Ashes In The Snow

Everything Is Fine

After a day of nothing to do but talk and guess about what was happening, we finally got to leave school.

I rushed out of the school gates in a hurry. Mum must be worried sick. When I stepped out of the entrance, snow was falling from the sky. Little flakes of snow latched on to my hair and my coat. It was freezing and the air felt heavy with something I could not put my finger on.

I reached behind to get my gloves from my schoolbag, but when I was about to put them on; there were black smudges on my skin. I looked up at the sky and saw black flakes mixed with white ones. Wait, that's not right. Black flakes? I smelt the air once more. It was dark and smokey. Many students were looking at the sky, pointing at those black flakes. Gasping and covering their mouths.

Then there was a loud noise that came from the hospital. A sound of an explosion. The sound caused a sharp ringing in my ears. We watched on in muted horror as the building crumbled down. It was lit up like a candle.

Teachers were calling the students back, policemen were pushing groups of them back into the school. Shouts and screams filled the air.

Then I ran. I ran across the street and through the playground. Against the wind and away from my friends. All I could hear was the unsteady thumping of my feet and the rapid beating of my heart. I could feel the black flakes smear my face when I rubbed at it, slightly burning my cheeks. There were a few people running away too. Although we heard crying and screaming, nobody stopped to check what was wrong.

The beggar on the street was gone, only a familiar blanket lay on the ground, torn into two pieces. Flashes of blood and destruction came into my view but I kept running. My lungs were burning in the howling wind as snowflakes melted against my ash-clad skin.

A dark-skinned man was running away from an enforcer just on the other street. He was screaming "Don't shoot!"

One, two, three.

The gunshot rippled the crisp air. I was too shocked to stop and stare. He was mowed down within seconds. That was my first time seeing a lifeless body hit the ground. A puddle of blood formed beneath him; his eyes were still infused with fear. Time seemed to slow down as the ringing in my ears continued. 

The enforcer spotted me and yelled "Hey, you! Stop right there!" But I did not stop. I couldn't. I ducked under a fallen plank and quickly climbed over a familiar fence after a sharp turn to the right. Then I hid behind a hidden wall until the soldier's footsteps were further away. Until I made sure that there were no more enforcers around my area, I slowly crept through the silent streets, avoiding anyone with a gun. With a badge.

Everywhere was in ruins, like it was swept by a deadly tornado. Rubbish bins were toppled over, its contents splayed onto the ground. There were splatters of blood on the walls. A crying baby was silenced so suddenly.

A small hut the gypsies lived in was blazing. The smell of burning wood was strong in the air as the fire climbed high into the sky. Ashes fell along with the pure white snow.

I finally reached the corridor to my home. Funny how the posters were completely fine. Unaffected by the ruin.

I ran straight for my apartment. Rushing up the stairs. Never faltering until I saw the door hanging open and the sound of crying. Mum was crying. I dashed inside and saw our dining table flipped upside down. The living room vase was left in shards on the floor. The glass was tinted a bold crimson.

Mum saw me enter. She wiped her face roughly with the back of her hand and reached out for me, but I ran straight to his room... My brother's room.