It was 10:15. The child was slow this morning, and Suresh was worried. He limped back and forth in the cave. When the shadows were longer, he crawled outside to see if she was walking along the edge. No, he must have missed her. But he would wait. One more day. Suresh knew how to wait. If she came tomorrow, he would do it. She was all he lived for now, and it would be worth the risk.

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The next morning was cold. Ling felt the dampness through the open window as she crawled out of bed. Sometimes, when Tara was happy, she would hang an old rug over the window. Ling liked it when her sister was happy, and the rug made their little room warm and dry. She forced herself to look away from the huge lump under the covers in her sister’s bed. She could not think of Tara right now. She must clear the path before lunch or the old master would be angry.

Her feet were getting tougher. They did not bleed anymore and the blisters in her hands were healing. Ling was glad. She slipped the torn blouse over her head, pulled the dirty brown skirt up around her thin waist, then carefully tied the rags around her feet. She could not remember when she had eaten last. It may have been when Tara came home. But, Tara had been sleeping for three days, and Ling didn’t want to eat anymore.

Walking towards the tool shed, Ling remembered the first day the old master sent the crippled man to their shed. He shoved the door open and pulled Tara out of bed. Ling was frightened, but the man did not look at her. When Tara came home the next day, she was wearing a new dress and soft shiny slippers. Ling was excited, but Tara did not smile. She crawled into bed and slept.

Ling shuttered at the strangeness of this new life. Today, she would try very hard to be home before Tara woke up. She would be quiet, and she would try to eat the food the old man shoved under their door. Maybe this would make Tara smile again.

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Suresh waited. He could tell by the shadows in the cave that it was getting late. The child would be here—he could feel it. She would be confused, he knew, and frightened. Yes, very frightened. He wished he could speak her language, tell her who he was, but he could not let this stop him. He knew a place where the child would be safe, and they must leave today.