Books and stories

My mother said, “Even so, she’s still just a child. She doesn’t even know how to stand up for herself, the way my sister’s children, her cousins the same age, do. They might turn out to be a bad family. Tell the sheikh our girl is still young, that it’s too soon.”

My father said, “Oh, come on. People marry off nine-year-olds. Am I supposed to say my twelve-year-old daughter is still too young? That’s not a good excuse.”

My mother said, “Give him any other excuse you like, but leave her be for now. This child doesn’t deserve this. She knows nothing about the world or about life. As far as I’m concerned, it’s still far too soon.”