The Scrollrunners

Chapter 4 | Like Mother Like Daughter

When she was really young, Talibah was much more tame—reserved, even. A sweet little girl, Talibah won the heart of anyone who met her; all it took was one glance into her huge black eyes and a smile that betrayed her inherent goodness (and no small amount of cleverness). Back then, she thought if she behaved better than the boys, if she was more polite and respectful than them, if she acted older and more mature, she would be treated as equal to them, she would be allowed to learn.

She quickly realized, though, that even though girls had much higher expectations placed on them than boys (and even men), and even if they met and surpassed those expectations, they never stood a chance.

By age four, she was already having full-blown conversations with the adults she grew up amongst. This included her mother, her father, the scholars (including Max, her father's friend, who had been a constant in her life since Talibah first bared her teeth in the world), the Library staff (another constant, the head cook, Nailah), and, really, anyone she came across.

Quite the talker, those who spoke with her were often flabbergasted at her astuteness, at her composure, traits which were almost alien in such a small, young body.

Even then, she always strove to be the best. The best at talking, at joking, at cooking, at braiding hair, at running—anything she could do, she perfected.

So, when the time came for her friends to start their education, she assumed she would be joining them. She never wondered that all her friends were boys, never realized that she was only friends with boys up until this point because the other little girls in Alexandria were already expected to learn a "feminine" trade: clean, cook, and keep home. Boys were raised to be free and reckless in their youth, only to be tampered slightly by an education that would give them the tools to keep perpetuating this cycle of inequality, unaccountability, and, most importantly, an imbalance of power. And so, Talibah didn't realize that she was an exception within her gender until it was too late.

"Talibah, love, what are you doing?" Her mother, Akila, asked her the morning of the start of classes at the Library for beginning students.

"I'm leaving... for school." She replied, hiking a pack of blank scrolls, reed pens, and ink (and maybe a few snacks as well, just in case) over her shoulder. She was six now, and gave her mother an incredulous look, surprised that she didn't realize that it was her first day.

"Oh, but Talibah... you can't go to school." At seeing the mix of bewilderment, anger, and sadness on her daughter's face, Akila carefully explained, "Only boys are allowed to go to school. I thought you knew that—but why would you? Your father and I never taught you any differently than other's have taught their sons... If anything, we've taught you better. But still, that doesn't matter to them."

Talibah, getting upset now, asked, "Who is them?"

Her mother looked at her with somber eyes and said, "The world."

~~~

Talibah pushed away the surfaced memory with misty eyes. She sat alone atop a desk in the back of an empty classroom after being dragged out of the lecture hall by Kane. She strained her ears to try to discern what the angry whispering voices just outside the doorway were saying.

Now look where I am, Mother. The world caught up to me this time.

She'd been sitting in there for nearly two hours as Asdis stomped about the Library doing who knew what. Begging higher-ups to let him punish her, most likely.

After she'd been forced out of the lecture hall—she'd admit she'd been scared—Asdis directed Kane to keep her in this classroom while he went to "inquire about a few things." Whether or not he could take any action against her and her father, no doubt. She could practically hear his pathetic pleas for authority as if he stood right next to her, even though he was presently slinking about the Library to beseech the right people who could get her in trouble.