18
Stampede
It is snowing.
Peter shivers in his thin jacket. He squints against the onslaught of unceasing swaths of sleet and snow blowing almost parallel to the ground. Hundreds of people push past, all grey and dark, carrying bundles and bags and dragging children by their hands. Peter shuffles along, dazed and bewildered. In the distance, he can see lights flickering. It must be a big town.
There is something Peter has to do. It is urgent. He doesn’t know what it is, but it propels him forward. But he is hemmed in on all sides and cannot walk any faster in the crowd.
“I heard there aren’t many trains running anymore,” a woman says.
“If we don’t get there soon, it won’t really matter,” another mutters.
“I want Lisl,” a little girl cries. “Why didn’t you let me take her?”
“There
