It seemed like hours, so many unbearable hours since she was last able to breathe, or see, or even feel anything. Now, as her eyelids parted slowly, to reveal nothing but darkness, it almost felt as though her head would split into several tiny pieces and scatter all over the floor.

It was only when her eyelids had fully opened - despite how bad it stung - that she realised her head was covered. And in a dusty sack cloth.

Her nostrils began to itch. She sought to sneeze but it ...