New Year

The heat was oppressive, the air was still, he thought of her in the rain. He walked further towards the bridge. Even in this heat he shivered as a small trickle of sweat ran down his back, and again he thought of her in the cold winter’s rain. What could he do, he was here, and she was there, both so far apart. He thought of her again and imagined her in nine hours. Where would she be? Would she be looking at the sky seeing what he was seeing now?

He looked up into the black night sky, the stars shone and twinkled in the heat, and again his mind went back to her. He could now see the bridge clearly, mournfully, dark in the shadows, silhouetted against the light of the city.

Suddenly the night was shattered by a thunderous roar that deafened his ears. An orange flash of light and flame erupted into the sky, and the bridge stood clear to see. The rocket soared majestically into the night sky with the brilliance of the sun, then another then another, until rockets seemed to be everywhere. The mighty crowd held its breath and watched in awe of the night sky now ablaze with colour. Sydney Harbour Bridge seemed now to be on fire with the light of a thousand candles.

He thought of her in nine hours time. She would be celebrating the New Year in London, and he would be just getting out of bed here in Australia. The fireworks were nice, but all of sudden the idea of coming all this way to watch cricket, didn’t seem such a good idea. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, with a little video.

https://vimeo.com/655949918

 

Don McBeth