I have always wanted to see the beautiful sky filled with lights. I always wanted to go to the Lantern Festival, perhaps with a partner. With Valentine’s day being closer, I wanted to experience the lights. I wanted to see how it looks in the sky. I am so excited as I was attending the event with two of my beautiful friends.
I spent the night thinking about the next day and how I would feel lighting the lantern, how I will feel when I am under the sky and when I will release the lantern in the sky. I was excited and dreaming of what the next day might bring. I went to sleep with the thought of lanterns in the sky.
I had a very relaxing sleep. As I woke up, the coolness of my room and the warmth of my blanket kept me on my bed for a long time. I layed down feeling the softness of my blanket and how good I felt after sleeping. As I looked in front of me through the window, I saw the darkness in my room, I saw the clouds gathered outside my building, the drops of rain on my window. I did enjoy the rain for a bit as I have always appreciated it. This time rain brought me tension on being able to participate in the Lantern Festival. I waited. I waited and I waited. Texting my friends from the best, kept checking the weather, and waiting to hear updates about the event. The event was happening an hour from where I live. A long drive was something I was also looking forward to with my girlies.
It kept raining and the event was still on. I was concerned about how I would wear my dress that I had kept for so long. The dress was out; I put on jeans and a cute top with a jacket as it was rainy and chilly. My friend picked me up, and we were happy that we were together. The rain stopped, and we drove off.
The drive was relaxing and extremely needed. My friends and I blast the music. No rain, no pain. Screaming to the lyrics, as we were getting close to our destination, the clouds started scaring me again. The rain started pouring again, and this time more and more with each drop. We reached the destination waiting in the line for parking, still looking at the rain with no hope of seeing the lights. Everyone was in the car. The event was still on. I was surprised it did not get rescheduled. The rain did not want to stop. As I was in the car with my friends, we saw many cars leaving. I panicked. The event I was so excited to attend, my galentines, my plan could not go to waste. We had a choice to make: stay or leave. My initial thought was, might as well stay as we drove here for an hour, as many others were also waiting for the rain to stop.
And finally, even though we were gathered by the scary clouds above us, the rain decided to take a break. We got out of the car in the wet grass. My shoes were not the best for the occasion. I walked slowly as I feared of slipping, watching each step by step holding my friend’s hand. My friends and I made it to the middle of the ground with our umbrellas and bags with snacks and blankets. The smell of the food trucks made all of us hungry with its diverse range of food options as we were looking for the best place to sit. Everything was wet; my shoes were gone. We managed to find a place. The rain returned back from the break as it started pouring again. All three of us under the umbrella not knowing what is going to happen as we see everyone else covered in rain suits and tents around us. Finally, after the final stops of the rain, we placed the blanket, got the lantern, and started decorating it.
It was a relief to hold the lantern in my hand as I was almost losing hope. We were each having the best time on the wet floor, the chilliness, and yet it was fun with my girlies as we were together making each of our lanterns with laughter and music. As we were getting up to light the lantern, one of my friend’ lantern torn. It was such a heartbreaking moment. She was so excited as she decorated her lantern, her first-time experience, and it was torn.
They were about to launch the lantern, counting down as two of us were waiting to light up our lanterns, we saw the lights above us. What a scenic view it was. The lanterns were in the sky like in the movie Tangled. My friends and I couldn’t look anywhere else. The lanterns were going slowly in the air and catching its speed and with no time the whole sky was filled with light. The sparkle in our eyes seeing the light was the true remark of our experience.
I tried lighting the lantern, waiting slowly. As soon as it lit up, it started to over burn so I let go. Despite the burning, it still flew. I was happy and it warmed my heart. As I saw my lantern in the sky, I thought how beautiful it was, how beautiful it was to stay and watch the lights. It was magical. Two of my friends launched the lantern together as one was torn beforehand. It warmed my heart seeing both of my friends launch it together. Seeing their love and smile was like a warm cozy sweater in that cool weather.
It just happened so quickly that we didn’t even realize that it was over. As we walked back on the muddy floor and wet grass, we laughed and giggled about our day. We got in the car, which was the best feeling ever, made a stop at Sonic and had a beautiful conversation and a fun date in the car. We go home listening to beautiful music thinking about our day. That is what connected us.
Looking back at the event, I think now, would the lantern festival be this fun if it didn’t rain? Would it have been more fun if our car ride was not long? Would it have been more fun if we didn’t stand together beneath the sky under our umbrella?
I think about it now, but that is what made this experience memorable. I am not saying celebrating the Lantern festival after it rains is the best experience, but I emphasize that it is not always about the destination and perhaps it is about the journey.
The day, the night, the rain, “we will think about this moment and laugh about it in the future,” I said.
I guess it was a beautiful day because I had my friends along the way, next to me. Part of me was optimistic because of them. The hope was my friends.
I think I will never forget this night. Who knows what will happen next time when I try to light up my lantern?
And all of the sudden I realized, love was in the air, I just had to see it.