I choose to believe that every small burst of fireworks that lit up the night sky never truly died — they rose and became the stars of tonight. Only the people who set them off have long since scattered into the vast sea of strangers, with no knowing where they went.

I ran wildly through the dense, hurrying crowd, desperate to find a face like mine — someone who shared my fate. In her I might see a reflection of my own life, a bearing to follow, so I wouldn’t feel so lost about where to go.