20
Bear of Happiness
His head hurts. Tentatively he tries to open his eyes. Everything is blurry. With his fingers, he explores his face. The skin around his left eye feels puffy. There is something sticky and encrusted on his cheek, and his entire body is sore and bruised.
A low-pitched moan.
Startled, Peter sits up. He is not alone in his cell.
“Effie?”
No response. All his feelings of guilt come crashing back. Puzzled, he moves his hand back and forth on the ground and touches something soft and woolen. Did they put a rug in his cell while he slept? Where does the light come from? It had been dark when he fell asleep.
Peter notices an odd-looking lamp next to him on top of a table, with a round metal foot and topped by something in the shape of an upside down barrel made of silk.
