HOVERING
“We ourselves … groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” Romans 8:23
The next day I was surprised to find the Old Woman still asleep when the electricity was turned on. Every morning for the past nine months, I woke up to the sound of the Old Woman singing hymns or speaking her prayers in her low, croaking voice. When she saw me, she would stop and smile, the joy from her face illuminating our entire cell. “And how is my righteous daughter today?” she would ask. We would spend the rest of the day together in quiet rest or deep conversation.
But this morning, the Old Woman didn’t wake up as usual. Her breathing remained as rattled as it was the night before. Through her threadbare prison garments, the Old Woman’s ribcage pulled a
