Unexpected Joy At Dawn [antikvár]

Monday, 4 a.m. Accra, Ghana She had stopped breathing before he came in. That was how it seemed to him at first. In exasperation, he screamed: 'Oh, Massa!' He screamed the name a second, and then a third time and feli on the bed beside her, the hard surface of the bed not making him comfortable. He shouted yet again out of fear. 'Oh, God,' he called out aloud, pushing his little hope into this doubtful call. He was not even sure of what he was doing, but went about his whatever-it-was carefully. She lay motionless, face upwards, the red light streaming in through the opening in the wall danced on her face, which, though hard, showed peace. He ran his hands over her to feel her pulse, wondering in that instant whether the sickness had come to its worst and the doctor's prediction had come true at last. 'She has a few days on her life/ the doctor had said. He began to blame himself for hoping her condition would change for the better even though he had seen her drifting away. He pressed gingerly onto her ribs. Her tiny hands rested almost weightlessly by her sides. The bed made several squeaks at the joints as he worked on her. The squeaks interfered with his concen-