Day 198: 24 May 2026

 Short story -- The energy of the people

I can hear them through the open windows in my second story flat. The cheers. The chants. The honking of horns.

And let them celebrate.

But I’ve always felt that this sort of raucous carousing, though happy enough, comes with an undercurrent of violence. There’s a sense, an energy that it could flip. Quickly.

So I stay inside.

I hold my little one close.

I think about what a strange thing the human mob is. How it brings individuals who are so different together. Uniting them in ways. Until it doesn’t.

And at some point, no matter how many police officers are patrolling, something ends up snapping.

Someone says something. Someone suggests something. Someone looks the wrong way at the wrong person.

And there’s a shift.

They’re not all jolly, celebrating mates now. They’re not all on the same team.

Now there’s an us and a them. Or they’re all an us and the world’s a them.

Someone breaks a shop window. Or someone vandalizes a car. Or someone pushes someone or throws a punch.

And like a switch, the violence rises to the surface.

So let them celebrate.

But tonight, I will stay up and in, holding my little one close.