Meriwa knew that twilight had come and gone when the busy sounds of males and females working – laundering, mending, cooking, and tending to their pups – gave way to more boisterous noise.
There was laughter and music, shouting and banging.
Not the drums from the bonfire, or any instrument she recognized. Whatever it was, it almost seemed to fade into the background, almost staticky. Or…tinny.
Cracking the cupboard door open, she stuck her head outside.
The air had cooled with the night and it was brimming with smells that she didn’t know off the bat. For the first time in hours – since she’d shoved herself into the cupboard – Meriwa breathed freely, the knot in her chest beginning to unravel.
The sweet relief was short-lived.
Not a few seconds later, those pleasant aromas beca
