In the morning, Patience was woken by the birds outside her window.  She sat up in bed and stared at them with slight resentment.  Their life was free of cages and whippings.  She quickly got out of bed and got dressed.  Mother did not like to be kept waiting.  Still, there was a part of her which no longer cared what her mother though.  She had really liked that outsider and mother had attacked the girl.  If she could have fought back against mother, she would have, but she wasn't sure she had the strength.<br/><br/>She knelt beside her bed, fully clothed, and prayed to God to give her the strength to withstand mother's wrath, as she always did.  It was the best she could hope for, or so she had always assumed.  She mentioned the outsider in her pray as well, hoping for her healing and well being.<br/><br/>Standing, she headed toward the door, to go and make breakfast, only to find it locked.  With a heavy heart she shook the door and then tried to turn the know with all of her strength.  Mother had never locked her in overnight before!  Frustrated she cried out "Mother, are you there?"  No one answered.  After calling a few more times she went around to her window and looked out.  Mother was nowhere to be seen.  Patience went and sat back on her bed and cried slightly.<br/><br/>Mother did not show up all morning and into the early afternoon.  Patience was hungry and desperate to use the bathroom.  She was also scared.  It felt like mother would never come back.  She did not have a clock and did not know what time it even was.  Finally, she decided to try  to pry the nails out of the window, using an old nail file.  Ten minutes later, with a broken file and no loosened nails, she was considering breaking the window, though she had no idea where she would go if she did.