Tick, tick, tick, tick – BOOM. Tick, tick, tick, tick… Shots are being fired rapidly into the air. Apparently this has been going on since before I got here: no warnings, just BOOM. People are running around with no direction, shoving everyone in their way. I push through the massive crowd as another boom echoes in the distance, followed by a girl’s screams. My heart quickens as I push through faster, just trying to find a way out. I shouldn’t have come out today. I knew it, I had a bad feeling about this.
I’ve escaped the pushing crowd, I’ve now found my way to the front of another crowd. Burning piles of autumn leaves are scattered about and the smell of burning wood has taken over the clean air. I can see flashes of mobile phone lights flickering in the dark, not knowing where I’m supposed to be. BOOM. I wince, covering my head with my arms. The booms have died down now, but the screams are still the loudest – especially the high pitched ones from children crying for their parents. If only I could help them, but I have to help myself.
Isn’t she here yet? The reason I’m out here in the first place. We really could have met elsewhere, since she wanted to go on a date so badly. We could have gone up to Lake Mercy, it’s quieter there, we could have sat in the garden beside it. But no – here we are. I’m trapped in this chaos.
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Ding. I pull out my phone from my coat after feeling the vibration. “Meet me at the bonfire”. I shove the phone back into my pocket. Now she’s texting me? I’ve been out in the cold, navigating aimlessly. She knows I don’t like crowds. I’m trying to work up the courage to still meet her, but honestly I’m tempted to turn back around.
Thankfully, the crowd has thinned. I can see the bonfire. I take my hands out of my pocket, following the light, swinging them back and forth as I quicken my pace, panting, trying to walk fast but not wanting to run. As I lift my legs off the ground and get closer to the huge light source, I look up – BOOM. Crackle crackle.
I spot her in the distance… now 7 feet away from me, wearing her short puffer jacket, jeans, and heels. Behind me, the crowd is cheering, drinking and laughing loudly. I take a second glance at her full figure; the bonfire behind illuminates her beautifully. I walk closer, slowing down now as my hands slip back into my pockets. My earlier panic and disorientation dissipates. The light slowly casts on my face, and I feel the warmth of the fire close to her. My mouth parts open instinctively as I take my right hand out of my pocket to wave. “Oh hey.”
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