It had to work, it had to… but it didn’t.

Oh, how my niece sickened me! I was in the depths of the sickly poor, and she had a huge fortune. I suffered horribly; a single piece of bread for supper, and she had a wonderful feast all her own. If only I could get my hands, dirty and weathered as they were, on the huge supply of money locked up in her guardian’s attic!

The moment we get back to the cell, the door behind us slams shut and we make our way slowly to the back corner of the stone room. My sister gently and quietly helps me to sit down and lean against the wall. She does not speak. Even when a guard enters carrying a pile of hay which he dumps in the corner opposite us, she doesn’t make a sound. “This is so you can be more comfortable.” He says, “I’m to stay here and make sure that the boy tries to walk.” He looks sad, like he doesn’t really bear us any harm. “I was on your father’s side.

"Make her be quiet.” She says, her voice irritated. A guard pulls a strip of cloth from his pocket and strides towards the lady.

The darkness surrounds me
It presses tight
I cannot breathe