A Typical Day in Siberia
A mother was rushing, with toddler in tow, to the wartime mall.
A Typical Day in Siberia belongs to the following groups:
Short stories - Spherical ScriptingsIt was a typical winter day — cold. Temperatures in Irbit occasionally reached the point at which Fahrenheit and Celsius become indistinguishable. On the other side of the Ural Mountains, the invincible horde had been met by an indomitable will. At the end of the monumental battle, a quarter million invincibles surrendered at Stalingrad. It marked the end of the pathogenic explosion. Its implosive eradication had begun.
A mother was rushing, with toddler in tow, to the wartime mall, the black market, where the Russian people bartered for necessities. She had dressed her son warmly: long woolly underwear; pants; shirt and sweater; an overcoat with mittens; a hat with ear flaps; and little boots made of felt. The felt was effective because the temperature was too low for snow to melt and make the felt wet. His father had recently demonstrated the fascinating way in which saliva turned to ice before it reached the ground with a clink.
The little boy stopped walking to complain about some minor discomfort. His mother’s hasty effort in dressing him for her important errand had been less than his fastidiousness required. In her agitation, she started spanking him, a very unusual response from her. But suddenly she stopped.
Advancing towards them was a disorganized column of misery guarded by army troops. The prisoners-of-war were shivering in the remnants of their warm-weather uniforms. Their heads down, icicles hung from the nostrils of the vanquished invaders. Tanya stared at the despised detritus shuffling past.
“That accursed nation of swine!” she exclaimed, as frozen spit punctuated the ground.
Damian
An interesting description of the extreme cold, and life far far removed from our everyday!
TheBigHenry
Thanx for the feedback, Damian.
Al Neaimi
were you there/ very interesting i started having an image in my head of this cold place and the people there , very interesting image for sure , thanks for sharing.
TheBigHenry
Thanx, Al.
It’s an excerpt from a novel I am writing.
Cain Doherty
chilling, great emphasis on the weather conditons, it really paints the scene
TheBigHenry
Thanx, Cain.
I love your Apollo Bay Charm
Cain Doherty
Cheers for your support. I wish to politely let you know to hit the ‘reply’ button when responding to a comment otherwise those who you’ve replied to won’t receive your message. Have a nice day, Cain.
TheBigHenry replied
Thanx for the tip, Cain. I missed that distinction.
Best, Henry
Cain Doherty
no worries
valzart
Oh what wonderful flowing words writer ;} hugzz
TheBigHenry replied
Thanx, Val. It’s a semi-autobiographical vignette, in the aftermath of Stalingrad (the battle).
dinghysailor1
fine writing that hooked me in instantly! well done!!
TheBigHenry replied
Thanx, Sailor. It’s been 65 years since I was that toddler. Yet the image of those POW’s and the sound of my mother’s outrage remain indelible memories.
Christine Till...
War is a horrible thing., brutal and terrifying One of the best examples for this starving, freezing, wading through corpses is Stalingrad. It’s the next worst thing to being there…
I’d very much like to read your novel.
TheBigHenry replied
Thank you for your interest, Christine. My semi-autobiographical novel The Pilot’s Saga: Vengeance Is Mine is an on-line collaboration with my wife tristein and a work in progress. Click on the linked title to go to the novel’s Table of Contents, from which you can access those chapters that have been completed.
Christine Till...
Thank you for the link. I just spent a lot of time on it … reading pretty much everything.
I bookmarked it to check back for new entries.