The rain had finally stopped falling. The long storm that had darkened the skies seemed to have spent all its strength. Now the clouds broke apart slowly, and the golden sun climbed gently into the sky. Its warmth touched the wet earth, and the whole world seemed to glisten. Drops of water clung to the trees like diamonds. The fields smelled fresh. Birds began to sing again, as though they had been waiting all along for the storm to end.
But inside the carriage, there was no sunshine, no music. Lydia sat motionless, staring at nothing. Her cloak was still soaked through, and her hair clung damply to her face and neck. The water had chilled her, but it wasn't only the cold of the rain. It was the coldness inside her heart. Her eyes looked empty, as though the storm had taken away all her strength and left nothing behind.
