The night was quiet and still. A summer evening should have been brimming with life. On any other night in Riverfront Village, old men reluctant to go home would gather by the small convenience store, playing chess on stone stools.
Middle-aged men, weary from a day of labor, would drink beer and tell dirty jokes. They'd complain about their exhausting lives and boast about their legendary victories at the mahjong table. Inevitably, someone would call their bluff, recalling a time and place where they lost so badly they couldn't even afford to go home, triggering a roar of laughter from the crowd.
Children played in the fields, along the roads, and by the creek, making summer memories they would perhaps treasure for years to come.
The yellow dog at the village entrance barked. Someone's cat had gone missing. A brazen goose was chasing children again.
The peaceful days of Riverfront Village had passed, one year after another. But today, it faced an unprecedented disaster.
