Woman: A Collection of Short Stories

By V.P. Evans

W-O-M-A-N
Five letters, each one leads to the steps of another woman. Stories from places where women must follow bloody traditions, struggling to get educated and dreaming of a normal life, but also places where their happiness is vulnerable, like an illusion ready to shatter in an instant.
Five letters that explore their constant fighting against injustice, pain, and suffering, but, most of all, their unstoppable thirst for hope, love, and … rights.
Five letters, otherwise so different from each other, but as they're standing side by side, they're forming the word that reflects the same strength.

Stories included:

W
In the most crucial moment of her life, a Somali woman comes face-to-face with the ghosts of her childhood.

O
In a remote town in Cameroon a girl discovers the standards of a woman's world in the most brutal way.

M
A young American woman strives to make the right call that will help her to survive the memories of a nightmarish night.

A
She has the perfect life. She lives in magical Greece with a husband she loves and two amazing kids. She couldn't ask for anything else. But one morning she realizes that her relationship isn't as she thought. And the undefined emptiness that had nestled inside her for years is now leading her to find out the truth about her feelings and her life.

N
A woman in Thailand puts herself in a deadly situation in order to save the person she loves more than anything.

***Mature Content***

• Language: English
• Publisher: V.P. Evans
• Release date: Feb 14, 2019
• ISBN: 9798223222910

Book preview

Woman

a

collection

of

short stories

V.P. EVANS

Copyright © 2019 by V.P. Evans.

All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be copied or reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner of this book.

The names and characters may be products of the author’s imagination, but all the rituals, events, and incidents are 100 percent real and occur every single day to women and girls around the world.

Ebook formatting by ebooklaunch.com

The stories could be thousands, if not hundreds of thousands. As we look back to our history, this number reaches an unimaginable count. From Asia and Africa to America and Europe, from bloody rituals to domestic violence incidents; worlds that seem so different and, at the same time, so similar. Millions of voices sunk behind closed doors, far away or next-doors.

But still, in a whirl of violation of their rights, every single one of those women shares a common feature: a heart with boundless strength.

This book belongs to them.

Contents

Dedication

W

O

M

A

N

Facts

Author’s Note

Acknowledgments

About the Author

W

We must believe that we are gifted for something,

and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.

Marie Curie

Four rotund lamps cast their eerie light on Astur. Dozens of voices echoed words, which spun in her head. So many people around—the image of an altar traversed her mind like a blitz, and she was the offering.

It was hard to tell the men and the women apart on account of their loose clothing, bodies hidden in layers of white cotton and latex. Everything was swallowed in fabric except their eyes. The mask could hide a lot, but it could not hide their guilt. Slowly, and without reserve, she let her legs fall open. A sigh was heard as they quickly averted their gaze. The awkwardness was heavy, though not as heavy as the shame, she supposed.

They should have figured it out already. Something was wrong with her, and they weren’t there to help.

She touched her round belly as if it would protect her from their mortified looks.

Neef, she told herself, breathe.

How weird was it that she needed her mother tongue to calm down. This was the first time in the last twenty-odd years. Why now? Looking around, she saw a snow-white living space dedicated to cleanliness, while the smell of antiseptic teased her nose. What was this place? How had she ended up here? She didn’t have any answers.

A woman with thick glasses and gray eyes that peeped from under a blue cap approached the bed. She bent down and looked directly into Astur’s eyes. Her mouth was covered by a white mask. It’s all right, the woman tried to assure, her gaze clear and pure—so much so that it almost tricked Astur.

But she’d learned not to rely on comforting words. The droplets of salted sweat that soaked the sheets and saturated the bed—they were the truth.

This woman, like the rest of these people, wanted to steal something from Astur’s body: her treasure.

Astur cried out for help without knowing if anyone would save her from their hands.

Please calm down, a man standing opposite said, his voice muffled by a mask. You have to listen to me, otherwise you will be in danger or even worse … Hani will be in danger.

A sense of purpose breathed inside her as she heard that name. Hani. But the raging thoughts came from almost nowhere; she couldn’t remember what the name meant to her. All she knew was that these masked individuals muttering it filled her with anger.

You’ve already taken it. I have nothing left for you, she squealed.

Astur, your body is in a state of shock, he said in a kind voice. We are here to help you. Trust my words and everything will be fine.

But the empathy she sensed dripped with deceit. Why are you trying to hurt me? Her voice was like a whisper now.

Nobody wants to hurt you. We are your friends, remember? We have discussed this before. How the situation could become dangerous. You need to have faith in us.

Doc, please let me, the woman with the thick glasses said to the man and turned to Astur, her eyes shiny like coins. It’s me, Mary, remember? We have gone through this together. Now it’s time, after all those months of struggling. Be strong for Hani.

That name again. Hani. That’s how these sharks tried to confuse her, waiting for the right moment to cut the treasure off of her. They’d done it before; she knew.

Don’t you dare touch me. I demand to leave!

Please try to calm down. She’s coming really fast; you have to be brave.

Astur’s mind twisted in a circle of unreliable words and doubting questions. Who was this Mary? What was she talking about? But nothing could compare to all those eyes and the way they were looking between her spread legs. She’d never been exposed to so many people before. She’d barely even looked at her own naked body in the bath. All the shame that had been rising through her existence since she’d been a little girl now seemed worse than ever.

Stop looking at me, she yelled, her voice seeming to pulsate over the colorless walls.

But no one obeyed.

"Caawi!" The scream escaped from her mouth without waiting for her permission. Damn, she didn’t want this to happen. The intensity of fear—or it was anger?—forced her hands to grab the sheets so hard that her nails almost tore them apart, and she started kicking anyone she could reach.

"I caawiya, help me," she repeated while hot tears started washing her cheeks. She cursed herself again.