All I Ask: Chapter 57

“I don’t get it, all those stories about Siberia,” Lulu grumbled to himself, as he tried to pull the sleeping bag more snugly around him. It was a good sleeping bag, thermal and water-repellant, and the wool coat was thick and well lined, but his feet were still ice-cold. He sighed, opened the sleeping bag, and got up to find another layer from the bundles on the stroller. He pulled out his trusty old comforter, zipped himself back into the sleeping bag, and spread the comforter on top. “How could anyone survive in Siberia where it’s 40 or 50 below zero?” he marveled grimly.

It may not have been Siberia, but the tunnel by the bus station was a veritable icebox. Lulu felt the cold wrapping itself around him like a snake. He got up once again, this time to look for his old army jacket. His teeth were chattering. Where was it? In that white bag from Miki’s Toy Store? Or maybe in the big black bag from the bargain store? Or was it somewhere among all the anonymous bags from the shuk?

The gloves on his hands were making it harder to search. He tried taking off one glove, but within seconds his fingers were stiff. He pulled the glove back on and continued rummaging. He was about to give up when he found the old coat at last.

With slow, clumsy movements, Lulu wrapped the coat around his feet, pushed his feet down into the sleeping bag, and closed the zipper once more. Again, he topped the whole arrangement with the comforter.