Free Mya

5: Tialva, trouble and more

Late one night Seth telephoned Daniel. Mya's friend Tialva had been indecently assaulted in the dark. She was found crying and bruised, with traces of semen on her dress. She had not been raped, as far as Justina could tell from what she was saying. Tialva had so far refused to be examined by Justina or Gillian.

"What was she doing by herself in the dark?" Daniel was bewildered.

"Apparently, she thought she heard the missing chicken and wanted to look for it."

"Foolish girl," interrupted Gillian. "They're planning to eat the chicken when it stops laying eggs, so I don't see what the fuss was about. It's not as if it were a pet."

Daniel was wondering how to break the news to Mya when one of her married friends, escorted by an anxious-looking husband, turned up to tell her.

Early the next morning, Daniel was woken up by several voices. He struggled to work out what was happening.

A crowd of people, including three priests, were in the room.

"I was just making breakfast," said Mya. "I always get up before my husband. Always. I am very a good wife to Daniel. And you cannot wake him up."

"We need to speak to your husband," one of the priests told Mya.

Mya started wailing. Daniel bemusedly wondered what had happened to her determination not to awaken him. A female neighbour tried to calm her down. Two more neighbours arrived and just stood in the doorway, staring.

"What is this all about?" asked Daniel.

"We would like you to come with us," said one of the priests. "We need to talk to you about Tialva."

"You don't have any choice," whispered Mya. "If you don't agree, they'll take you away anyway."

He hugged her and told her he would return as soon as possible.

As Daniel was being taken away, he realised he had no alibi for the attack on Tialva. That was unusual for him. Usually he would be with Mya or with colleagues or working with other men. This time, it had been arranged that she would visit her parents and he would stay at home. He had some plants on which he wanted to carry out the scientific tests which were still possible, given the damage to the equipment they had carried on their space craft. 

The priests took Daniel to the temple, left him alone for a few hours in a small room and then other priests turned up. They had many questions.

"Are you happy with your wife?"

"Yes. Very happy."

"You lied. You told several people that you had had a mutilation that left you unable to have sex. We know that isn't true. Tavruk has seen you touching yourself, he knows you aren't impotent."

"I didn't lie. They misunderstood what I said when I was telling them why I would not be a suitable husband for Mya. I just let them think that. They had found me with Mya, before there was any plan of getting married. Her family were angry with me. Letting them believe something which was not quite true seemed for the best. They wouldn't believe that nothing had happened."

The priest laughed.

"Oh, we know that now. We know that Mya remained a virgin that night."

"That is what I always said, so why have you suddenly decided to believe me?"

"She told her sister-in-law what has been happening between you. Or rather what has not? We know she was telling the truth."

"What has happened? What has Mya been saying? What have you done to her? What makes you believe her now when so many people were reluctant to believe her at the time?"