[ WP ] Somehow make the line `` Boy , its a joyous day outside ! '' sound sad .

Elias crouched in front of his son. Patiently he reached out to tie the worn laces on his sons shoes. Grasping them in creased hands, he folded one string over the other, looping back and around until the foot was adorned with a thin bow. Then he repeated the process with the shoe's twin. 
 
 The pair were silent as Elias did so. Sami was n't speaking to him. Nor was he even looking at his father. Instead his face was turned away, pressing into the wall beside the stairwell. Elias took this in stride. Who could fathom what was going through the four year old's mind? 
 
 Done with the second shoe, Elias clapped his hands and put a grin on his face. 
 
 `` Alley-oop!'' He lifted Sami from the stairs, hands tucked under the boy's armpits, and twirled him around to set him lightly on his now shod feet. Affectionately he ruffled Sami's hair, a smile spreading across his face. `` Boy, it's a joyous day outside!'' 
 
 Sami, still silent, watched his father with big eyes. He slipped his hand into his father's, huddling close to Elias' leg. Elias ignored Sami's mute behavior, but closed his hand protectively around the smaller one in his palm. Already Sami's hand had grown so much in four short years. Four more years and Sami would n't want to hold Elias' hand. Elias treasured the gesture for what it was. Opening the door, the pair stepped out onto the street. 
 
 The world was bathed in a chilly sunshine. Lukewarm, it illuminated the buildings on their street, all in different states of disrepair. As Sami waited patiently, Elias locked the door to their own shoddy house. Then, they set off. 
 
 One block from home and they started encountering other people. All with smiles on their faces, they waved in greeting at Elias. Elias waved back with his free hand. Sami stayed silent. 
 
 Three blocks away from home and Elias and Sami could hear the crowds. Four blocks and they could hear music. Six blocks and they'd arrived. 
 
 As far as festivals went, this one's decor was no better than Elias and Sami's street. Tattered and battered, it had seen better days. But no other festival in the world could match this one for its atmosphere. Joy was in abundance. And as Elias walked with his son in tow, he felt a cheer and relaxation that he had n't felt in years. Fickle and merry, he stopped by one vendor to buy some sweet cakes. It was n't until he found a secluded corner to split the splurge with Sami that Elias realized this party was having the opposite effect on his son. 
 
 `` Sami, Sami what's wrong?'' He knelt down, setting the treats on the bench. Like this, with one arm around Sami's shoulders and his body between the street and his son, Elias sheltered the boy from the crowds. Elias watched with sad eyes as Sami, slowly at first with just a few tears running down his cheeks, was overwhelmed by emotion. The small boy's frame shuddered beneath Elias' arm, gulping wails wracking his small body. `` Sami?'' 
 
 Sami threw both arms around his father's neck and burrowed his face in the man's shirt. Elias could barely catch the mumbled words coming from his son's mouth. 
 
 `` If the war is over, and everything is so happy now, why is n't mumma home yet?'' 
 
 Elias felt his throat close as he tried to find the right words. Finally he closed his eyes and enveloped the boy in a bear of a hug. A small trickle of water leaked from his own eyes. Working its way down the planes and creases of the man's skin, it dripped from his chin and fell through the air to land beside the forgotten cakes.
