Excerpt from Through the Cane Fields

As the rain started to pour, one of the servants left the room to close the front door. I could still hear it tapping on the clay tiles and running down the sides of the house. I ate in silence and pondered the significance of all this. Mother eyed me and I smiled and sat up straight. As soon as I could, I asked permission to leave the table and walked upstairs, listing to the sounds of the rain crashing on the roof. I found solace in my little room and I sat by the window for a long time, watching as the lightning strikes illuminated the sky before disappearing and leaving everything darker than it was before.