'Mrs Hoakes, do you know what Sah is?'

'Sah? No.'

'I asked Melinda what she said yesterday in church and she said Sah.'

'Yes, that's what it sounded like. Did she say what it was?'

'I was hoping you knew.'

'No. It was the first time she said that.'

I was trying my best to console Mrs Hoakes. No matter how clumsy she is with emotions, she was the mother of this girl after all. However, nothing of whatever she was saying was consoling me. Even the ...