It was a cold evening.
Seven-year-old Austin had stumbled upon a massive heap of snow piled high against a concrete wall, swept there by the biting wind.
He bobbled precariously on his tiny, numbed legs, his oversized, hand-me-down sneakers offering no grip. His toes peeked through a torn seam in the canvas, gray with frost, but he managed to stand straight.
A small, rare smile almost bloomed on his chapped lips when a sudden, violent shove came from behind.
Thud. Splash.
Austin fell face-first into the freezing slush.
Before he could gasp, something terribly wet, sticky, and freezing slithered down the collar of his thin jacket, soaking his shirt.
"Hahahaha! Look at him, he looks like an upside-down ice cream cone!"
The boy who had pushed him laughed hysterically, flanked by his grinning friends.
He was holding a half-empty plastic cup, having just dumped his bright pink, syrupy bubble drink all over Austin's head.
