***ESTHER***

It was only a few hours before night fall, but every minute stretched far and cruel. I couldn’t stop moving — I paced the room back and forth, sighing at intervals. My hands wouldn’t stay still either; they ran through the edges of my apron, trembling. My heart thudded so much that I felt like it was going to come apart.

I kept glancing through the window, how the sunlight was slowly slipping away. In just a few hours, night would come — and when it does, I have to face ...