Riot! Aftermath

The day after the riot, Billy woke feeling heavier, in heart and head, and very hungry.

He got up, trudged to the kitchen. No sign of Darren. Relieved, he went to the fridge. No milk. Went to the bread bin. No loaf. Nothing to eat. He should get some, from the shop.

A spasm of sharp guilt. Raaj's wouldn't be open today. A picture sprang into his head; the shattering of the glass and the roar his brother made; his shock at his audacity to do it and a sense of power at being able to follow through; Raaj, raising his hands to his face to shield himself as shards propelled themselves towards him.

He recalled surveying what he had done, before being dragged away by Darren.

He didn't want to return and yet, there was a curiosity about how the streets looked. He had tagged his name under a railway bridge once, proud of his creation, when the local community officer had shouted out to him and he had run away before he could be challenged. It was a similar feeling to that, that he had left his mark, he was not impotent but this was more intense. He put on his coat. His shame was not enough to keep him away.

There was still a police presence.

The streets were quiet. Debris littered his way: bottles strewn and cans in the gutters; abandoned banners, like flattened tombstones; small tubular firework papers, like fat confetti, rolling, colouring the pavements.

His home town was unattractive, a grey bunker, but today, it looked like an old lady who had been punched, mugged and left on the floor to fade away. He thrust away his involvement and this, its result. It wasn't just him. He was a very small part of it.

And then he was outside of Raaj's shop, face-to-face with the consequences of his actions. Raaj was sweeping on the pavement. He looked tired and stooped as he bent to scoop glass into paper. The tinkling penetrated Billy's conscience.

Raaj glanced over. Stopped. He didn't smile, just stood, staring and then he went back to his task.

Billy gulped. Raaj knew what he had done.

***

366 words

This links to Riot which I wrote in response to the unrest which is currently swarming over Britain, aimed at asylum seekers and which is tearing apart communities. It also seems to be uniting them, which is a positiveness but this situation should never have arisen in the first place.

You can read Riot here:

Thanks for stopping by! If you do read this, please leave a comment as I love to interact with my readers.

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