The Nightmare at Notting Hill Carnival

Marko 2

"Mark-ooo" sung Jessica, wrapping her hands around my left arm and hugging it tight. We had wandered into one of the crowded side alleys, where every centimetre that could be filled was actually and properly filled. The DJ, a skinny individual with a razor-sharp spiky hairstyle was in the centre of the scene, with hundreds of people jumping up and down around him, as if he were the epicentre of a storm, sending tidal wave after tidal wave across a mighty sea. The music was fun; not too dubstep or metal, more of a feel-good dance anthem. The music seemed to seep inside you, building a strong desire to dance from within your very core. I started to want to lose all inhibitions and worries, and just dance! And that is exactly what happened: we joined the crowd.

We stayed that way for hours: jumping up and down, flailing our limbs from side to side and smiling, simply. The more dancing we did, the closer the music drew us towards the stage. It was like we had earned the right to be closer to the action by the amount of dedication we had placed towards the dance. Now all we had to do was look up and see the shining and sweating face of DJ Electrixeez. I had never heard of him before until this day, but right now, in this very moment, he was all I knew and all I wanted to know. I never realized I could have such a good time just dancing away, as if every kick or punch in the air was another demon of my life being shot away and lost forever. I never knew dancing could be this amazing.

I looked to my left. There was Jessica, lost in the moment as much as I was. I beamed at her, with a smile packed with all the emotion I could provide. She smiled back, her lips stretched as far out to her cheeks as her face would allow.

I knew it time. And I had no hesitation, no worries of the outcome, no fear. I kissed her, straight on the mouth. And she kissed me back, and the emotion I gave her exploded between our kiss, running and racing through every dimension of my body and existence, and I knew, in that moment in time, I would do anything for her.

When our lips finally broke apart, it wasn't as if we properly disconnected. The bond was still there. The bond of emotional connection never wavered; something unbreakable and powerful that I had never ever experience before. I felt her hand grip mine tightly. And I knew she never wanted to let go. I never wanted her to either.

The music stopped. DJ Electrixeez had finished his final song for the night, breaking his feel-good waves and waking up the crowd from their revelry. Everyone began to dissipate at that moment, shuffling out of the sub-section or just standing there chatting and wondering where all the time slipped away.

All everyone around us saw were two people holding hands. Nothing more, nothing less. They didn't know the intense life-changing moment that had occurred midway through the dance. They had no idea that a new dawn had broken upon the horizon of our lives and that was all we could think about. It's funny how different conceptions of people can be. It makes "don't judge a book by its cover" have an even more powerful and strong meaning than it has already. But I didn't mind that no one noticed and that eternal passion had struck amongst two in a crowd of thousands. All I really cared about from that moment onwards was Jessica.We strolled out of the alleyway with fixed beams plastered across our shining faces. Our happiness, the song, and our love beated onwards in our mind and soul.