A Day in The Life of a Recalcitrant Four-Year-old.

Fireworks and firecrackers (knockouts) are used during festive seasons. Everyone is happy, lighting up the skies or creating noise with the firecrackers but not me. Definitely not me.

Don't get me wrong, I love fireworks and all but I guess the fireworks didn't love me in return or maybe I was just so unlucky.

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When I was younger, we were never allowed to light up firecrackers during festive seasons. Why?! We could hear the sounds of firecrackers from the streets and all we wanted to do was recreate the sound too. But my dad's clear instruction was "I don't want to see any of you close to a firecracker". In my mind I was like " this man is no fun at all" but I still obeyed the instruction either way.

It was December, time for the Christmas celebration. On a very cold morning, my brothers came into our room(I and my sister's ) to inform us that they had somehow bought firecrackers without our parents finding out (sly humans 😅). We all snuck out of the house to the backyard to light up the firecrackers.

Excitement filled the cold air as we took turns to light the firecrackers. My brothers did their own and it made the sound. We giggled happily and it was my turn.

Let it be known that I wasn't given any prior warning as to how dangerous a firecracker could be in your hands.

I tried to light the match stick but the breeze kept blowing it off. After so much trial and error, I finally lit it and put it at the button of the knockout, just the way I was instructed by the box the knockouts came in. I threw it away and waited for two minutes, no sound. I tried the process over again and still no sound. By the third trial I was furious.

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Firecracker still in my hand, I turned to tell my brothers that the knockout was fake because it didn't make any sound. As my brothers were approaching to check if what I said was right, the firecracker went off in my hands. Reflexes led me to throw it off immediately but I guess I was too late.

You know those times in the cartoon "Tom and Jerry" when Tom is tied to fireworks and he reaches the skies? I reached the skies and touched the clouds that morning. I didn't even hear the sound that the firecracker made, the only thing I could hear was a loud ring in my ears. My siblings were talking but I didn't hear nada. My vision was foggy as the smoke from the fire cracker covered everywhere. Why me!!

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For a minute, my siblings thought I was dead because of the way I laid on the floor. A few minutes later, I regained consciousness and I was taken straight to my bedroom. You must be wondering why I wasn't taken to my parents for proper assessment?

Hehehe,We had gotten into a whole lot of trouble already for that week and a deaf child wasn't something my parents would be happy to see.

Good thing I didn't go deaf in the end. I could hear perfectly the next day but the ringing continued for a while just to remind me of my recalcitrance, but not anymore. From that day till today, I've avoided firecrackers like a plague. We're two parallel lines. I love to see it, I love to hear it but I never get close to it. Like they say, some lessons are best learnt individually.

With love, wongi ✨