The hours passed, stretching out before Sarah on the following day, exhausting her as she waited for news, anything: a tidbit on the TV, a rumor, but there was nothing except a looming dread permeating those around her who sat in the teahouse dining room playing cards; anything to take up time during the wait. She stared out the window from where she sat with Matt and Penny, looking across the street to Commander Adhikari’s headquarters, then peered into the distance toward the airstrip. There hadn’t been a helicopter landing in the last two hours. Had they stopped looking? She had a powerful urge to go back over to Adhikari and question him again, but she was quite sure the answer would be the same: “We’re looking, please be patient.” If she heard those words one more time, she’d lose it.
