The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

An Immodest Proposal
by Amanda Worthington

*Trigger warning: domestic violence; abuse

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Muhammad’s plea to treat women kindly went unheeded

Perhaps men looked upon the curved perfection

Of hip and breast and conceded that

So sinuous a creature must be wicked

It did not keep their hands from seeking the flesh beneath

But they quickly reached the conclusion that such a treasure

Should be kept covered, hidden, under lock and key

Lest other eyes be drawn to the beauty

They had so indelicately stolen

Or bartered for in some back alley of some

Unmarked street

In some territory or other

Does it matter which one?

.

But they forgot about the rib around which the feminine was crafted

Bruised and pulled their new acquisitions in an effort to straighten

Cast bodies away when they broke

Might have gone on doing it forever

If decorum did not dictate a wedding

And one day a woman would relent long enough to warrant marrying

Never daring to resist, so afraid of the break

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Most women would do anything not to be broken.

But Fatima was not most women

She became one flesh with the serial raper

And she did it with a smile on her face

For she remembered the rib.

And she was not afraid of breaking

To keep other girls whole.

.

She had been pushing back for days now.

It was only a matter of time

.

His pain crept gradually in while he slept

In a fit of rage he woke and swung on her

As her neck snapped back, his did the same

And Fatima started to laugh

.

They say she wears the pants in the relationship now.

Adorns herself in silk

Keeps him hidden away, covered

No one has seen him in months

No one even remembers his name

But he must be well

Because Fatima is radiant

A covered woman asks her what her secret is

And Fatima whispers something into her ear

.

No one throws stones here.

They treat women with kindness

Like their lives depend on it

***

With a start, Fatima feels the dream fade

And courage take the place of restraint

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It is time.

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Fiction © Copyright Amanda Worthington.
Image courtesy of Pixabay