In a dramatic twist, N- cornered his bitter enemy F- at the entrance to the Christmas market before starting a fistfight. Constables on duty rushed to the scene to find both men grappling one another like imitation sumo wrestlers. Instead of jumping in to separate the sizable duo, the constables argued about whether the city had already instituted rules about acceptable behavior at the markets and whether it was the responsibility of the constabulary to intervene during such altercations.
As N- and F- crashed and landed on an ever increasing number of stalls – they’d already smashed a row of trinket stalls – half-a-dozen desperate stall keepers decided to take matters into their own hand, before the fight led to financial losses for them. As they were preparing to plunge in and as the constables forged an agreement on how best to proceed, N- and F- got up off the floor, dusted themselves, eyed each other stupidly and then looked around to notice the crowd that had gathered.
The vendors and constables exchanged glances. One of the constables, to break the awkward silence, said in a loud, condescending voice, “Barring the exceptions – and there are always exceptions – this is exactly how all fights should end. By themselves.”
At which point, the half-dozen stall keepers launched themselves gleefully at the constables.
Photo from unsplash.com by Daniels Joffe.