Question

For hours they stood there, hearing no sound, and seeing nothing but the smooth, high walls on either side of the passage and the calm blue sky so high above them. Then the maidens sat down upon the ground and covered their faces and sobbed, and said:
"Oh, that he would come and put an end to our misery and our lives."
–“The Cruel Tribute,”
James Baldwin

Answer 1

Right, what's the question, though?