The Villa of Secrets

She woke at dawn the next morning feeling remarkably refreshed and alert, given how long she’d gone without rest in the twenty-four hours before.

After a quick breakfast of pitta, cheese and strong coffee, she resumed her place in the triage tent and the day stretched on in a rhythm of labour and laughter.

More relief workers arrived, including a doctor and three more nurses. As the roads were submerged, the doctor had arrived from the next village on a mule – much to Cleo’s amusement.

She continued to work tirelessly, disinfecting cuts, calming frightened children and checking dressings. Her voice never wavered, even when the ground trembled faintly beneath them now and then, like a cruel reminder of what might still come.