Knocking for Freedom: Part II

Note: This is the second half of Knocking for Freedom. Click here to read part I.

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Clara doesn't sleep the night of the rescue. She lies in bed, staring at the ceiling. The house is quiet—it's strange she thinks how silence can make everything louder: her thoughts, her heartbeat, even her shallow breaths.

There's something about the word yes that refuses to leave her alone. The word lingers in her mind like a pebble in a shoe—a small thing, but impossible to ignore. She said yes, and now there's no going back. That should feel like a victory. She should feel brave. But should rarely is, and instead, she feels small, as though she's standing at the foot of a mountain, the climb stretching endlessly ahead.

Yes. She wonders how one word can carry so much weight.