The sun is burning high above my head, in the sky. Sun rays streaming through the colourful clouds to play among the city below. To my left, I see an aeroplane descending from the blaze coloured sky. In about five minutes, the plane would land. In about seven, the passengers would be experiencing that slightly chaotic feeling where everyone unbuckles their seatbelts, checks their belongings and fights for their turn to retrieve their baggage. In about fifteen minutes, they would step out of the airport and see the beautiful sunset that I see.

The sun is like a burst of colour and an explosion of light, a passionate fire in the sky. Despite the intensity of the iridescence, the sunset has a calming effect. Surrounding the sun, the sky is a bright orange, the clouds a slight shade lighter. The orange fades into a soft, calming pink that has a slight tinge of purple. The rays of the sun look like friendly arms stretching outwards, touching everything around, creating an orange glow.


Driving along a paved road, I pass a river. The river is quiet, still. What I witness is pure beauty. The river acts as a mirror. The image of the green surrounding is formed perfectly on the surface of the water, reflecting its beauty into my eyes. It is a peaceful, scenic landscape: Nature in its glory. Despite the cold weather, no wind dares to disturb the serenity of the surrounding. Sunlight reaches down to the water to dance across its’ surface.


Walking along the pavement of a busy road on an early Monday morning, cars zoom past, leaving a trail of smoke behind. I hold my breath as long as I can to avoid sucking up the pollution. I’m almost home when I spot an exquisite, fully opened rose. A sweet, gentle shade of a pink-coloured, heart-shaped petals range around each other to form the flower. The darker pink coats the edges of the petals. A vibrant yellow spreads out from the centre of the rose, giving a contrast. Bright and vibrant, it looked like the rose was aglow.


A new year will be starting in…5…4…3…2…1... Fireworks shoot up, brightening the dark sky. Diamond sparks fill the sky, like a frenzied cascade of stars. At first, the firework is merely a thin line rocketing upward, but at some point, it will explode into a barrage of vibrant gemstones.


The sky is dressed in twinkling sparks of red, blue, green and every other hue there is. The soft clamor of murmurs and the on-going explosive bursts invade the night’s silence. To my right, an old man wordlessly watches the firework soirée. His lips are pursed and his hands clasped reverently as his face tilted upward. He looks dazed. A tear rolled down his left, wrinkled cheek as his face changes from red to blue with the light from the fireworks reflects on his skin.

Mother nature hasn’t given up on us. Though we pollute her air, she shows her mercy by shining her light on us, much like when the sun sets. We may cut down her trees but she shows forgiveness by creating more, like the enchanting rose. Though we do ugly things sometimes, she shows us the beauty within ourselves through a mirror, like the river. We may doubt ourselves sometimes, but after looking at the fireworks we can understand. Understand that even if we start off as a thin streak, when the time is right, we too will have our time to shine.


The world has a special everlasting beauty. A way of working things out. Whether the walls around us are crumbling down, or skyscrapers towering high above us, when we look up, we all see the same vast sky, stretching endlessly over us, like a blanket that envelopes us, seals us together. Like proof that the world is one, that we are united. That we haven’t been abandoned. That some of us, haven’t given up hope, not yet.