When all her chores were done, Sophia simmered the fire on the stove top and ran back to her room to check out the red marks on her thighs. Standing in front of the mirror, Sophia raised her skirt all the way up to her waist and frowned. The visible scars dampened her spirit, and tears rolled down her face once again. She let go of the material and watched the folds of her skirt iron itself out as the cloth cascaded down the length of her legs.
There were visible signs of a beating, but it's not like anyone would see the swollen, scarred thighs, Sophia thought, as she made her way to the kitchen. Her shoulders sagged and tears sprang in her eyes, when she thought of the night before, but it wasn't the beating that had her in tears, it was the magical time in the arms of the man in the cave that had her feeling very emotional.
She was in love with a man that had tricked her into sleeping with him. He was probably laughing right now at how gullible she had been. Her fingers traced her lips and she closed her eyes and thought of the way his warm lips dominated hers. She could still feel his strong, powerful body above hers, shaking violently when a masculine moan escaped his lips.
She remembered how she too trembled in his arms as everything inside her exploded. Wrapping her arms around herself, Sophia swirled a few times around, and smiled. She was no longer a virgin, but it was all worth it, she thought, every single second with the stranger was damn worth it!
Forcing herself back to reality, Sophia went back into the kitchen and stirred the fasolatha. Soon the navy bean soup will be ready, and she would still have enough time to go to the square and buy a loaf of bread. She wasn't going to be a hermit just because her life sucked, she thought, she was going to go out to square with her head held up high!
An hour later, dinner was ready and all her chores were done. Removing her feet from her slippers, she slipped into her sandles and grabbed her purse. When she reached her door, she pinched her cheeks for color, ran her fingers through her long, thick mane of hair to make sure not a strand of hair was out of place, and then she stepped out into the sunshine. Pulling the door shut, Sophia plastered a fake smile on her face and turned around. She saw the the two old ladies who were dressed in black, respectively for their deceased husbands, stop their conversation and focus their attention on her, but that was not going to damper her good mood, she thought. Taking a deep breath of inhalation, Sophia raised her nose in the air and walked proudly past them.
"Did you see that? She wasn't even wearing a bra!" The oldest of the two said.
"Slut! No wonder her uncle beat her yesterday! You would think such a beating would have knocked some sense into her, but look at her! She walks in front of us as if she is proud that she is a whore, just like her mother!"
Sophia told herself to keep walking, it didn't matter what those old hags said about her. Her mother always told her that sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you, but something inside her had snapped when they dared to talk about her deceased mother.
The young girl whirled around and marched back to where the old ladies stood. She could tell they were surprised that she made such a bold move, and they looked at each other unsure of what will happen next.
"My mother was a good woman, and it is kotsoboles like you who have dragged her good name in the mud! Why don't you take a good look at your granddaughters who have slept with half the town including my cousins, before you talk about me and my mother!" Sophia yelled, before she turned around and walked away. "And if I were you Mrs. Vlaha, I would watch my tongue, you're married son is having an affair with the butchers wife! It is only a matter of time before the butcher gets wind of it and he will chop your son into little pieces and feed them to the dogs!" She threw over her shoulders, shocking the ladies with her choice of words.Straightening her back firmly, the young maiden proudly made her way to the bakery.
