The days seemed to pass very swiftly. It was torture for me to wake up every morning knowing that I could not do anything to prevent the war that was fast approaching. I had nothing to do.
I moped around the house all day long, not being able to summon sufficient interest to take part in anything. I counted the days, crossing them off my calendar. I had deliberately not asked anyone about the particular day when the men were scheduled to leave. This morning, I had woken up, feeling more out of sorts than usual. I had a feeling that this was the day but I was afraid to ask.
I stared out of my window at the activity going on below. My mother walked back and forth, giving instructions to the maids and the guards, seeing to it that everything ran smoothly. As she passed the window, she gav
