Yes, he had been awake for hours, ruminating on the discovery of the night outside. He prepared his coffee as he always did, but the taste was bitter.
It seemed even stronger that morning. Her hands trembled slightly as she held the beaten metal cup and she couldn’t stop thinking about the young woman’s frightened eyes.
Esperaza was there somewhere in her lands, probably with hunger and fear.
The image of her bathing in the stream returned to his mind like a whispered prayer, pure and vulnerable. He decided to do his morning routine earlier, checking the livestock and fences as an excuse to look for her.
Sik urged his horse with automatic movements, but his heart was pounding wildly in his chest. He knew every stone, every tree in those lands and knew where a person could take refuge.
