When It Is Forbidden

chapter 6

            The next day, I woke up a few hours before Mother and Father wake up, hopefully before too many people were awake.  Instead of putting on my burqa, I took a pair of clothes that Rafi had out grown and slipped them on.  Next, I selected a hat from the assortment I had found left behind in his room.  I chose the black, common hat, floppy enough to pull down so that my face was hidden.  Just as I was about to creep out my door, I remembered something-shoes!  There was no way I could fit into any of Rafi’s shoes and either way, I hadn’t seen any left in his closet.  I sighed.  Well, today would be the start of my days as a beggar boy.

            Making it down the stairs as silently as possible, I creaked open the door, willing to be quieter.  Then I stepped outside for the first time in months.  For a moment I just stood there, breathing it all in.  How wonderful it felt to be breathing fresh air again!  I began lifting my face up towards the sky, but then quickly remembered: I can’t let anyone know that I’m a girl.

            I began strutting along, feeling so independent, the most I had in years.  Yes, it was the first time in years when I was able to feel independent.  Then quickly looking down at my ragged clothes, my thoughts went to the fact that I shouldn’t be here.  No, I was beyond thinking about how a girl shouldn’t be here, I was thinking about how a peasant boy shouldn’t be here.  They belonged in back-ways and alleys.  So, that was where I went.  I didn’t want to, I knew it could be dangerous, but I didn’t want to arouse any unneeded suspicions.  Sure, almost no one was out at this time, but as Rafi would have said, “You never know.”

            Finding a nice long alley way, I began to pace back and forth.  First I was walking and then faster, and faster, until I was sprinting more quickly than I ever had before.  I had no idea how much energy I had had stored up inside me for all those long months of sitting around.  It felt…so good.  Soon I found myself collapsed on the stone alley, back against a building, breathing hard.  I began laughing, thinking about how wonderful this was going to be, sneaking out every morning…

            “Hello.”

            I instantly jumped to my feet, my hand instinctively pulling my cap down lower.  A boy emerged out of a pile of moldy boxes and broken buckets.

            “Don’t hear very much laughter in these parts too much anymore.  Where are you from?  You’re a real fast runener.”

            I couldn’t see his face yet, he was still partly in the shadow of the building across from me.  I pressed my back even harder against the building behind me, trying to shrink.  I didn’t say anything.

            “Hey, dude, I’m not gonna hurt you.  How old are ya?”

            I still wouldn’t say anything.  I was scared out of my wits.  My tounge was dry and twisted.  I couldn’t even muster up a fake voice.  But then, knowing he was probably getting suspicious, I used every ounce of courage left in me to speak.

            “That’s not your business,” I whispered, barely audible.

            “You sound really young, but you’re too tall for your voice.”

            OK, this guy was officially getting into too much of my business.

            “Ummm,” I stammered, trying to come up with an alibi.  I had none.

            Then the boy leaped out of the shadows and grabbed my cap before I could do anything.  There was a long pause while I held my breath and he just stared.

            “You’re a girl,”  He said, awe and surprise filling his voice. 

            Snap, busted.