Diya ran through the market street, pointing at rows of glowing clay lamps.
Everything sparkled. She thought, This is the best night ever!
Her family laughed as she wove between bundles of marigold flowers.
At home, she climbed onto a stool to hang a paper lantern beside her mother.
The whole house lit up. She grinned at the glow.
At dawn, she walked into the temple courtyard with her grandmother, holding a small brass oil lamp.
Hundreds of flames pulsed together in the cool morning air.
Someone splashed pink powder on her shoulder. Her cousins laughed and chased each other through clouds of yellow and green dust.
That evening, she sat on the courtyard steps with her whole family.
She whispered that today felt magical.