The sky was dark, studded with pinpricks of light surrounding a pale face with craterous eyes and a mouth that was almost smiling.
A sizzling sound broke the silence as a firework was launched from the neighbours’ driveway. With a pop magenta streaked the sky and paled the stars. The magenta faded into the darkness and another pop sprinkled the sky with green lights that multiplied with small pops. Laughter floated from the front of the house, harmonizing with the sounds of the fireworks.
I took a deep breath of the night air, cool as it calmed my senses and stilled the night. The world was at peace, not even the cars speeding down Royal York could ruin the moment. They added to the night’s music, harmonizing with the chirps of the crickets hidden in the tall grasses surrounding the trampoline.
There was a pause in the fireworks as someone lit another one. I could hear yelled warnings to get away from the firework as the sizzling noise started again. It shot up into the air in a thin beam of light and burst into a circle. The tiny flecks of light kept bursting into smaller and smaller circles until they were too small to be seen.
The wind blew, ruffling the trees behind me. Leaves spiralled down, dancing and swaying as the wind kept them up. They were like little dancers to the music of the night.
A shout for a final firework interrupted my reverie and I waited for the sizzling sound. This one didn’t sizzle, it sounded like what you’d imagine light to sound like as it shot around the world. When it hit the air it popped, louder than all of the others and sent a spray of sparks glittering in the sky in a star-like fashion.
As the wind blew once more, the song stopped.
The world stilled.
My heartbeat was the only sound in the stillness of the night.