Stone Cold

The final days of January are extremely harsh for Link and Ginger: It snows every day, and “the cold seems to settle in your bones when there’s nothing in your stomach. You can’t shift it” (53). People are even less generous than usual, and the two of them struggle with hunger and cold. In an attempt to raise money, Ginger borrows a marker pen from a news vendor and creates signs reading, “NON-ALCOHOLIC HOMELESS, PLEASE HELP” (53), but they don’t help. The two try some hostels, but they have no luck. They’re left to rely on occasional help from the Salvation Army, which provides soup and sandwiches.

Link reflects on his inability to attend job interviews since his clothes are sodden rags, his fingernails are long, black claws, and he reeks. He acknowledges that he should have realized Ginger’s company made surviving easier for him, but he doesn’t fully understand this until the day Ginger disappears. The day starts like any other, and then Ginger mentions his plans to meet some friends down in Holborn. He tells Link he’ll see him later. However, by 11 o’ clock that night, Ginger still hasn’t returned.