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BLEEDING PETALS
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I'm a storyteller drawn to the speculative and the gripping. Here you'll find tales that don't fit neatly into boxes—stories built to pull you in and keep you guessing. Welcome aboard!
Sample · Chapter 1 - Scary 10
I’ll be 10 years old next week, and I’m so scared.Everyone says it is done to keep girls “pure, caste.” When girls truly become women. But how does cutting yourself down below, in the most sensitive and private place, make one pure?If that’s what it takes to be a woman, I’d better stay a girl. Grandmother calls it a blessing to women—a woman’s duty.Papa says it’s an “honorable rite of passage into womanhood.” A must in Egohor tradition. Without it, no man would want me. They said only wayward women refuse tradition and bring shame to their families. But I want none of it!Because Sisi’s screams still echo in my head, like it was yesterday. It hunts me till today. I remember the time when that old herbalist woman came with her dirty sack of tools. She smelled of herbs and a musty, weird odour.They had locked me in Mama’s hut, but Sisi's screams were loud enough that they still pierced the walls. She shrieked until her voice cracked, yet they didn’t stop. Every time I try to sleep, it keeps replaying in my mind, especially now—endless agonizing screams. After the herbalist woman left, I heard my mother crying and begging Papa to take Sisi to the hospital.“ The bleeding won’t stop…there’s so much blood.” She pleaded.But Father said it was not necessary, that going to the hospital was a waste of time and resources. He swore the healer’s herbal paste would stop the bleeding. Grandmother prayed louder than ever. It was as if she wanted to drown out Sade’s cries. She got what she wanted when Sisi suddenly stopped screaming.I pounded on the door, begging. “Papa, please let me see Sisi!”I was so scared then. I couldn’t help her because I was locked in my mother’s hut when I tried to rush into the room.“Don’t interfere in adult matters, girl!” Papa barked. He dragged me into Mama's hut and locked it.Minutes stretched into hours, and the sun gave way to darkness. I didn’t make my move until I heard the rumble of Papa’s snores. My hand ached from pounding on the door nonstop. Slipping out the window, I tiptoed to Sisi’s hut and peered in with the light of the mpalaka lantern in my hand. What I saw made my heart hurt.Sisi...she’d crawled off the wooden bed and was sprawled on the floor in a pool of her own blood. It looked like she tried to crawl to the door but failed. She lifted her head when she heard me, stretched out her arm, and whispered hoarsely.“Water... help... me” I ran to fetch a cup of water, cradled her head in my lap, and fed her drops. Tears blurred my eyes, but I fought to stay strong for Sisi.How could Papa allow this? Why didn’t Mama stop it? Is this Grandmother’s blessing?Mother found us that way. She, too, could not sleep. When she saw us, something snapped in her. She squared her shoulders, as if a new steel spine grew in her that in...
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