THE next morning arrived as fast and dreading as it could. The first routines for Orlanda were carried out as swift as possible. Soon, Oswald had breakfast, Orlanda even handed Nathan lunch for him and his boss, and then they were out of the house.

Then she went about the rest of her chores with a heavy heart, hanging out the laundry that were yet to dry on the clothesline at the garden and arranging flowers as usual in the living room, but her mind was elsewhere, and as she did her work, she glanced at the clock and each time she did, her stomach tightened.

The ticking hands of...