Max left the car, jolting his shoes over the cardboard boxes, he fell into the sofa. Alone again, it was different, there was peace in the dark pianos that kept their tunes singing in his mind. He couldn't find a reason, the dripping sink made his furrowed thoughts, louder than sound. The barriers have been broken, the balance was no longer in place.
He squinted his eyes at the window, the little light that got in the living room felt like heaven's door, knocking outside. Obsessed with the mystery that called out to him, the "Arc", for what it's worth, made him try to see more. There was more out there, requesting him to see, beckoning him to enter the tunnel.
The boy went to the bathroom to inspect himself, looking at his injuries, the cuts and bruises on his arm. He didn't feel a thing, battered veins full of adrenaline took a cushion of his pain. He took his gun out of his bag, aiming the barrel at the mirror.
"Abnormality, absence of self, who am I really?... Who would understand the problem of the mind? Who will take my place when I leave this behind?"
"Maybe... Not today, another day."
Max put his gun back into his bag, sliding it in front, he didn't think of hiding it anymore, there was no point. All he longs to do is to make a revival of himself, or at the very least, to leave it all behind. His mind was corrupted by his need to know, yet the answers rarely popped off, in a letter full of choices, non of them were right.
He slept the night away, expecting the morning to yield him something good, expecting the fireworks to give him enough will to see the beauty of the world.
The moon, the moon seems to dim every day, closely as the sun rises, it fell.
The boy woke up again, feeling like everything is looped, every time he woke up to do something, it was the same. Meeting new people, having the same endings, doing something new, had the same old endings.
"What is this feeling? Being lost, I have a goal, but... None of it feels, meaningful? I don't know..."
He walked to the door, going back to work felt right, it felt like he found peace without needing the constant howls of entities, perched on his shoulder. The uneventful bike ride was, as usual, nothing special. Yet he anticipated the fireworks display, to watch it unfold with nobody else, but himself.
The festival was fascinating for his puny little desire to see colored lights in the sky, the lavish red attires that accompanied the ringing bells and booming drums, the piano's that made the whole thing complete. Max looked outside, seeing the vast majority of people preparing for their honorary ceremonies.
Overflowing excitement, seeing fireworks from a new perspective, somewhere that didn't need an exaggerated mind to function. He took his phone and took photos of the blurred light that seeped through the lens, the lights that reflected off the "Rocket" looking fireworks.
Work felt like days passing by, flowers felt like a new hope, a brand new inspiration to think and write about, a brand new thing to draw. Something grandiose that wanted to leap from his head instead of keeping it inside a boxed mind. He took more and more pictures, calling his friends, listening to the radio, everything to make sure that he can finally see fireworks.
You enjoy it right? A break from everything that you normally think about, and for once you can be excited about something that isn't gonna make your life a living hell, it was finally at a pace that you can manage. Talking to yourself all day wasn't always gonna work, blind spots in your words always manage to find themselves.
Speeding up your words trying to find the right ones that hit the right spots for those who wished to talk with you for prolonged moments, as if you thought of an essay about fireworks yet none of it made sense and you wiped it the next moment. The music pumped in your head, the music was a tone that seemed familiar, home.
Crying again, but this time of uncertain happiness, you felt the chills on your back, relieved by a day that came to be, a day that gave you something to do other than think, and think, and think, and think. Why only now? Why only learn to appreciate beauty at the times that made it crucial for you, why only in the end?
What gave you control this time, the necessary evil to watch as you puncture your mind and thoughts flow out, to speak with pride? Akemi? Had she left your mind, no, you crave her presence but know it's long gone. To hum, humming the tune of a great bird that chirps in your ears during the mornings you hated.
To sing along with her, to sing along and do something meaningful with your friends. Even the ones that you deemed young, the ones you felt gave you a meaningful life outside of reality.
Eschar, lets you roam free, giving in to your requests as a friend. Eschar had waited for long, to see another day that you return to your roots and finally give in with your old friends. Paradox, his old vision for humor, his old wishes to fulfill creation, yet only giving you an ample little snake that walked with no purpose.
Yours to seek, yet you don't choose to make a fuss out of nothingness, to let the flower of friendship bloom. To you it was cringe, it was passing time, a passing memory that wished you had nothing to do with, fleeting moments that leave you wondering "What have I missed?", nothing.
Dawn approached closer and closer, you wanted to drown the sun in the dirt just to see the night sky, preferring its presence over the bright lights yet wanting to see the endless slurry of fireworks. A contradiction in your mind that kept you running at a price tag that you couldn't pay, to see your friends once more.
Max took his chance, he asked his two closest to meet up with him at the perfect moment, finally giving in, to what he wanted to experience.
Yuki waited patiently at the lobby door, trying to see the corner of the road if her father had pulled over. He wanted to see the fireworks with Max and Dairue, both trying to give in, trying to give in her outlandish requests. Neither of the three thought it to be possible they didn't know whether all of them would be able to make it in time for the fireworks.
Dairue kept the night active, keeping to the train and waiting at the station. He entered the cart, watching out the window as the silent sky was still alone and empty. He took his arms and kept hold of the railings above, wanting to keep standing in preparation. The man wore an all-black attire, trying to be professional in the face of Yuki's request.
