Sprawl

Chapter Five

The Bonfire began at precisely 8pm, lateness never tolerated. Unfortunately, my family was of the un-coordinated kind, and we nearly didn't make it.

We arrived at 7:55pm, barely making it to the opening announcements. Of course the meeting began with the usual reciting of the Commandments, and seeing as there were very important Commissioners present we had to shake their hands.

My father wasn’t up on the stage with the top members, but just below, sitting in the front row. I surveyed the open area we were sitting in. The wooden, creaky, old stage up front held the main members and the Prophet, draped behind were the Commissioner’s signature colours, black, white, and blue. Our seats, fold-up rickety chairs, were rusted and just waiting to collapse. Wind blew the dirt and dust from the ground into our faces, and the sky overhead was getting progressively darker.

“Welcome, welcome my people,” The Prophet’s voice boomed across the audience, immediately grabbing hold of each person's attention. “The Compound is very happy to announce the one-hundred and fiftieth annual Fertility Function. We have many promising young ladies in their most youthful state, perfect for a gentleman’s plucking.”

I nearly choked on the air around me at this. So that’s what we are to these people? He makes us sound like food. I shook the thoughts from my head. My God what am I thinking? I ground my teeth together, trying to stop my mind from such rebellious thinking. My eyes shut suddenly, scrunching up and trying to block my violent thoughts. 

“Please remember the following guidelines,” The Prophet continued “Men choose you, ladies, and you may not refuse, for we all know what would happen if you did.” He chuckled then, along with most of the Commissioners. They all nodded their heads. “You must remain faithful, women, and have children once you're of age. If you serve your husbands well, I can assure you, everything will go smoothly.” He clapped his hands together then, and said the final words, “Let the Function begin.”

We, all the sixteen-year olds all stood up, and moved over to the bonfire pit, creating a circle around it. Our mothers stood behind us, several meters away. The men all gathered near the front of the pit, slightly in the shadows. Our mothers joined hands and started rotating in an anti-clockwise motion. They began chanting.

“In the womb.

Out the womb.

In the womb.

Out the womb.

May she conceive.

May she bloom.

With his guarding.

With his rule.

May she conceive.

May he consume.”

While our mothers chanted and circled us, the Prophet passed us each a large pair of scissors. We all held up our hair horizontal to our faces. We lifted the scissors and slowly copped all the hair off that was below our ears. It was difficult to do in one swift movement seeing as it wasn’t collected in our braids, but soon all the hair was in our fists. We all placed the scissors next to our feet, and threw the hair into the empty pit. The Prophet came forward once again, this time with a burning branch.

We let our hair grow out until we are sixteen, and then we chop it off at the bonfire. It’s to represent our release of our childhood. Becoming real “women.”

“All heil the Compound!” He bellowed, lobbing the branch into the pit. A huge flame erupted from the pit, along with the sickly smell of burning hair. I cringed slightly but remembered to remain passive. The Prophet once again backed away and all we girls joined hands. We began to move clock-wise, opposite to the direction of our ever-chanting mothers. On the final verse of the chant we joined in.