Ernie tried hiding in a corner, confused at the large throng of angry people charging in the same general direction and shouting all manner of slogans. He felt small and afraid, smaller than his eight-year-old self. Mother was nowhere to be found---she had brought him out with the intention of going to the supermarket to get some groceries and some treats, but she had since been swept away by the unending cascade of people.
The building facade provided little cover. All there was was a pillar that stuck out onto the sidewalk, and Ernie huddled behind it as everyone else marched on psat it, ignoring both the pillar the mendicant behind it. Ernie wanted to cry---already he could feel the tears welling up in his eyes and about to fall as large drops of tears---but he rubbed them out of his eyes and tried searching for his mother among the crowd.
It was near-freezing weather, roughly the end of winter, but not quite at the end, where the temperatures would drop with a vengeance for a week only to be raised substantially over the next fortnight to welcome the slightly more enjoyable aspect of spring. Ernie had worn his warm down jacket that Mother gave him, and he saw that many of the people who were marching in front of him shouting slogans and carrying signs were dressed almost the same, except being a little lighter. Frightfully, his eyes jumped from one person to the next, hoping to find Mother among them.
From the corner of his eye, he saw another movement. One of the crowd seemed to be moving rather differently from the rest. It was a man in a blue hoodie and jeans, and in his hands was a sign made out of plywood and a two-by-four. Ernie saw that the sign had ``Bring back the motherland!'' on it. But more importantly, he saw that the man was making his way towards him. By now, his fear had progressed to the point where he was willing to try anything to look for Mother, and seeing that he had nowhere else to run, Ernie stood at the corner of the pillar and waited.
``Hey kid,'' the man said when he finally made his way through the crowd to where Ernie was. ``What are you doing here? This isn't a place for a kid like you you know?'' The voice was husky but reassuring, and it sounded like the kind of voice that Ernie's father might have had Ernie had a father that he knew of. Mother never talked about him.
``I lost my mommy,'' Ernie replied, the tears wallowing anew in his eyes. The little bit of kindness from the stranger was the final straw for Ernie, who finally lost control and bawled his eyes out when he realised the full extent in which he was in.
``Woah there kid,'' the man continued in his kindly voice. ``Let's find your mommy together, okay?'' He looked about him and reached out to the nearest person who was empty-handed and shouting slogans. ``Hey buddy! Here, have my sign, and bring back the motherland!'' ``Aye comrade! We'll fight for our freedom from those oppressors!'' With the sign out of the way, he looked back at Ernie, who felt more calm after the cry.
``Hey kid, come on, wipe your eyes. You've gotta be strong, okay? Now, let's find your mommy.'' With that, he picked up Ernie and let him ride on top of his shoulders.
Ernie was still in a state of shock and passively let the man lift him up onto his shoulders. But once up there, he was suddenly struck by the sheer scale of the march that he was seeing. In all directions, all he could see were people all dressed in their cold wear, with some holding signs, and many shouting slogans, and all of them walking in unison towards the same direction. He looked ahead and saw the imposing figure of an old colonial-style building---the parliament house. He could feel the energy in the air, the sense of dissatisfaction even though he was only eight. Awestruck, he kept his mouth agape.
``Hey kid,'' the man asked from below, ``see you mother yet?''
``No, not really...''
``Okay kid, if you see her, let me know. Otherwise we'll just keep walking with the crowd towards our freedom. Maybe one day you will understand what it is we are trying to do here and appreciate what has been done.''
``Maybe your mom wanted you to see this too.''
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