Nora Ainsworth didn't know how she managed to hold on. All she knew was that she was utterly exhausted, her body wracked with excruciating pain. The moment she opened the door to her rental apartment, she finally collapsed to the floor.
When she woke up, she was still lying on the floor.
But it was already the evening of the next day.
She had been unconscious for a full day and night.
She filled the bathtub with water and, clutching her stomach, got in to wash herself. Afterward, she opened her first-aid kit, applied some antiseptic to her wounds, and wrapped them with gauze. Only then did she grab a pack of instant noodles from the fridge and lie down on the bed to eat.
Every movement sent a jolt through her nerves.
Her head was tilted back, resting on the mattress without a pillow. With every small piece of instant noodle she brought to her mouth, tears streamed down like an unstoppable flood. 'But if I lie back like this,' she wondered, 'maybe the tears will flow back in?'
