He rose again, stretched, and yawned silently so as not to wake the old

woman up. He turned out the table lamp next to her, and, hesitating for a moment,

pulled a worn afghan from the couch and put it over her. She stirred for a moment,

and her eyes popped open and stared directly at him. Just as suddenly they closed

again, and she fell back into a rhythmical wheezing.

"Did she recognize me?" he wondered. Did she understand how much compassion and forgiveness he had put into that one simple act? He turned down the hall towards the bathroom.

It didn't matter.


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