Jump #MyHandmaidsTail

Jump

           

What had possessed her to do something so stupid? Why had she broken the rules? Septemus, for she was seventh in birth, went up the few creaky, wooden stairs to the raised walkway. She saw the crowd gathered around either side of it. She had been a part of that crowd only a few weeks ago, shouting and jeering at the brave woman who she had once called a friend. What a fool she had been, so influenced by lies. "This woman is a traitor." They had said. "Not only has she spoken out of turn, but she has dared to question a man  the highest position of authority."

Septemus had wondered how she had misjudged this friend of hers. Like most, she was silent unless spoken to and never questioned or disagreed with anyone, let alone a man. Women should not have opinions. They couldn't have the capacity to understand such complicated things. And to question the bishop-king? Women are for looking pretty and performing the expected tasks and nothing more.

Septemus had uncovered the truth in the midst of her very own sin. The sin for which she would be purged of. It had been on the Third Day, the day of water and land, during her daily confession. The door to the room had opened, and another woman had stepped out, her white veil flowing around her shoulders like uncovered hair. Septemus stepped into the confessional, lifting her pastel pink and white skirts just enough to avoid stepping on them without showing her ankles.

"Forgive me, father-" and she was pinned to the ground. Her skirts were flung back and her knees forced open. She knew that if she fought back or made a sound, she would be charged with treason, but if she did nothing, her husband could stone her for another sin. So she screamed. And now she walked for treason.

The crowd shouted a litany of names which Septemus did not notice as she tried to avoid stepping on the ends of her white nightgown. The sun blinded her eyes, not yet used to seeing without the shield of her white veil. Not a problem for long.

She was guilty. She was guilty, so she couldn't live. Only the innocents would float. Her sin would weigh her down, and she would sink to the bottom of the body of water, a reservoir made for the trials. How many bodies were at the bottom of it?

She stood on the edge of the pier, her naked toes hanging over the sharp edge. "This woman has committed treason," They shouted to the crowd, the formality of these words magnifying the power in their voices. "She has spoken out of turn and spoken against the highest of vocations. She is a nonbeliever." She heard the cries of the people grow louder with each accusation, screaming at her to jump.

She deserved it. They were right. She looked up at the sky one last time.

And she jumped.