Chapter 5

Even after being given permission, it took Merdi a long moment to step inside. Beyond the discomfort of the impending conversation, this was her first time entering Clifton’s office, and she was undeniably nervous. Though she had lived at Greenfield for five years, her encounters with him had always been brief, formal, and concise. They were like scenes from a play. When he briefly returned to Greenfield during the war, his words to her were always the same. “Have you been well?”