Sparkler Snapshots

XLIV | A Face Full of Firecrackers

"A good fortune may forebode a bad luck, which may in turn disguise a good fortune." — A Chinese proverb

Date: February 16th, 2018

Occasion: Chinese New Year

Country: China

Disclaimer: This chapter was written as a prize for my Wattpad Block Party giveaway winner, legendaky. She herself, Aky, is the main character in this chapter.

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XLIV | A Face Full of Firecrackers

If you ask anyone what their definition of a bad day is, having a string of firecrackers explode in their face and being cheated out by a low life merchant probably fits.

A bumble of excited chatter drifted through the air as Aky stopped short at the side of the road, glancing around to see if her surroundings seemed even vaguely familiar. Nope. No luck. She'd been stumbling around Beijing for an hour after she hopped off the plane that flew her here in the first place. Taking the Miley Cyrus lyrics quite literally, Aky arrived in a thin navy cardigan, which she soon realized was a mistake, as a winter chill instantly crept up her bones when she stepped out the airport.

She was just beginning to appreciate how much easier it was to travel on a plane than trying to walk around on her lonesome. The thick casing of planes meant she was insulated from the negative billion degrees of coldness that attacked the aircraft's exterior. All she needed to do on a plane was sit tight, relax, grab a book to read, and ignore the agonized wails of her bank account as thousands of dollars were channeled into the cramped economy class seat she'd been squished in for approximately fourteen hours. Even so, it's better than the alternative she was currently facing.

Finding places was never her forté. She frequently relied on Google maps to guide her through American streets, but she totally forgot about the ban on almost all Western social media in China. What a bummer. She didn't know how she was going to survive without Wattpad for two weeks. At least the West let her procrastinate homework by reading Sherlock Holmes on Kindle. Also, Aky had already dumped her luggage into a family friend's car when she left the airport an hour ago, who promised to drop it off at her family residence, but she hadn't thought to ask for a ride from him. Besides, said friend seemed to be in a rush at the time, glasses askew and tornado hair sticking out in every direction. Aky didn't want to be a hindrance to him.

Backing away from the crowd that was swelling in the streets, she drew her phone out of her pocket and opened WeChat, the most prevalent form of communication in a land without Facebook Messenger. She thumbed the edge of her phone for a moment, wondering how to phrase her question. SOS fam, Beijing is a freaking labyrinth? Dear mother, where shalt we dine this fine evening? Dad, save me?

None of those seemed to fit the occasion.

Aky knew the restaurant which her family decided to dine at for Chinese New Year was allegedly somewhere in the heart of Beijing, but that was the only information she'd been given, since her parents falsely assumed that she could just apparate to a restaurant she'd never been to. For this reason, she decided on asking her dad for directions through text. If she had the route, she was sorted. Apple maps should work, even in China.

She sent the message with a cute sticker to distract her dad from her panicked state, before stashing her phone in her pocket and glancing around to observe the celebrations around her. Having been ushered off the plane and onto the streets by a herd of stoic businessmen, she'd barely managed a peek up until then. A wave of red greeted her eyes, as it always did around this time of year.