Whispers of winter : the art and science of snowflakes
The snow fell silently, softly covering the ground with a white blanket of flakes, the leaves all frozen; breezy, chilly breeze blowing, giving a magical look around.
The black grey clouds hovered over and we fought back biting cold. hugging his old, tattered coat around him. His mind was heavy with worries and he iust wished for a warm place to lie down and relieve himself of all troubles.
But he couldn't do that Sometimes he just wished he could disappear but such things never happen. That is life for you to brave everything- the equal measure And share of joys and sorrows. But he had never been happy, never since his grandmother had died.
It was shortly followed by the death of his father thereupon the burden of providing livelihood for his sick mother and his little brother had fallen upon his shoulders. He was but a boy of 10 years. Sometimes they'd go without food for days but some lucky days, he could gel enough to last for a week.
It was December and people were all gearing up for the Christmas celebrations. Today, the market had been busy with people, children, and everyone shopping, rejoicing and happiness just flooded in the air around, without touching him. He had his woes and this chill to fight. He wanted to be happy too, buy gifts for his mother and little brother but destiny had poverty in store for them.
His poverty made him do different kinds of menial works around the town, so he could scrap enough for some food and where he worked; some were large- hearted to give him clothing in charity. With Christmas and New Year around, he could find enough work around and could take a hamper home of leftover loaves of bread, some fried potatoes, biscuits, and milk and this as lavish as he could provide his family with.
It had started to snow and he needed to reach home to his family. They lived in an old broken shack towards the end of the town, near the river. Maybe this shack was buil by fishermen many years back. Poverty made their lives nomadic; moving around, living in old buildings and all the downtrodden places since last one year when his father had died and their meager home taken way by the harsh landowners for whom his father toiled as laborer. At least then, they had a hope to survive. But with the turn of these events, that flickering hope smashed with the change of seasons.
Every day he fought hard for his sick mother to survive. And his three year old brother, who barely understood why they never had enough to eat, why couldn't he drink milk every day, why his mother coughed on and on and why they had to move when he had staffed making friends -with the little rabbits,wild cats and dogs.