Explore "Lone Women" by Victor LaValle on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
Adelaide would stay overnight. Grace and Sam gathered together in the adult bed and Adelaide did her best on Sam's smaller frame. Before shutting her eyes, Grace instructed Adelaide to light a candle and leave it in the western-facing window; said she shouldn't close the shutters. The flame must burn through the night.
With the shutter open, the window shook but it didn't shatter; the light flickered on the sill. It went out twice and Adelaide lit it again both times. She checked on Grace and Sam. Neither looked good, pale and frail. Hardly much warmth in the cabin, but she felt as if she brought the candle with her into her dreams. It burned there and kept her mind from freezing with despair.