The Festival

It was a mild sunny morning with kids and their parents out on the beach and swimming around in the lake nearby. Everyone was having a good time splashing each other with water and making sand castles. Suddenly, a loud bell is heard three times in a row and everyone begins to gather together while the kids all gathered sand together. The parents huddled together and within the huddle, someone said, “It can’t already have been a month since the last festival”. The crowd silently agrees. In the distance, two individuals emerge carrying a pitch black box.

“Greetings Director Fox”, everyone harmonically says. Nobody knew why he was called Director Fox and why he was the leader- they only followed his rules.

“Settle down everybody, no need to be on such ceremony”, said Director Fox. Everyone sits down with all their heads facing directly at him. “ You all already know what’s going on today, so let’s finish before lunch,” he says.

“Has it really been a month”, the same man from the beginning asks Director Fox. Director Fox merely pauses for a second, then ignores the question and begins to place some slips of paper somewhat suspiciously, but calmly.

Chatter begins again and the man who was ignored just laughs and talks to the person next to him saying “I think I forgot to leave my dog some food”.

“Alright then, Let’s get started then”, Director Fox says causing everyone to silence. Director Fox quickly goes over the rules saying “One at a time people will come to pick up a paper and keep it folded until I say to unfold them. Remember, it’s lucky number 7”. Then he starts to call out names, “Jim! Sally! John!”.

“I don’t understand why we need to do this”, says John to a man while walking to get a paper.

“Why we need to go one at a time?”, the man John was talking to says.

“No. Why we need to have the festival every month.”, John says. Other people begin to talk about it and people start to think about it, but nobody has an answer. Director Fox continues to call out people’s names and let them pick out a slip of paper. “I say we get rid of the Festival!”, John states. Slowly, people start to yell out their opinions supporting John.

People begin chanting, “No more Festival! No more Festival! No more Festival!”, as a faint bell ringing is heard.

“ENOUGH”, Director Fox screams as another person picks up a slip of paper. “The Festival is necessary and shall always go on.”. Director Fox continues to call out peoples names after giving the crowd a cold stare, “Shelly! Montag!”. As Montag takes a slip, Director Fox allows his assistant, Steve, to go first and pick out a slip and Director Fox confidently picks out the last slip still keeping it folded. Finally, everyone got a slip of paper and then Director Fox announces, “Unfold!”, as the sound of a bell ringing is heard.

Small murmurs of numbers are heard “8! 3! 42! 25!”. Everyone heaves a sigh of relief after seeing their number and start searching for who has the number.

“Who’s got it!”, A man yells trying to find out who has the number. Director Fox just looks on at the crowd holding his number out confidently and smirking.

After a while, nobody finds who has the number so Director Fox walks toward the crowd and says, “Everyone lineup and give me your number. “Somebody’s trying to hide it” Director Fox laughs and says. Everyone hands in their number, but still nobody has the 7. Director Fox looks toward Steve and smiles, but then Steve hands in his slip…22. Director Fox’s palms begin to sweat and turns his paper around…7. Director Fox looks at the paper awestruck, and his hands shaking. He starts shaking his head murmuring, “Impossible. Impossible.”. Then he quickly looks up and notices that nobody is looking at him as everyone is looking for the number. He hurriedly stammers,” Looks like nobody got the number. There must be a mistake.”

Suddenly, Steve – who never talks – says, “What number did you get? , as the sound of the toll of a bell is heard”

Director Fox quickly enters a state of panic, but recovers by saying “ 8.”.

John quickly refutes, “ I have the number 8, look here.”

The people begin to look at Director Fox, who hurriedly states, “Let’s go home and get some lunch, I’ll even pay. My treat to you people.”.

Everyone now looks as if they have realized and John yells, “You have the number 7!”.The people start to walk toward Director Fox and he starts to yell and scream unrecognizable sounds.

Director Fox suddenly runs up toward the black box and kicks it, angrily shrieking, “DAMN IT! A sound of an electric current is heard for a split second, and the inside of the box is exposed. There was a wire on the inside and everyone looked at it wondering what it was. Director Fox looks at it suddenly remembering, and gets nervous looking at the machine inside. Director Fox put that there 30 years ago when the Festival started. Steve looked at it and smiled. Director Fox suddenly realizes something went wrong with the machine. Out of panic, Director Fox tries to run away but trips over a larger pile of sand with a human-like structure. Finally, Director Fox just lays there accepting his fate. From behind him people begin rushing toward him and when they reach him, they start hurling piles and piles of sand on him. While they are hurling sand on him, Director Fox yells “IMP-”, he doesn’t finish his sentence as his mouth is covered in sand and he is sealed off with extra layers of sand. A bell rings.

“Serves him right”, John says.

Steve smiles and says to everyone, “Time for lunch!”.

Citations:

https://giphy.com/gifs/summer-festival-sky-3oKIPB56XTdTcvArsY (featured image)

https://www.coastalliving.com/lifestyle/the-environment/beaches-made-of-fish-poop-white-sand (image in writing)