Alive in the Snow

2. Unexpected Approaches

It was 1 pm the next day. The streets were busy and shops had begun opening. Men of all sizes roamed the streets while children played on the pavement. Not far away, a newspaper seller yelled repeatedly,

"5 shillings a paper! Get 'em now! Read the news!"

The seller's announcement attracted a crowd; they snatched the newspapers from the wagon and then moved onto the shelves. Some in the crowd held signs but it was too far away for Yuvan to properly identify the words.

"What's this crowd about eh?" - Yuvan asked himself as he watched the gathering, stopping in his tracks.

Women with glasses, watering her dull-coloured, shrivelled tulips, overheard Yuvan's words and replied from behind,

"I think you are talking about that place where they sell words printed on paper. The news is what everyone wants these days. Nothing unusual. I haven't read the papers myself. Getting one is too risky."

"Risky, how come?" - Yuvan questioned as he turned to face the women. She wore a red knitted scarf with green stripes. She also appeared friendly but also shockingly frail with many visible wrinkles on her face.

"My eyesight ain't great but you could see them swarming and pushing to get their hands on it. I am old and will just get knocked to the floor and trampled over." The woman replied, placing the watering can down sluggishly. Yuvan immediately understood. He believed that it was time to do good deeds and help the elderly.

"I'll buy one for you, just give me a second." - Yuvan stated as he strode towards the crowd. Pushing through the people was a struggle but once he reached the front, he was disappointed to find out that all the news articles, magazines, and everything seemed to be sold out; there was nothing left. Turning his back to look at the crowd, he noticed on the signs,

"STOP THE GOVERNMENT"
"SPARE THE KIDS"
"TAKE THE GOVERNMENT DOWN"

Turning his attention back to the empty shelves, he spotted the newspaper seller packing up his stand. Wanting his full attention, Yuvan whistled at him.

"What's in the newspaper? They are all sold out, it seems."- Yuvan asked politely but raised his voice midway to make himself heard.

"Main one of this hour is the government planning to massacre all kids, between ages 10-13. Don't ask me what massacre means, I don't know these fancy words."- the seller explained grumpily.

Yuvan's face turned pale. He barely heard what the man was saying due to the havoc around him. All he heard was "government", "massacre" and "kids between ages 10 and 13".

"Massacre means the mass murder of the innocent but why the hell is the government after these kids!?" - Yuvan yelled. He felt sick in the stomach from what the seller was saying and did not know what to believe. The seller wasn't surprised by Yuvan's reaction and lit a cigarette in front of him.

"Well..." taking a moment to think. He inhaled the smoke from the cigarette."They fear that kids will become intelligent and will soon overthrow the people in power. Why? I dunno." - answered the seller with a chuckle.

"What's so funny?" - Yuvan spontaneously calmed himself, he did not want to ruin his appearance after all.

"Kids are goddam annoying anyways. Don't ya understand kid? They took up space on the streets and I'm sick of 'em begging. Why can't they just get a job like the rest of us? I'm glad the government is taking action to clean up the mess!" - The man replied, face stone-cold, showing no remorse.

Taking it back, Yuvan pushed through the crowd again and stormed back to the women. He explained what the seller had told him.

"I believe that children deserve this. The government is correct and there shall be no alternative answers. I despise kids as they humiliated me every day to get a laugh in front of their friends. They should all perish!"

...

"Aren't you supposed to be an on-duty officer? If so, I won't disturb you any further." - the woman abruptly stopped and gave Yuvan a warm smile; trying to lighten the mood, as she realized whom she was talking to.

Yuvan wasn't impressed with the woman's response but was instead disgusted. He thought she would at least show sympathy but it seems, that everyone he met does not care for the poor.

"Actually yes, duty calls. Good day." - Yuvan tipped his hat and left; showing no interest in continuing the conversation.

Turning his neck, Yuvan saw the crowd, that surrounded the newspaper stand earlier, was setting it on fire using the man's lighter.

"Ordinary day..." - Yuvan whispered as he continued to walk down the pavement, pretending to not notice the destruction from afar.

Making his way down, he saw the homeless people holding cardboard signs with a cap in front of them; placed upside down. Not only that, but he also saw that the bar was full of drunken old men, throwing beer bottles around.

"Yeah...ordinary day. I'll let someone else handle that."

END OF CHAPTER 2 - Unexpected Approaches
NEXT CHAPTER 3 - Fulfilling a Dream