4
- 4 -
“Again. Pick up your staff.”
Leopold took a long, deep breath, his chest constricting around his lungs so much that even such a simple move as bending took effort. He glanced up at the clock on the wall. Only half an hour of the session had transpired so far, and that meant another thirty minutes to go. Willan would not allow Leopold to rest.
He grabbed the plastic rod that lay at his feet and pushed himself upright, holding the staff in both hands, fingers gripping in opposite directions as Willan had instructed him, hands almost touching, and the staff as an angle of about twenty degrees from vertical. He bent his legs, even though his thighs were almost as tight as his chest, and placed one foot back slightly, giving himself a wider base and lowering his centre of gravity. H
