Firework

It's time for a New Year story. I wrote it two years ago and I would like to share it here.

I would not have written this text without

priceless help of Bob Cable (USA),

Boomer20031 (Canada) and Kayec (Australia).

The New Year celebration is a great time. This is time of hurry-scurry, gifts, surprises and fireworks. I have one New Year story. To begin with, my aunt lives with her daughter (my cousin) and her grandson. To make a long story short, there are two women and one child. They had been living in a small apartment with one bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. This story happened when my cousin once removed was about six or seven. My aunt decided to make him a New Year surprise. 

 
She went to the street market to buy some fireworks. (It was a time when such dangerous things could be bought right in a street). She asked, “Give me, please, a kind of fireworks that could be used inside”. Personally, I’ve never seen fireworks for using inside, except a sparkler. But my aunt was a pretty old woman and this thought didn’t come into her mind. The seller gave her without any words a huge tube.. I think it was one of the most expensive things he had. My aunt got confused, “Are you sure this thing is allowed to be used in my little flat,” she asked. The seller replied, “Why not? This is great one. There are 12 shots inside. This firework looks gorgeous. You will be very impressed.” There was only a Chinese text and a picture of beautiful fireworks on that tube. She paid for it and went home. “You shouldn’t only hold it in your hands. Put this thing into an empty bottle, ” the seller yelled after her.

Having come home, my aunt began to prepare to meet the New Year. She and my cousin carried a table from the kitchen to the living room and set it in front of the TV-set. They cooked a lot of food, they even baked a cake, and laid the table. They also set an empty bottle with the tube in the center of the room. After that they started looking forward to midnight. At last, it was 11.55 p.m. They filled their wine glasses with sparkling wine and, when our president finished his new year's speech, they lit a wick. A few seconds later the fireworks began. A fiery sphere flew out the tube and smashed into the ceiling. The room filled with thick smoke. The seller had not deceived my aunt, they were really impressed. The fiery sphere fell on the floor and burned a hole in the carpet. The first person to duck under the table was the boy. The second blow happened in a few seconds. My aunt and cousin also hurried under the table. The fiery spheres were falling here and there. My aunt was counting the hits and my cousin sometimes crept out to extinguish some fires. After the eighth or ninth blow they were hardly able to see each other because of the smoke. My cousin tried to open the window but was attacked by the crazy firework and she had to hide under the table. Their apartment resembled a battlefield. At least that firework gave out. And again, the seller didn’t deceive them there were twelve shots on the dot. When the ‘gorgeous fireworks’ finished they got out of their shelter, aired the flat, cleared the table and went to bed. The boy who planned ‘not to sleep during all New Year’s night’ fell asleep in a few minutes. The celebration was over.

I visited them the next evening. Twelve black dots on the ceiling, twelve holes in the carpet and a specific smell told me what a powerful firework it was. My aunt, who returned to that street market the next day, saw another vendor, selling mandarins. “Lady, buy these tasty, ripe mandarins,” he called. “No way, I still want to live,” she replied and hurried away.

December

2012