New Years 25'

Silver’s ears twitch. There’s another distant whirring sound, followed by a bang. The entrance to his cave flashes with colored light. Fireworks.

Part of him had been hoping he’d be able to get to sleep early, start the new year off well-rested, but then someone else starts setting off fireworks even closer. The bangs and pops rattle the loose stones in the cave floors, the lights briefly painting the walls multicolored.

He climbs to his feet, stretching out limb by limb. A consistent screeching sound starts up as he noses on his bandana. He sucks in a deep breath at the entrance of the cave, flattening his ears against his head in preparation. 

The step out onto the craggy beach is shocking, the night sky streaked gray with smoke. Dozens of boats are out on the water only visible by their little flashing lights. Little specks of bright green and red against the dark waves. All the way up and down the coastline flashes of color decorate the sky. 

Almost directly in front of his cave, one of the boats has set off an assortment of fountains. The screeching is sharp against his ears, but the colors are breathtaking. His ears slowly raise as the fountain spews silver sparks, with little flashes of green, blue, and red at odd intervals.

There’s a sudden bang and Silver jerks back in surprise, wide eyes following a trail of smoke as it rockets up into the sky. It explodes into a gold palm, each finger of light slowly petering out as it falls back towards the ocean. 

That seems to be the cue for the entire ocean to explode with aerials, each firework launching with a bang that rattles Silver’s brain. But the volley of lights stops him from shying away. 

Each firework is wonderfully unique, some with similar colors and patterns but never falling exactly the same way. Each palm reaches a slightly different height and their fingers peter out at different speeds. 

There are other types too, more than Silver can name. Some explode into patterns, briefly decorating the sky with stars and rings. Others explode into sparkles, popping on their descent. Somewhere down the coast another fountain has started, this one a bright blue that steals Silver’s attention. 

His nose prickles as a breeze washes the beach with the scent of gunpowder. His ears are ringing but his eyes follow another aerial, it explodes into a red bulb littering the sky with sparkles.

Silver never thought he might actually like fireworks, they always seemed like too much noise to be worth it. He sits down shakily, ears still pinned to protect themselves as another barrage of fireworks gets shot off. When he blinks the lights litter the back of his eyelids, he tries to seal the moment away in his memory.

This is the year for trying new things, he thinks as he watches another shell float lazily upward. It explodes into blue and green sparkles. 

That’s what he wants to do. Try new things and maybe even make some new friends. He can’t help but think he’s made a good start as he watches the fireworks paint the night sky .