In the solitude of that cold cell, now holding the worn-out stuffed teddy bear again, Esteban reflected on his uncertain future.

Everything grew darker and darker for him. His dream of studying at Dewclaw was no longer a dream. He cursed himself for his clumsiness, his naiveté, and for having betrayed the trust of those who truly cared for him. A deep state of sadness, mixed with shame and regret, took hold of his spirit. Nothing mattered to him anymore. Time dragged on. The hours dragged on. And loneliness was his only companion.

He barely ate the food provided to him. The guards on duty began to worry. No one he knew had visited him in two days of his arrest. He assumed they were disappointed in him. Including Sorah.

"Vroeg... forgive me for failing you," he whispered to himself as images of his skunk-like friend enjoying the sunset flashed through his mind.

He took the teddy bear and lay down with it, like so many other times. The tears threatened to return, but there were no more. He had shed them all during those endless.

Art by me.

Fragment of "Sunset in Amistad" story, new edition 2025.