6 Fireworks

The sun began setting at around eight, and by then, the festival was already in full flow. The colorful lights and lanterns cast a warm glow over the people, the smells of the freshly made food attracted customers from everywhere, the live music brought smiles and laughter on faces all over the festival…

And for a moment, Li Huai could almost pretend that it was a regular festival.

As they made their way up the small mountain where the brook flowed, Li Huai once again felt the chill on his back, signaling the dream. He ignored it, instead focusing on climbing to the overlooking point, where the trees opened up to a view of the cityscape.

Li Huai leaned against a tree, feeling the cool summer night's breeze on his skin. He could still see the lights of the festival down below…

|Have you decided yet?| asked the fox.

"I have till midnight," Li Huai replied. "Don't rush me."

|Don't forget,| cautioned the dragon. |Do not forget.|

"It might slip my mind at some point," Li Huai replied coolly. "I might choose to forget."

"But as soon as you see your dream come to life, you'll regret it," the boy whispered by his ear.

Dream? More like nightmare.

He watched the city lights, and he could feel them watching him as well. The tree leaves bristled, and he shuddered. He should go back…

"Just one last thing," he said, facing them. "Just one last question."

|Go on,| nodded the fox.

"Out of all the people, out of so many people here, in this city…why did you choose me?"

It felt like he was waiting for a very long time for their answer. But finally, in what almost seemed like an embrace, he heard the boy's voice in his ear. Softly, gently.

"Because you care the most, Li Huai."

And then they were gone, like stars that fell in the night.

Li Huai didn't move from his spot, and felt a cold tear streak down his face. Sure, he could say that it was unfair, but…

"Li Huai!" he heard Chen Shan calling him. "It's almost time for fireworks!"

"It's too early," he heard Lin Yuxing mutter.

"Not if we want to get there in time," Chen Shan replied.

"Coming," Li Huai answered, turning away from the beautiful view that he had had at the vantage point, brushing the back of his hand across his eyes. "I'll be right there."

There they were, waiting for him. Looking at him with moderate concern in their eyes.

"You disappeared for a moment, and we didn't know where you went," Chen Shan said, smiling at him. "Are you all right?"

Chen Shan's dark brown hair was cut in a bob, and she was always very attentive to each of them. Quieter than Wang Zhaoshu, but louder than the rest of them. Li Huai always wondered why she hung out with them instead of other cooler kids.

"Yeah, I just ran ahead," Li Huai replied. "Don't worry."

"Great let's go. The dock's at the other end of the festival," Lin Yuxing said. "All here? Great."

"Um…Wang Zhaoshu ran off again," Hua Fu pointed out, then she ran after him, and the rest followed, all the way back down the small, rocky mountain.

Each step that Li Huai took felt like it was pounding worthlessly on the pavement, like he was about to slip at any moment, yet the force still hurt his feet. The wind came up at his face, sharp and fast, and for a moment, he closed his eyes…

Chen Shan grabbed his arm, just in time to stop him from falling. "Watch yourself!"

"Ah…sorry…" He slowed down his pace. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. You?"

"I'll be good…"

"Hurry up, you two!" Wang Zhaoshu called from far up ahead. "Don't get lost!"

"Ah, coming!" They began sprinting down the wooden pathway, dodging and apologizing to all the people flowing in the other direction.

"Why didn't we go the other way?" Li Huai asked Chen Shan, out of breath.

"Didn't we?" And her eyes were so clear that it felt to Li Huai that he was the one in the wrong.

"I'm pretty sure we came up this way…"

"The scenery's different."

"Yeah, from this angle…"

"Well, it doesn't matter now, does it? Let's go!"

Li Huai ran after her.

Whether this was the best place to view the fireworks was debatable. The only thing that Li Huai knew was that it was the spot where the five of them had seen the fireworks, year after year after year. Sure, every year they always argued about changing places (the skyscrapers blocked a lot of the explosions) but they always ended up here. Everywhere else was always either too crowded or too far away…

No, here, at the end of the pier, where small boats bobbed like ice cubes in drinks, where it was completely dark at midnight, where the lights from the city and the colors of the fireworks and the stars and the moon would reflect on the surface of the dark waters…

There they sat, Wang Zhaoshu, Chen Shan, Li Huai, Lin Yuxing, and Hua Fu.

There was still a bit of time before the actual fireworks began, so they passed around some snacks that they had bought earlier at the festival. They talked as the sky darkened, about recently read books and watched anime, about school and work and college, about food, about being sweaty in their school uniforms, about imaginary scenarios that would never happen…

Li Huai only listened, and greedily drank in all of their words. Every single last word…

The sky's brilliant flaming orange and red melted into midnight blue and finally black. Stars timidly began to peek out from beneath their sunset quilts, and rose to their places in the night.

The fireworks finally began at 9:48, and they quieted to allow the din of the explosions to fill their ears, replacing the quiet lapping of the water. Orange and red and blue and pink…

Li Huai stared at the colors until he felt that they had been burned into the back of his eyes. Maybe the greens and yellows were supposed to form some sort of pattern, but if they did, he didn't notice. The buildings were too tall, anyway.

If…

If I…

If I could…

If I could save…

At the height of the noise, he leaned over and asked Chen Hua a question.

"If the world ended tomorrow, would we still be friends?"

"What? I can't hear you!"

Li Huai took a deep breath, then shouted above the thunder of the burning colors.

"If the world ended tomorrow, would we still be friends?"

There was a moment's pause, and then exclamations of various levels of disbelief: "Of course!" "Is that even a question?" "What are you possibly thinking about?" "Yes, forever!"

Li Huai sat back, and smiled in the darkness to himself. "Thank you." So that was decided, then. He made his decision.

After the fireworks ended, and Wang Zhaoshu stood and stretched his legs. "C'mon, guys. We don't want to get back too late."

"Yeah, sure." "Agreed."

Chen Shan looked back at Li Huai. "You coming?"

"Yeah, just give me a moment," Li Huai replied.

"Did you lose something? You need any help?"

"Nah, it's not important. You go on ahead. I'll catch up." He grinned at her, and gestured for her to continue on.

"Well…okay, then. Don't stay too far back, though. If we get separated, we'll wait for you at the crosswalks."

"Don't bother, I'll be quick." Li Huai gave her one last grin.

He waited until she had disappeared completely from sight, and the dark air around him had turned quiet. No footsteps, no voices. Just the quiet lapping of the water against the dock, and the lights in the distance reflected upon the surface.

He checked his watch. 23:55. Just in time.

He walked a little ways down to the end, then stood at the side, waiting, watching. If the fox or the boy or the dragon appeared, he would tell them his decision…

23:58. It looked like they weren't coming. He stood at the very edge of the wood, his feet half off. He held out his arms, and for a moment was reminded of when he was a child, and how he and Wang Zhaoshu would often pretend to be airplanes, and they would constantly be shushed by the neighbors…

23:59. He stared down at the water, trying to find the reflection of himself, but he saw no such thing.

Back and forth, back and forth, teetering on the edge like a pair of scales, threatening to fall…

The moment the numbers disappeared from his watch, he closed his eyes. Now or never.

Li Huai let himself go.