Living Without Shadows

THE Madam is reaching out to press the bell next to her bed.

She doesn't know who will answer the bell, or if it will be answered at all.

If the bell is answered she will know it is not a Thursday.

If the bell is not answered she will know it is probably Thursday.

But she won't know what she and her family will eat that night, or whether she will spend another week looking for a new maid.

If the bell is not answered, perhaps she has failed, again.

In that moment, that moment of anticipation as ...