I changed the topic. “Are you still teaching at the schoolhouse?”
“Yes, yes I am,” she smiled. “Beautiful schoolhouse. You should visit some time.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but Jane interrupted.
“Oh, did you hear?” Jane moved in closer, lowering her voice. “The government is shutting down the channel rail line!”
Eyebrows knitted, Agnes gave her a funny look. “Nonsense! Who told you this?”
“A very kind gentleman over here gave me the scoop!”
“One is the merchants? Or—?”
“Yes, yes. They’re turning it into a dedicated rail for the military!”
“What do they know?” she scoffed. “The old rails, sure enough, those are shutting down, but they’re building a larger, dedicated line over the channel between the two rails, up in the sky and off the streets. They’re simply decommissioning those old rails… give some room for the automotive vehicles.”
“You sure?”
“Yes! I’m sure! Otherwise I wouldn’t be speaking about it. Edwin deals with this kind of work.”
Jane glanced back and forth between us. “… Really now?”
“Her husband is a lawyer. If he says so, then I trust it.”
“Be aware of your sources, Jane. Not everyone is well informed, nor do they have the discipline to not spread baseless rumours.”
Jane scratched her head, a little flustered. “I guess so—”
Behind me, there was a shout. An unusual shout; one of anger rather than cheer. Jane flinched, and whipped around. Agnes silently raised her eyes. With a closed mouth grunt, I turned around as calmly as I could to see what the commotion was about. The cry didn’t sound too close, but close enough to be on the same street.
There was no one behind us. However, just down the street, where everyone else was looking, there were two men dressed in uniform with their backs turned to us. They were hunched over someone else; a third man in uniform, who was moving around. Only through closer inspection did I realise he was on top of someone. And that person was yelling. I could only make out a few of his words.
“Unhand me! Officer! I have… right… what… want… Hey! … dare touch… property!”
The two men continued to struggle under the shade of a market stall as a second officer began to gather items off the stands. Bystanders watched without a word. The third officer turned back to the streets and waved them off with a casual flick of his baton. They obeyed and moved on with one last glance. Some continued to watch from a distance, knowing the officer wouldn’t bother chasing away every bystander.
“What’s the commotion about?” Jane kept her eyes locked.
Agnes sighed. “Just another merchant selling things he shouldn’t be selling.”
There wasn’t anything particularly dangerous looking in the stall. By the items it held, it looked like he was a handcraft merchant; some picture frames, wood carvings of bears, eagles, cats, silver wind chimes, necklaces of all sorts with beads, embellishments, wooden carvings. The officer collected these necklaces first, straight off the front table of the stall. The items that did stand out as unusual were the willow hoops that hung from the awning, with beautiful spiral patterns woven out of string and feathers dangling below.
“What? The charms?” Jane turned around. “That’s silly.”
“They are officially outlawed, in this market at least.”
“They are?”
“With the unrest going around, there’s no tolerance for those who fan the flames of superstition.”
Unwittingly, my shoulders tensed.
“… Well…” She didn’t continue, and instead turned back towards the commotion. The merchant was cursing now that both of the officers were ripping his goods off their posts, kicking his feet at the officer pinning him down. The officer retaliated with a swing of his baton. I did not catch where it hit, but the merchant did not falter. Their scuffle kicked up dust, and with a shout, one of the other officers joined his side to pin down the man.
“Never mind those boys. Let them play around in the dirt.”
My eyes never left the scene. With a sigh, I finally spoke. “What a shameful sight this puts on us.”
“It’s none of our concerns. We have nothing to worry about.”
“… Surely, this must get painted back on us all, when visitors are treated this way.”
The teacher shrugged. “A healthy amount of paranoia is necessary for all parts of society. It’s only natural. Nothing we can do about it.” I heard her walk up beside me. “If it paints our great city this way, so be it.”
I glanced to the side. I didn’t quite understand what she was speaking of. Shoulder to shoulder between Jane and I, Agnes was watching the arrest with resolute eyes, as if she was emblazing the scene into memory. She did not cringe or flinch every time the officers brought their batons down on the man, like Jane did. With the confrontation growing violent, Jane turned her face away, unable to watch anymore. Her eyes crossed with mine, flashing a hint she wished not to be here anymore. With a blink, Agnes turned away as well, smiling at me as she withdrew past me.
“I thought you did not care about the optics of our state.”
I held my breath, feeling my shoulders grow rigid. Jane’s eyes stayed with mine. With the attention back on me, I ducked my eyes to the cobblestone, feeling my face grow red. Why did I say all of that? “I… don’t know. Perhaps Father did rub off on me a bit.”
“Good for you.”
When I looked back up, her back was turned, walking away from the two of us. Though I could not see her face, I could tell by the tone of her voice she was satisfied with the small surrender.
“Let’s be on our way. I still have a few duties to attend today.” She paused, glancing over her shoulder. “Are you two heading back to the food market?”
With a breath of relief, Jane nodded. “Sure, we can. We were just on our way out before we ran into you.”