We who with songs beguile your pilgrimage / And swear that Beauty lives though lilies die, / We Poets of the proud old lineage / Who sing to find your hearts, we know not why ... (James Elroy Flecker)

8.7.19

Out of One's Territory [Prose]


For the Pantry of Prose at Poets United this week, we are asked to write 313 words or fewer (excluding title) about being Away from Home. This one is 313 words exactly.


Out of One’s Territory

They met on a train. He was far from home, exploring the world; exploring a society very different from what he knew. 

She was beautiful. I’m sure he was charming; he could be. And she was bold, prepared to take risks for what she wanted. She longed to escape her restrictive environment. She proposed he marry her.

I imagine he thought it an adventure. Being the hero would have appealed to his ego. And she was beautiful.

I imagine she was desperate, and he her only opportunity. And he was charming. He’d have seemed financially resourceful.

He met the family. (They pretended it was a real romance.) Her mother was worried but acquiescent; her brother welcomed him as a friend. They married immediately. He was required to adopt her religion and change his name – though it was not a genuine conversion.

He had no income. He left her behind, seeking work in Europe – with little success. They managed a few reunions … back in Morocco … on a visit to France (her brother escorted her) ... He discovered he didn't like her much. 

She kept demanding he do as promised and take her with him. He claimed she was rude to his friends. I think by then he was looking for a way out of what he’d got into. Easy to be a hero in fantasy; less so when it gets practical. Mutual disillusionment! Soon, suddenly, he divorced her.

She was left there, not knowing what future she had – legally unable now, again, to leave. She talked bitterly of becoming a prostitute. She and I let our email correspondence peter out. So did her mother and I. We were no longer family.

My son discarded the religion he’d never really had, along with his impressive string of Muslim names. I was deeply glad of that at least, six months later when 9-11 shocked the world. 

18 comments:

  1. Being out of the comfort zone is adventurous and even disastrous sometimes & let go of the unwanted is a kind of homecoming. Nicely put.

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  2. This was a difficult story to read, Rosemary, mainly because it seems to be quite a common one, and one that often doesn’t end well. As soon as I read ‘She was beautiful. I’m sure he was charming; he could be’ alarm bells rang in my head and I wasn’t surprised to read later that he discovered he didn't like her much. Organised religion (organised by men ) has a lot to answer for.

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  3. One should never escape into marriage as that is usually changing discomfort into outright pain! The story could be expanded somewhat to entertain us over a number of chapters!

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    1. It actually took place over a very short space of time.

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  4. i like the matter-of-fact tone of the story. it reads like a lot of what is happening around now, but this is a relationship that didn't work out.
    the last lines confirm my suspicion of what i was gathering. a real "wham!".

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  5. I well know that people sometimes marry for just such reasons without really knowing what they are doing. This is a slice of real life, well told. The reference to 9-11 at the end strikes a powerful note.

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  6. Adventures come with their own set of problems. When far away from home, things (and people) can seem grander than they actually are. And the risk of being lured into things one doesn't understand is higher, when it comes to youth. The ending of your story though brings about relief that parties involved didn't have to endure a life they were not happy with.

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  7. It's definitely more advisable to look before you leap where marriage is involved. A passion filled fling is one thing, but the rest of your life is something else.

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  8. This one gave me chills. The tone fed the reading with suspense. There was something about the voice that kept telling me something horrible was coming, and I looked around the corners of sentences, trying to ready myself. But I still wasn't ready. People--especially when inspired by belief--can do such destructive things to each other.

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  9. This is incredibly poignant with a wise message, Rosemary.💖 I believe one should never have to change himself for another person .. as love does not require us to follow conditions. Moreover it's always risky to make a decision based on impulse .. I am glad he decided to get out of the marriage ... self-care comes first.💖

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    1. I believe that, in that country, the conditions were legal requirements in order for them to wed.

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  10. Wow rosemary. This sent chills through me, and the way each fact was presented with an air of detachment only added to it.

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  11. After reading the above comments – for which I thank you all – I've rewritten this piece to make it clearer that the divorce was his decision, and that it left her stranded.

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  12. I think it is good that they got a divorce early. The longer they were married the more problems there would be, I am sure.

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  13. Yes, culturally, the repercussions for her would be serious. Sigh.

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  14. Although the narrative tone was so matter of fact, I just knew there was going to be a wham before this tale ended. Nice one Rosemary


    happy you dropped by to read mine

    much love...

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  15. The matter of fact telling of the story feels like it written from the numbness of have experienced something that sounded so promising, hopeful, but in reality was doomed before it began. Tears and rage can only last for a season. Reality too often is a stone we carry because we must..

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    1. Oh Susie, your last sentence is so wise and true!

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