The crowd shouted each number in unison during the final ten seconds of the year and a paradox of anticipation and nostalgia sped through the air. The lively music faded to a steady beat that kept time as the numbers flashed upon the stage. Beams of blue and purple light flashed through the hazy club as a hundred tiny screens dotted the scene from each patron who swooned to the approval of an invisible jury of acquaintances across the globe. Each captured the same fleeting moment from their separate positions on the floor. On one side, a couple is locked in an embrace that anticipates the final chime at midnight. In another corner, a young man hunches to pour another glass of champagne to chase his premature toast. All across the room the scenes played out in those final seconds, shared in a moment of utter isolation. Such well-dressed strangers tossed around in suits and gowns meant to impress the unimpressionable, or charm the unmovable. A final chord and a new day is born in a single moment across time and space.
The music returns and echoes a familiar tune not heard since twelve months past. For auld lang syne, the stuttering and smothered lyrics sway around the room in an electric din of cheers and hugs. The cold night outside is long forgotten amidst the empty congratulations for celebrating another trip around the sun. The optimist is overwhelmed with hope, while the pessimist is overcome by remembrance. Together they stand near a table of empty bottles and filled glasses while the silent seconds pass to the next new minute of a new year.
Andrew James Vogel 