20
Watlingford Public School, Oxfordshire – One Week Later
I’m awake before dawn and in the quiet of the new day I make my morning prayers. I imagine the glow of the sun over the white buildings, the hazy heat and the soothing call of the muezzin. Here, there is only birdsong to break the silence beyond the walls of my room. Here, there’s barely enough space to lay down my mat between bed and desk. Here, I’m alone.
My room is like a cell with one exception: the window is not barred. It’s high, wide, and through it I see fields of green grass; the colour is so intense it looks fake. I’m blessed that the window faces east as the sun rises as I pray for guidance and strength.
Afterwards I sit at the pale wood desk. Above my head there are bookshelves. This is a place to read and study, a
