Early the next day, before the sun had risen, Monica Reed was already awake.
She saw Elijah Hastings sitting in front of the tent, and greeted him with a smile:
"Good morning, Mr. Hastings!"
"Why aren't you sleeping a little longer?" Hastings asked.
He knew Monica Reed had a tough time at her Uncle's Shop, when it was said she couldn't eat or sleep well, it was true.
Otherwise, how could she be seventeen years old and look like fifteen or sixteen with clear signs of malnutrition.
"I slept enough." Monica explained, "Seriously, these two days have been the best I've slept in years."
"All right, go and rinse off." Hastings pointed towards the gentle river water, "The water is pretty clean, there are no wild animals around now."
"Okay."
Monica agreed, took the wash bag Hastings had bought for her and headed for the riverbank.
