| The air
was heavy with night's moisture, and the few stars not hidden by
clouds
looked very far away and icy-brilliantThe blackness around her seemed formless,
infinite
She had rushed blindly into the center of the yard, and now she
couldn't make out the familiar shapes of smoke-house and barn that
should be nearbyShe turned in sudden panic, looking for the white
bulk of the house she'd just leftBut it, too, was dark and
formless
No light showed anywhereIt was as if she were lost in a bleak and
unknown and silent worldNothing was stirring in the night, not a
leaf not a feather on a bird's wingTerror plucked at her taut
nerves, and she wanted to runBut where to?
Everywhere was alien darknessScarlett gucci purses clenched her teethWhat
kind
of foolishness was this? I'm at home, at Tara, and the dark cold will
be gone as soon as the sun's upShe forced a laugh; the shrill
unnatural sound made her jumpThey do say it's always darkest
before
the dawn, she thoughtI reckon this is proof of it
I've got the megrims, that's allI just won't give in to them,
there's no time for that, the stove needs feedingShe put a hand out
before her into the blackness and walked toward where the coal bin
should be, next to the woodpileA sunken spot made her stumble,
and
she fellThe bucket clattered loudly, then was lost
Every exhausted, frightened part of her body cried out that she should
give up, stay where she was, hugging the safety louis vuitton women's bags of the unseen ground
beneath her until day came and she could seeBut Mammy needed
warmth
And the cheering yellow light of the flames through the isinglass
windows of the stoveScarlett brought herself slowly to her knees and
felt around her for the coal bucketSurely there'd never been such
pitch darkness 17 befbre in the worldOr such wet cold night air
She was gasping for breath
Where was the bucket? Where was the dawn? Her fingers brushed
across
cold metalScarlett scrabbled along on her knees toward it, then both
hands were clasping the ridged sides of the tin coal scuttleShe sat
back on her heels, holding it to her breast in a desperate embraceOh
Lord, I'm all turned around nowI don't even know where the newest dior bag house
is,
much less the coal binI'm lost in the nightShe looked up
frantically, searching for any light at all, but the sky was black
Even the cold distant stars had disappeared
For a moment she wanted to cry out, to scream and scream until she
woke
someone in the house, someone who would light a lamp, who'd come
find
her and lead her homeLost in her own backyard,
only a few steps from the kitchen door! She'd never live down the
shame of itShe looped the bail of the scuttle over her arm and began
to crawl clumsily on hands and knees across the dark earthSooner or
later she'd run into something-the house, the woodpile, the barn, the
well-and she'd get her bearingsIt would be quicker to get up chanel bucket bag and
walkShe wouldn't feel like such a fool, eitherBut she might fall
again, and this time twist her ankle or somethingThen she'd be
helpless until someone found herNo matter what she had to do,
anything was better than lying alone and helpless and lostWhere
was
a wall? There had to be one here someplace, she felt as if she'd
crawled halfway to JonesboroPanic brushed past herSuppose the
darkness never lifted, suppose she just kept on crawling and crawling
forever without reaching anything? Stop it! she told herself, stop it
right nowHer throat was making strangled noisesShe struggled to
her feet, made herself breathe slowly, made her mind take command
of
her racing heartShe was Scarlett O 'Hara, she told montre cartier extra plate herself |