Yuri was bored, he was always bored. The street was cold and pretty empty but it was too cold to sleep in one of the doorways, lest he freeze to death and he didn’t want to go back to the home for wayward children lest he get a caning for having absconded for a 2 days. He would get the caning eventually when he went back, and he would go back because he always did, but if he was going to be caned, he might as well make his freedom last as long as possible – he got the same caning for 2 days as he did for 2 weeks.

Yuri’s penchant for mischief was making his fingers itched. It had snowed the week before and but the street was wet, and clear of snow, the streets traffic had ground the snow away to water that made the roadway sludgy and wet but ultimately clear. There was some dirty snow laying under a dung cart that hadn’t moved in weeks, more dung and mud than actual snow. He considered scooping it up and heaving it at the nearest expensively dressed toff that happened to walk past him. But it was midnight and there were no toffs to be seen and he slumped across the high street to look for better sport in the park.

The beds of snow drops and early spring daffodils were already flowering and without anything else to do, kicking the heads off the buds seemed like a reasonable way to spend 30 minutes. He stomped through the beds swinging his feet wildly. A voice spoke from the darkness and for a moment he froze, but figuring it was another rough sleeper, and unfraid of anything -despite what good sense would tell him, he snarled back. ’You mind your fuckin self then’!’ scuffing a foot in the direction of the person who had spoken, not much minding if he kicked them. ’I’ve as much right to be here as you.’