The cellar was dark and quiet. Nothing but the subtle shift or faint coughs of the women huddled there interrupted the continuous calm.
Among the lumps of cloth, hair, and flesh strewn across the floor, a pair of blue eyes glimmered in the moonlight that sneaked shily through the window as though fearful of getting caught.
Zarqa lay down in her accustomed spot beneath the small window where she could see what was beyond it. She had missed sleeping out in the desert and having the full expanse of the boundless sky in her sight.
Now all she got was that small frame.
A sigh escaped her as she tried to push those thoughts away.
Her exhale prompted the lump by her side to stir and a pair of brown eyes peeked from behind the greying blanket. " You're still awake. Can't sleep?"
