Happy New Year, or the question: what if not?

Twelve years ago, I had the idea to answer the question of whether I'd had a good start to the new year with: "Of course, otherwise I wouldn't be here!"
Naturally, most people were taken aback and asked me what I meant by that. I responded with a thought experiment.

Imagine a typical New Year's Eve party. Everyone probably remembers their own, or a better one if the last one wasn't that fancy... So, I imagine myself standing outside in the garden with a bunch of people, the obligatory glass of sparkling wine in hand, waiting for midnight. It's about 10 seconds to 12 when the crowd starts yelling the countdown: "Ten, nine, eight..." Of course, the first fireworks are already going off in the neighborhood... "...seven, six, five..." Somewhere a glass of sparkling wine overflows, somewhere else one gets knocked over... "...four, three..." The church bells are already ringing like crazy... "...two, one..." And suddenly... dead silence. Not a sound. The entire scene around me is frozen. The people in the posture, with the expressions they were just holding – frozen like pillars of salt. The sparkling wine, which was just overflowing – frozen solid. The overturned champagne glass is suspended halfway between the table edge and the floor.

The same eerie scene unfolds outside in the garden: colorful lights stuck to the sky, sparks from the rockets and firecrackers being lit – all motionless. No bang, no jingling bells, no shouts of "Happy New Year!", just icy silence... time seems to have stopped all around you at one second before midnight!

Of course, the party continues as normal. The countdown ends with a chorus of "Happy New Year!" shouts, the rockets fly, the firecrackers explode, the church bells chime, champagne overflows, glasses crash - to the ground... Everything has stopped for me, though. Like a movie paused, I move through a motionless scene. And the others?

For them, I've suddenly vanished from the face of the earth at one second before midnight, poof! Everyone toasts each other and then wonders, "Where's Störti?" The explanation: He didn't make it into the new year...🤷‍♂️

I ask the reader to keep this – of course hypothetical – scenario in mind when someone asks: "So, did you have a good start to the new year?"🙏