She comes of age, abloom. Not a fairer girl in the whole country. Her beauty has that exotic flavor which drives people a little crazy. Her fame attracts loads of men from far and wide. In no time, our streets are packed with prospective suitors. They jam up on her threshold. For a single glimpse of her some offer riches, and some kingdoms. After months of ruckus in the town, she marries the servant boy who used to kill flies for her chicks when they were kids.
It draws gasps. Everyone is astounded.
At the marriage hall, her cheeks blushing, she explains,
“Oh, it is nothing. It is just a thought in my mind. I kind of feel he alone can fix grub for my babies.”
Sobia Ali is an student of English Literature in India. Her work has been published in, among others, Atticus Review, The Indian Quarterly, The Bosphorus Review of Books, Another Chicago Magazine, The Aleph Review, The Mekong Review, Gone Lawn, The Punch Magazine, Litro Magazine, Queen Mob's Teahouse, Bull, Manawaker Studio Flash Fiction Podcast, trampset, Lunate, Kitaab, Ombak Magazine, Close To The Bone, The Bilingual Window, and elsewhere. She is currently working on a novel.