Deadly fireworks

It's 11:45 and I'm late.

I jump into my car, start the engine and drive so fast that all the buildings on each side of the road are blurry and seem like a long and endless wall of concrete, caging the night sky high above my head.

I park my car at 11:56 and arrive on the bank of the Hudson River at 11:58. I'm on time, what a relief !

I walk to the railing and lay my forearms on it. I take a minute to look up at the dark blue sky sprinkled with stars, breathing in the scent of water and hearing the loud grumble it makes while flowing under me. I can feel the moisture of the railing infiltrating my sleeves, welcoming its nice coldness on this torrid summer night as the concrete spills all the heat it has stored during the day out.

I slowly relax my body, listening to the many conversations held around me and look at the thousands of people who came like me to watch the fireworks, all so similar yet so different...

And eventually, finally, it begins.

The first shot is golden, bright and graceful.

It is alone, unique, and flies high, so high, before, without any warning, exploding.

One flare, one explosion, one bang.

It's beautiful.

Then starts the real show.

There are plenty of them. Dozens, hundreds, thousands even ! They are red, blue, green, purple, and every other color that my eyes can register. Some are big, others little. High and lower. There are so many. Too many.

There are so many flares everywhere that I don't know where to look anymore. So many colors and so much light that I'm afraid that I will become blind. I try closing my eyes but I can't look away from the sky, from what will be my end.

But all of this is nothing, absolutely, utterly nothing compared to the sound.

One flare makes enough sound to be heard hundreds of meters away. So when there are 10, 30, 60 of them at the same time, and when half of them are less high than the short buildings standing behind us, it becomes a literal nightmare.

Explosions. Thousands of them. That's all I can hear. That and the ringing in my ears that becomes louder and louder in seconds.

I was scared to become blind because of the light. Now it's on a whole new level.

I want to rip my ears off my head and throw them in the water below me. I want to jump over the railing at a whole, and take the crowd with me to save them too, to save them from this torture.

I'm not afraid of being deaf, I want it. No. I need it.

I need it to stop. I need it so bad that, in that moment, I am ready to give up everything I own for it to happen. For this hell to cease.

Then, the nightmare starts to fade.

In the sky, the sound dies down, but in my head it's still there, ringing.

I can faintly see the Final appearing, our nation's flag illuminating the sky in all its glory, but I don't pay attention to it anymore.

Finally, the silence returns.

My body collapses to the ground and tears start to run down my cheeks. My head hits the hard and burning concrete. Darkness slowly engulfs me. I finally relax in this calm, perfect silence, this dark void. Relieved that the torture ceased and finally in peace, I let the darkness take me.

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Rumors say that in the future, fireworks were never fired above the Hudson River again, as to honor this poor man who died from a heart attack on July the 4th at Midnight.

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Done ! Well what did you think of this first story ? Did you enjoy it ? Please tell me your feedback in the comment.

Fun fact : this is actually how I feel when I watch fireworks because my senses are very sensitive, I just imagined what would happen if that was exaggerated and killed the protagonist.

Have a nice day !