Read "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
What I heard first the next morning was a scream and a crash. Cora, dropping the breakfast tray. It woke me up. I was still half in the cupboard, head on the bundled cloak. I must have pulled it off the hanger, and gone to sleep there; for a moment I couldn't remember where I was. Cora was kneeling beside me, I felt her hand touch my back. She screamed again when I moved.
What's wrong? I said. I rolled over, pushed myself up.