Yes, he had been awake for hours, ruminating on the discovery of the night outside. He prepared his coffee as he always did, but the taste was bitter.
It seemed even stronger that morning. Her hands trembled slightly as she held the beaten metal cup and she couldn’t stop thinking about the young woman’s frightened eyes.
Esperaza was there somewhere in her lands, probably with hunger and fear.
The image of her bathing in the stream returned to his mind like a whispered prayer, pure and vulnerable. He decided to do his morning routine earlier, checking the livestock and fences as an excuse to look for her.
Sik urged his horse with automatic movements, but his heart was pounding wildly in his chest. He knew every stone, every tree in those lands and knew where a person could take refuge.
There were several caves on the slopes and an old abandoned gravel pit near the northern boundary of the property. If it was him who heard, that would be where he would choose to take refuge.
The morning air was fresh, charged with the perfume of Artemisia and the distant song of the birds that heralded the new day.
He found her near the same stream, sitting on a smooth stone, combing her wet hair with her fingers. Esperanza didn’t hesitate to flee when she saw him approaching on horseback.
Instead, he raised his chin with a dignity that surprised Se as if he had been waiting for that moment. His eyes looked at him directly, without pleas or tears, only with a silent acceptance of destiny.
It was as if she knew that he knew her identity and was prepared to face the consequences. If she showed herself slowly, taking off her hat in a demonstration of respect that he himself completely observed.
