Beach Bonfire, Outer Banks

“Beach bonfire. Outer Banks, the summer after graduation, before everyone scatters. Driftwood flames that burn blue and green from the salt. Sparks climbing into the dark and vanishing into stars. Jake playing guitar — badly, always badly, but tonight nobody cares. Sand in everything. Salt on your lips from the swim earlier. Someone passes a bottle. The waves are right there, just past the firelight. The future is in two months and nobody mentions it. You're all pretending this can last. The fire pops. A log collapses. Someone adds another. Keep it going. Keep it going.”