My Life. My Only One.

Early Bird

The morning was breaking over the city as she marveled at the beauty of the flowers in her mothers garden. She could feel the cool breeze coming off the sea, still holding onto the night; as it washed over the old buildings and roads of the city. She gathered the shawl around her shoulders a little tighter as the moisture in the air clung to her exposed skin. She loved it. It was her favorite time of day when she could breath the clean air while the city still slept and the day had not yet begun. Soon she had two furry little beasts making their presence known by rubbing their bodies against her ankles. "Good morning to you too"she said stroking the tops of their heads. The grey cat stared up at her with saffron eyes while the black cat blinked his emerald eyes at her as he rose onto his back legs beckoning her to pick him up. "You are too sweet when you want your breakfast aren't you" she said as she scooped him up into her arms. The cat starred at her and purred as if to say "absolutely not! I'm only here out of love for you". She sat on the bench next to the gate and allowed both cats to affectionately greet her with head bumps and purrs and gentle insistent meows. They watched her carefully break apart the fish she had set aside for them into two dishes and refill the water bowl. As they proceeded to enjoy their meal she starred up at the sky and watched the sun slowly embrace the city. It was the same routine that she repeated every morning before her parents and siblings arose. She knew if her mother found her in the garden, even though the brick walls were high and the gates locked;in her nightshirt and shawl she would never hear the end of it.

Sanem was unique in her manner. She spoke her mind regardless of how taken aback most of her elders would become. She worked to find homes and medical care for the abandoned animals of the city. She preferred gardening to listening to dull whited boys trying to impress her with their adventures or worse yet their wealth. She was not phased by position or money but rather someone's character or determination. She was mostly oblivious to her beauty and her desirability to the opposite sex. Her younger brother had stood up for her on several occasions when a young mans advances were not desired. She was average in height but slender and curvy all at once. When she approached womanhood and her body began to change she sulked and declared that life was unfair to women. Why did they have to change so much and yet the boys that would be men remained the same. Above all else Sanem was singularly loving. To animals, family and friends and to those who's vulnerability made them insignificant to others. She was their protectress. However, she viewed herself as a bird caught in a gilded cage. She dreamed of a life beyond the gates of her home and wished upon the many stars that she followed at night for love to find her rather than obedience. Quickly and quietly she climbed the outside curved stairway that let to her balcony outside her room upstairs. As a child she imagined herself beckoning her beloved from above as he sang her a love song from below. Silly dreams from a silly young girl that she no longer was. Now her only dreams were to somehow escape her fate. But how?

How would she do it? One thing was to talk endlessly about human rights and the dignity of her fellow "Ablas" but it was quite another to go against the wishes, decisions and plans of her father. How could she willingly disobey her parents, break with tradition and still manage to call herself daughter, sister, and be a fully recognized member of her family? She couldn't. There was no way that she could do both. No matter which way she turned the puzzle she not come up with a solution that made everyone happy. She either submitted and married the governors son, which was a foregone conclusion or she refused and be shunned by her family and her social class. To be fair she could care less about her social class. As the daughter of a wealthy merchant she and her family were accepted, actually tolerated would be a better description; because of their wealth and ties to the royal family. The reality was that she was just a girl with no voice or vote in her own life. It was impossible and yet she vowed to find her own way even if it meant leaving everything she ever knew behind.