Chapter 52: Sophia’s Sadness
Sophia had volunteered to assist. She felt a deep-seated need to share the burden she felt she had placed on Adam’s shoulders, and before she could stop herself, the words had left her mouth.
However, the reality of her offer set in as they stood in the kitchen. The three white bundles on the floor caught her attention. They were bedsheet-wrapped lumps of indistinct shapes.
She was aware of their identities. Her hands began to shake, and a chilling wave of terror sent shivers up her arms. She was unable to touch them. She was unable to handle dead men’s bodies.
Adam noticed her hesitancy. He noticed the delicate trembling of her hands and the way her gaze was focused on the corpses wrapped in sheets. He did not make fun of her. He did not press her.
"I didn’t say you had to do this" he said his voice softer now. It was a surprising shift from his earlier harshness. "If you don’t want to just clear the path for me. Open the side door. Look outside. Make sure no one is there."
The relief that washed over Sophia was immediate and immense. He was giving her a different job a task she could handle. She nodded quickly a jerky motion.
"Okay" she whispered.
She practically ran out of the kitchen. She proceeded down the hallway to the side door that her mother had entered moments before. Her heart thumping, she reached for the knob.
She was sweating nervously, and her hand was slippery. She inhaled deeply and turned it slowly. The latch opened with a click. She gave the door a slight inward pull. She looked out into the small alleyway that separated her home from the next.
The deep black was turning to a hazy gray as the first rays of the morning sun touched the sky. There was nobody in the alley. Only a stray cat, which fled when it saw her, and overflowing garbage cans.