The February fireworks were melting in the sky. I stared at the distant sparks and yearned of dying with the fire. I walked reluctantly back inside the orphanage hoping that tomorrow’s New Year's Eve fireworks would rekindle my spirit; if only Nana would let me see them up close.
“LIA!!!!,” Nana shouted. This blood curdling scream of Nana’s hadn’t ceased to make me recoil everyday when I got home. Nana shouted, “I told you to do the dishes!!! As the head of this orphanage, I demand you to do them immediately!!! At least try to make yourself useful with that one leg of yours!” The other younger girls snickered. My face burned as I bit my lip.
“Sorry, Nana. I’ll do it now, but can I ask you a favor?”
Nana let out a prolonged sigh. “What do you want?”
“Tomorrow, the county is holding the biggest New Year's fireworks yet. I need to go, Nana...Please.”
“Ha! You think you could get there on your own? Forget it!”
I stifled a tear and dragged my foot with my rusty crutches towards the big steel sink. The ice cold water came running down my hands.
I looked out the window and saw a flash of light from the headlights of an oncoming car going too fast. My head spun as I experienced the worst moment of my life again. The red Jeep was speeding at 100 miles per hour towards my family’s white Honda. I squeezed my new orange dress as the deafening crash of the impact sent my parents flying. The doctors said I was lucky I wasn’t ejected from the car, but now, the word “lucky” has a negative connotation.
Throughout the 9 years I’ve been here, I’ve seen hundreds of parents come to the orphanage and pick the cutest children. The few friends I’ve had have been taken away from me.
“LIAA!!!!!,” Nana screamed again, “Do the laundry when you’re done! I can’t do everything alone!” I clenched my fists and took my anger out on the dirty dishes, scrubbing until they were a spotless white. “Yes, Nana,” I said. I couldn’t disobey Nana. She was my source of food and shelter. I couldn’t afford to lose that. I can’t be employed or married. Who would want me when you could have millions of other women who had a total of four limbs?
After doing the dishes, folding the laundry, taking out the garbage, cleaning the bathroom, and putting the other girls to bed, I went to my room. It was a large storage closet that smelled of sweat and dirt. Nana never came in here, afraid of being contaminated by my germs. I carefully laid down on my bed to avoid breaking another bedpost and stared at the ceiling. They were filled with drawings that I had drawn since I was 6. I see the girl in an orange dress falling off a cliff into Nana's hands. There were girls surrounding me in every drawing. They were taunting me on their glittery high heels as I wore one dirty sneaker. There were unicorns and rainbows drawn on the Fridays I could have 2nd servings of Wonton soup. I stood up from my bed and drew spikes and thorns onto Nana's hands with a black crayon. I erased the little girl and instead drew her again, pulling herself up above the edge of the cliff.
The next morning, I woke up early. Fortunately, everyone was still asleep. I packed my jacket and stuffed my bag with food. I knew where to go.  The town had been advertising the fireworks all week and maps that showed routes from our town to the festival were all over the ground. I took all the money I gathered from lemonade stands and from the streets of town. I took my crutches and started on my way. If I went at the rate I was going at, I could get to the fireworks site by late afternoon.
The fireworks were supposed to start in 5 minutes. The traditional Chinese dragons were stomping through the streets and red, gold lined packets with coins inside of them were being handed out. My mind was racing because I’d never seen fireworks up close. I set down my crutches and sat on the grass. I jolted as I heard the fireworks explode above my head. Without even looking, I knew what the show looked like. Nothing too brilliant in the beginning. I looked up. Much to my surprise, I saw electric colors of red, blue, green, and purple. I heard gasps of delight around me as one orange spark disappeared and came alive again, stretching and swirling across the sky. It soared higher than the other fireworks, making the stars look like dust. It kept climbing until it reached the moon.