History In The Making

Chapter 1: House Of The Past

Nathan jumped at the loud bang of fireworks exploding all around him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't bring himself to enjoy them as much as everyone else seemed to. It was the noise, the noise bothered him, and he felt like he would go into cardiac arrest every time an explosion went off. Nathan's father, Stefan, laughed at him every time he jolted at the noise. "You're 18 years old", he would say. "How can you be afraid of fireworks?"

Truth be told, Nathan was afraid of most things. He had been afraid of the dark until he was approaching seventeen, and he had a phobia for many day to day things. His fear of spiders was arguably one of the worst. One day he had refused to sleep in his room because he had found the tiniest of spiders near his bed, and he had conducted a probing search of his bedroom for hours the next day. But nothing scared Nathan more than fighting; fighting and war. He was an avid reader for all things to do with history, and the only novels he ever read had to be somehow related to the past, particularly war. His room back home in Tennessee had a bookshelf that reached the ceiling, and almost spanned an entire wall. It was full of historical books, especially biographies of major figures in history. Anyone who entered his room might think that he had an 'unhealthy' obsession with history. And this was the major reason for which war frightened him so much. The more he read, the more he was both afraid of it, and grateful that he had been born in a relatively peaceful time.

At this present time, however, Nathan was stuck here, on a dreadful looking pier in the heart of New York City, watching balls of sparkly light explode all around him. It was the fourth of July, America's Independence Day, and Nathan's father had dragged him along to see the famous firework display in NYC. Yes, this meant that Nathan and Stefan had to drive 12 hours to see some boring fireworks. At least, that was how Nathan saw it. His father was overjoyed. The delight on his face was undeniable, and Nathan could see a big smile through his father's thick, greying beard. As Nathan looked at his father, a middle-aged man with a very square face and defined features, he wondered how a German immigrant could be so passionate about an American holiday such as the Fourth of July. Stefan Weber had come to the U.S. with his family in the late 1980's from Germany with Nathan's mother, taken in by 'the American dream' and a thriving U.S economy, leaving behind his father, Josef, whose wife had left him shortly after having Stefan. Nathan did not understand how his father differed so much from his grandfather, who had fought for the Nazi's in WW2, in relatively close circles with Adolf Hitler.

"Do we really have to stay here much longer, Dad?" pleaded Nathan, while his father looked like he was gazing upon eternal happiness. He looked around, and still could not believe how so many families could stay on a pier for hours, watching explosion after explosion. His bewilderment was interrupted by his father.

"Nath, we didn't drive here twelve hours to watch the fireworks for half an hour. Come on, have some fun!"

"My thoughts exactly," Nathan muttered to himself. "I'm going for a drive, if that's okay with you."

His father was too absorbed by the display to notice Nathan's request. So he decided that silence meant consent, and started walking toward their SUV, with the hope that there would be something more interesting than a firework display to see in New York.

Nathan decided that his father was going to be sitting at the display for a lot longer, so he drove around the city, trying to find somewhere that would peak his interest. Before he knew it, he was on the outskirts of the city, and in the distance he could see some sort of national park. 'A bit of nature will do me good,' he thought, as he drove up to the entrance. Nathan felt uneasy as he walked into the entrance, as it was almost 11 at night, and his fear of the dark loomed in the not too distant past. However, he built up the courage and walked in.