The summer night is calm and quiet except for buzzing crickets. The barren, empty mountains are made even lonelier by moonshine. And so was the car that made its way on an aging road.
Safiya was still holding the stick when she collapsed, exhausted, on the floor of the cave. She was the last of her companions to sit down. She shivered at the cold dampness on her bare legs as she eased back against the cave wall. Complete silence prevailed over the little bodies now worn out from hours of playing.