The woman opened the door. ‘Come in,’ she said. She looked at me with her little bright eyes. ‘What’s your name?’ she asked.
‘Sarah Williams,’ I replied. ‘I’m going to see my uncle, on the other side of town. My mother’s ill, you see, and she needs help.’
‘Well, you can’t go there by yourself now. It’s too dark. My husband will be home in about an hour. Wait for him and he’ll walk with you.’
And then she began to tell me about all her troubles.