Yikim

The city still smelled of dust. The man walked silently among the ruins. His hair was disheveled, his face pale. There was both emptiness and searching in his eyes. His steps were slow but steady - though he didn't know where he was going. When he reached the marketplace, a shimmer caught his attention amid the murmur of the crowd. A young man stood there, holding two sticks of cotton candy, waiting for someone. He was smiling, scanning the crowd, his excitement growing with every passing second. The man's gaze fixed on the pink cotton candy. That color... a color he hadn't seen in so long. A faint smile appeared on his lips. With a trembling finger, he pointed at the cotton candy. The young man hesitated for a moment, then handed him one - and then the other. The man took them quietly. His eyes glimmered. Like a forgotten feeling returning after years, a brief wave of happiness washed over him. He clutched the cotton candy to his chest and began to walk. He passed through broken streets, believing he was heading home. But there was no home anymore. Only a heap of stones, iron, and silence. He stood there for a while. Then, reaching for a pillow left from the earthquake, he sat by a small fire and drifted into memories of the past. His hands trembled. He looked at the cotton candy. Suddenly, anger filled his face. He didn't scream - just pursed his lips as tears streamed down his cheeks. He threw the cotton candy, still on its stick, into the fire. As it melted in the flames, he too lost the last of his strength. He began to cry. He couldn't breathe - his throat tightened, he gasped for air, but nothing came. His last breath, perhaps. As the orange glow of the fire flickered across his face, his eyes slowly closed. The city was silent. The wind carried the faint scent of burnt cotton candy through the ruins.