The Farmers Palace

All night a lasting sleep had escaped him and he had had only catnaps, bouncing between wakefulness and a sleep that was akin to wakefulness. He thought he had heard the rooster at first light, but he was not certain, as he was not certain when his wife had gotten up and gone downstairs. When he woke fully late in the morning, he sat up on the side of the bed and twisted his head from side to side to throw off sleep, like a man up from a swim, shaking off water. Absently, he watched the sun ...