| Fireworks
Just
above the valley of ashes, a fiery storm brewed. Meshes of gray
suddenly transformed into massive cloud-like whirlpools while specks
of water condensed into flooded rains. Monstrous winds overwhelmed
precious breezes, and a liquid coat enveloped the wasteland. If it
weren't for the remaining wreckage, nobody would have ever known it
up up such a fight. The following evening, a piece of wood drifted
down the banks of the bay near the source of a shimmering yacht's
golden lights. As the scrap of wood approached the side of the large
floating vessel, a young gentleman, who appeared to be part of the
festivities, peered below and discovered the ever so familiar eyes of
Doctor T. J. Eckleburg staring right back at him.
Turning
around, the young gentlemen stared quietly in awe at the surrounding
decorations. Soft, verdant lighting in the background of the yacht
sprayed over him, causing him to glow a pale green in his black and
white tuxedo. The white tables danced around him, their golden
threads and flakes reflecting off the young man's soft green glow. He
stood in still, his jaw half dropped, admiring his extravagant
surroundings, not knowing that he was to be considered extravagant as
well.
Swoosh.
Crack. Crack. The man turned
his head up toward the sky, closing his mouth and instead widening
his eyes. Green, gold, and white fireworks fluttered up in the sky,
bursting and shivering in sudden, yet almost graceful, movements.
Sliding his hands into his pockets, the young man stared intently at
these bright lights, wondering how their movements could be so
graceful if they were to burst any second into the night. His mouth
twitched into a small smile when he realized that it wasn't the
journey into the sky that made the firework, but the finale itself.
Leaning against the yacht's railing, the man watched as the fireworks
whisked up one by one, and sometimes even in groups, into the
gleaming twilight.
After
the display had transpired for some time, the man turned his back on
the fireworks. Staring blankly at the ocean beneath the yacht, his
eyes scintillated off the water. The small smile had changed since
the firework display, moving itself into a frown that was just as
small. His eyes glazed over, the sparkle that had been in the them
moments before turning into a dull glare. The ocean lapped against
the yacht tirelessly, reflecting the sparkling show the was going on
behind him. He leaned against the railing in a way that moved him out
of the faint, jade light. Now one could see his true form: he wore a
shabby, old suit, his cheeks were roughed with pricks of facial hair,
and his eyes sunk into his face, containing dark deep circles around
them. Looking up into the clear, night sky that was above him, his
eyes wandered aimlessly, searching... searching for something like a
firework of his own.
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