Walking Dollar Bills

Chapter 17: A Proper Prologue (2/3)

"Gumbo, why are you telling me this?" asks Amara.

"Because I have a bad feeling that I'm not going to make it back home alive" replies Gumbo.

Amara furrows her brow and studies the expensive jewelry in Gumbo's arm that symbolizes a priceless love for her best-friend.

"I want you to hold this for me. If I don't survive, then at least an emblem of my love can still comfort Yoko" says Gumbo.

Amara reaches for the diamond bracelet, then pulls her arm back.

"I can't. I want you to survive, so you can give it to her yourself."

Gumbo furiously shakes his head. Amara detects a pain inside of him that she has never encountered before. Amara knows Gumbo as the overwhelmingly optimistic friend that always knows a path out of the darkness or keeps an umbrella for those days where a dark clouds seems to hover above the head. She is in an unfamiliar emotional territory.

"Please," Gumbo drops to his knees and bows his head.

"Amara I will beg you if I have to! I don't care if I look like a groveling dog. I can't shake this omen. The stench of death is on me. I reek of it!" shouts Gumbo.

The hot sting of an open palm silences Gumbo.

"Stop it! I can't see you like this Gumbo!" says Amara.

She places her soft hand over the cold diamond bracelet.

"I'll hold this for you, but you better not use me as an excuse to throw your life away. If so," Amara holds her tongue.

"I'll never forgive you" she finishes.

Amara grabs the diamond bracelet and tucks it inside of her backpack. Gumbo climbs to his feet and wraps Amara in a tight bear hug. Amara rests her head on his shoulder and whispers into his ear.

"How did you afford this anyway?"

"I've been saving my meager checks since the first day I set my eyes on Yoko. This diamond bracelet is more than just a metaphor for my love, it is the product of my labor" says Gumbo.

The two pull away. Gumbo allows his mind to swim in Amara's blue eyes before uttering his next words,

"Labor isn't so bad, when it's done for someone you love."

***

A crowd of over a thousand citizens from Mao country fill a spacious outdoor arena. Smiles and laughter spread throughout the crowd as people chomp on fluffy and pink cotton candy or quench their thirst with a large cup of lemonade. In the center of the arena, firework technicians busily transport supplies to and from the large display of fireworks, organized on a beautiful stage. A gorgeous display of colors ranging from blue, red, green, orange, and purple, alternate their glow across the stage. Two figures sit in the nosebleeds of the arena with popcorn in their hands.

Amara takes a bite of popcorn and hungrily grabs a second handful. Byrd laughs and kicks her feet over the divider in front of her. She watches the jovial expressions of the crowd and feels a wave of contentment flow through her.

"Don't choke. I'd hate for you to miss the show" says Byrd.

"Sorry. I've gotten so used to going without food that I forgot how good eating it makes me feel" replies Amara.

Amara wipes her hands with a napkin. The lights inside of the arena fade out leaving only the rainbow of colors on stage and the natural light of the night as the only illuminating forces in the arena. The boisterous crowd settles into a hush as people take their seats and fix their gaze on the assortment of fireworks destined to be ignited and flashed across the starlit sky.