The Tetsu Kabe was dressed in colorful lights, forever in motion with the rails, forever following a destined path. The metal domes opened up, going on red alert as the crowd danced in the side, trying to mimic the way it spun around.
Max saw the number slowly crawl to "6:00", he took off with his bike, going down the road. His heart was racing with the wheel, trying to outrun the crowd of people who quickly started assembling the instruments. Soon the sounds were filling the city, Nagoya was alight and alive, he forgot about his thoughts as he pedaled closer to them.
All three of them left their responding calls blank, wanting to give a pounding feeling of an upcoming "let-down", yet not committing to it. Yasu called Max, asking what he was up to, to which he replied nothing more than to watch the final lights in the sky. Snare drums filled the road, and crowds dressed in red and yellow-tinged clothes.
Max soon made it, attempting to find Yuki and Dairue, his smile turned to a frown, expecting that they wouldn't make it.
The first firework, a blue sphere in the sky fell to the ground. The applause of people was certain, misleading to the ears, they laughed and spun around in circles, doing elegant dances. The people were hypnotic, the eyes were pleased to see. Max could only wait in the corner, optimistic that they'll arrive.
Every car he saw, he expected Yuki, every walking man, was Dairue, his mind was truly losing its touch with reality, disappointment. Fireworks kept roaring at the sky, yet not a single person bothered to say "Hi", he was just a bystander in the crowd. His ego was dropped to the floor, he sat alone on the sidewalk.
Dairue comforted him, Max simply thought he was dreaming, that nobody else was there beside him other than himself, Yuki made it a few moments later. Max's world was black and white, he saw nothing other than shadowed people, passing by, even with his two closest believers beside him, he had no beliefs to offer.
Max was going in and out of thinking, blocking the noise out with his music. Dairue and Yuki laughed around in fun circles, observing the fireworks go by. To the boy, every color was faded and dull, the brightness of the illuminated sky, he missed the night, he wished for silence. All the pent-up excitement was no longer tucking him in, he took comfort in doing nothing.
The bells stopped, the drums were scrapped, and the last firework was shot down. In the sky, it was filled with scraps of metallic pieces. The Tetsu Kabe fired in the direction of the airstrike, trying to obscure and defend the people who were running underneath. Everybody was fleeing, Yuki's father was holding her neatly.
Max watched, above the powerlines, the bombs kept exploding, the sky was lit by something else. Pieces of it being eradicated by the Tetsu Kabe's precision, the ash and smoke that rose from the crossfire. Everybody ran away, trying to seek shelter in the houses, and cars, Max sat, mesmerized by the smoke, unable to hear the voices.
Planes going by the sky, leaving a trail behind their wings, Dairue tried grabbing him, pulling him out of his headspace, yet he didn't move.
"I'll be fine, everything is okay here..." Max said in a soft-spoken tone, his words always descended, never going up in its wake, keeping low and quiet. Smiling at the sky, his eyes were crinkled, genuine happiness.
Max left his state, jumped up, and ran from Dairue and Yuki, ignoring their calls for him to hide. He rode his bike, heading for the office building his mother worked in. Nearly running over people, he rushed carelessly, surveillance barely catching his speed. People were pushed from their feet, and people were running, yet he was headed in the direction they came from.
Above, the fire kept rising, the Tetsu Kabe was no longer moving on the railings, it stood still, trying to repel every little rocket that came into view. Electric-powered engines kept it going for prolonged periods, fighting against an unexpected attack. They planned well, they expected the airstrike, knowing the fireworks were a perfect concealer.
He arrived at the building, scrambling over the people, trying to find his mother. Yet he couldn't, she had gone home. Max left the building, the guard instructing him to stay during the attack, but he didn't listen, he kept going away.
Max was breathless, yet he didn't care, he didn't listen anymore, he couldn't hear a word but his mother's voice. His ears were ringing, the bombs continuously hitting. He lost his sense of direction, he forgot where his home was from that point on, his lungs were failing his journey.
You are hellbent on it, taking your little strength for granted, trying to leave the orders of others behind, just to create your own. The Tetsu Kabe fires, you admire it, it haunts the lives of others, hearing a sound like much, but you take it with so much pride. But home was far, it was far from you now, that even your house wasn't home.
Your mind was home, It was the singular thing you took comfort in, but you rushed anyway, you love her. Your mother was the last option you had left, that when all things fail, she would be there, would she? She was always working on something to make a living, forgetting to live.
Max got home, and found his mother, drinking a cup of coffee on the couch, copper lights dimmed. No, it was the wrong house, he continued one more uprise and he found the familiar tree. Upon reaching the door, he rushed inside, the rockets have settled down, and the Tetsu Kabe kept its routine pace.
Inside, his mother was using her phone, doing nothing. His panic was in vain, for she was unharmed. Her mother asked why he was in tears, not being able to control his anger, he hugged his mother. He cried in her arms, trying to keep her close, barely able to contain his own.
"We'll be okay, we'll be okay for now." His mother held his head, they reunited once more.