I have so many childhood memories garnered from indulging in activities, especially those activities our parents usually warned us against. Today, I'd be talking about my very first and last attempt at throwing a knockout banger; a low-budget type of firecracker.
During the festive period in my vicinity, it's normal to hear sounds of knockout bangers and as a kid, I was very curious. Of course my parents had strictly warned all of us, my siblings and I, to stay away from knockouts.
Did we heed this strict warning? No. Instead, we all started saving up to buy our own pack of knockout. Eventually, we collectively saved up enough money and my elder brothers went to buy the packet of knockout. We all agreed to carry out our experiment the next morning.
I remember that Saturday morning vividly. It was a very cold and foggy morning. My parents were still in their bedroom and three of us sneaked out to the backyard. My sister didn't want to join us because she didn't want to get caught.
As quietly as we could, we descended the stairs and slowly opened the back door that led directly to the backyard. The backyard was so foggy and we could barely see ourselves but my brothers were determined to carry out this particular experiment that morning.
The eldest of us read the instructions on the knockout packet out loud and after reading, he brought out the first stick of knockout, lit it and threw it. The sound similar to that of a gunshot was emitted and we were so happy. It was a success. My second brother repeated this and it was a success too.
Now, tell me why my own turn was different.
I got one knockout stick from the pack, stepped out of the veranda, lit the stick and threw it just like my brothers did but no sound came. Maybe the first one I tried was bad or I did something wrong, so I took another one from the pack but this time around, I didn't throw it after I lit it. Instead, I held it in my hands, trying to decipher why my own knockouts were not making sounds and that was when the thunderous sound accompanied by sparks came.
Everywhere first blur.
I couldn't see or hear anything for about ten minutes straight as my ears were ringing so loudly. All I could do was drop what was left of the knockout to the ground and stand there. My brothers rushed to me when they noticed I had frozen on the spot. Tears started flowing down my eyes effortlessly.
Both my brothers took me into the house and straight into my room. They covered me up and told me to stop crying because if our parents asked why I was crying, I was going to explain what happened and that would mean exposing everyone. The loud ringing in my ears had slightly reduced but I was gripped with the constant fear that I was going to become deaf because I refused to listen to instructions.
The constant ringing persisted for months but I had learnt my lesson and till this day, I stay very far away from knockouts, firecrackers or anything in the same family. I barely escaped deafness as a kid and I wouldn't want to try my luck the second time.
