Chapter 46

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Afrah woke up to the sunlight creeping into her bedroom, and the sounds of the bird performing a sonnet right outside her window. She remained lying down while her brain booted up slowly. Her mother used to say that when it came to waking up, she was like an old computer, the ones with vacuum tubes.

Having gone to bed late the night before, she took several minutes to recollect her thoughts. Fifteen minutes later, she crawled out of the bed. It was no graceful affair, more like a snail emerging from its shell than a princess rousing from her bed.

Her footsteps were silent as she walked to the window, the carpet absorbing most of the sound. She pushed her hair out of her face, drawing the curtains aside. The sunlight poured into the room then, blinding her momentarily.

Somewhere at the back of her mind, she knew there was something she was forgetting. Today didn't seem like an ordinary day. The sun was much too radiant, the clouds has gone on vacation, and the air felt intrinsical