tammy over for coffee.

Hinako sighed in content as she leaned back, allowing her hands to hit the cold stone of the tree planter as she looked up in the sky. The young brunette mayor had looked up just in time to see a heart shaped firework break into the sky, its pink tint lighting the otherwise dark sky. For a brief moment, she had wondered where Isabelle finds these kinds of fireworks, but she had decided long ago not to ask that puppy how she did things.

For the night, Hinako just wanted to enjoy the fireworks and the peaceful atmosphere in the sleepy town of Kiwana.