There are creatures that lurk in the Vienna Christmas' markets. These beings weave between the legs of hapless would-be shoppers and browsers, tiny things not coming above the knee mummified in a cushioned membrane. These creatures are the starfish children.
They come in different colours and shades but they have one consistent physical feature and that is that their static bodies resemble the celestial pentagram.
Their parents take great pains to wrap these babies up and shield them from the cold.
Layer upon layer upon layer of clothing until the child resembles the Michelin man more than any other mammal on Earth.
Their movement is a fascinating spectacle. Unable to move individual joints like the elbow or knee, these children move their entire body in a zig zag motion, swinging from side to side as they shift their weight to each foot and pivot their entire body.
They rush off to the next exciting wonder, be that something hot, sharp or inedible. They tend to loiter under steaming mugs of punsch and mulled wine. Perhaps it is the aroma that attracts them or their taste for danger.
The starfish children float through the crowds at the markets, giggling and gurgling and sometimes they are eerily silent. They love mischief and impulsively dash into the path of unwitting spectators.
Thankfully, their parents come and swoop them up and off before the starfish children become agitated and decimate the wooden market huts with their gummy jaws and high-pitched shrieks.
They are a creature one should be wary of. Look out for them.
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