A General Sense of Unease A willful person who has survived to a ripe old age is likely to suffer remorse when remembering errors made along the way. From time to time the more sensitive souls will awaken in the middle of the night to recall a particularly egregious sin of commission or omission, or at the very least regret a wrong turn made along life’s journey. Daisy Perika, who took pride in being considered exceptional, was an exception to this rule. The tribal elder had blundered along her crooked pathway for decades, hardly ever giving a thought to the harmful effects of her words or deeds. If she woke up worrying about something, it was likely to be an opportunity she had missed to feather her own nest or get even with some pest who had crossed her path. Which was why her recent sleeplessness was so frustrating to the callous old soul. As Daisy lay in her Columbine four-poster from late Saturday night until Sunday’s first light, she stared at the shadowy beamed ceiling. The insomniac also fretted, fumed, and rationalized.
