Pure Water

She kept it hidden. That’s what is required. If you don’t, you die. She’d seen it happen. The River is fast and furious and takes human sacrifices. These are the girls who shamed their families by blurting something out, complaining, or leaking the truth. They need to die to cleanse the family ‘honor’. That’s why it’s an ‘honor’ killing. Their men won’t be able to sit with the elders in the city gate until the deed is done. It’s kismet. That’s why it’s best to not register girls at birth. One never knows with them.

Loyal women help their husbands and menfolk in these deeds. Take Ocean’s father. He couldn’t marry his wife until he had cleansed his family of the shame of his sister. She had left and gone to the big city. He had to go and find her. And prove the deed done. Then the arranged marriage with his cousin could be consummated. But his mother was loyal. She helped him. The elders say this is how a family finds out who is faithful and who can not be trusted. Her husband can now sit with straight shoulders in the city gate.

But Pure Water. Some girls are just trouble. She got angry over a little thing at school. Don’t get me wrong, school is tolerable, but why that family sent a girl to school I don’t know. She’s proof that these new fangled government ideas are a waste of money. She should have been at home learning how to be a wife. But no, she got angry at school and the authorities had the audacity to listen to her when she fell apart and told them. Anyone should know that the word of emotionally unstable females can only count for half value in a court of law. But her uncle got apprehended anyhow.

We’re a tight knit community. The guys at the top know. They were smart enough to let him go at the hearing. It wouldn’t do to have men put behind bars for being, well, for following instinct, you know, as we hear at mosque from the imam. We submit the front lobes of our brains to Allah but the instinct should not be controlled. And we have the directive to emulate our Prophet, peace be upon him. We should go and do likewise. That’s why they passed that law in the Religious Councel of the Government, the one which denotes that there is no minimum age for marriage. Sensible, those.

But Pure Water. I wonder what they’ll do to her. She’s trouble for sure. She’s had a bit too much attention recently, so perhaps they’ll wait until she’s out of the limelight. No sense pulling the government into this. Best left until the dust settles. Besides, there are many ways to curse a problem. We all know that Allah helps those who know what they are meant to do.