Fireworks…

I had gone to bed already that night on Chinese New Year’s Eve hoping to be able to sleep through the inevitable turmoil that was yet to come. Wishful thinking! I was awakened by the explosive sounds of the firecrackers and fireworks in the neighbourhood…and all my efforts to go back to sleep again were unsuccessful. I glanced at the digital clock in my bedroom – it was just after 11.30 p.m. Good grief! They could not even wait till midnight.

It went on and on and on like it was never going to end, so I decided to go out to have a look.

There was smoke everywhere and the fireworks shot into the sky…

…exploding in an array of colours…

…amidst the ear-splitting sounds…like bombs in the two world wars rolled together and a third one thrown in for good measure.

The neighbours, most of them, were up and about – all busy as if trying to outdo one another to see whose was the loudest and the longest…

…leaving behind all that smoke lingering in the otherwise fresh and cool midnight air.

I refrain from passing any comments on the indulgence but I cannot imagine breathing in all those poisonous fumes – I’m sure that is much worse than all the smoke that a regular smoker inhales in one whole month! Well, I certainly had no intention of sticking around to be suffocated to death on the 1st day of Chinese New Year, so I went back to my warm, soft and comfortable bed…

Zzzzzzzz……