Imagine: the crime of silence
Imagine: The Crime Of Silence |
As a little girl she had
gone to choir lessons along with all the others. Her mother had taken
her to the lagoon of the clear blue waters. There had been at least
twenty girls in the group of four and five-year-olds.
Mistress Bubble stood at
the front and explained that in a few weeks they would be singing on
the beach. Ellen had felt daunted at the idea. But kind faced mistress
Bubble with her soft yellow hair and blue eyes had assured her she'd
be allright.
And she was. She liked
singing in the choir both in the sea and on the beach. When she was
seven her parents had arranged for her to get private lessons with
Madame Whirl. It was common for girls to have both choir practice and
private lessons from the time they were seven till their voices were
fully formed at seventeen.
Madame Whirl had an
overbearing aura. She was the tallest female Ellen had ever seen. Her
dark brown curls seemed to lead a life of their own waving and
dancing along with the tiniest currents. Madame Whirl had a passion
for singing thunderous songs. Al the stories she sang had a dark,
menacing feel full of questions and rebellion.
Ellen loved singing for
Madame Whirl. It was a challenge she could dig into. But inspite all
of her lessons and her love of singing, she combed her hair in
silence. It had always eluded Ellen why combing would have anything
to do with singing. For her the combing process was accompanied by a
relaxed and pensive mood.
If she had been free to
do things her own way, she would've started a club. A group of like
minded females who'd comb their hair together and discuss the philosophies of the schools of Dolphin thought in comparison to those of the
Whale academy of life. She knew there were plenty young females who
took pleasure in philosophy.
Whenever Ellen had a free
moment, she would swim to the grotto where the professors of philosophy met each other in public debate. The females would sit
together huddled at the side pretending not to notice the frowning
stares they got from the professors and the other mermen.
All this ran through
Ellen's mind while she watched the sun set over the silent sea as she
combed her hair. Waves crashed on the rock behind her, “Ellen! What
do you think you're doing?!” Ellen sighed and turned around to face her doom.
“Hello mother, I'm
combing my hair. How are you this evening?”, she asked in her most
polite tone of voice. “Don't give me that! You are running away
from your war duties, again! Shame, shame on you for leaving the
other females to fight the battle. Oh that I should have a daughter
so averse to fighting!”, her mother yelled.
“What war mother?!
There hasn't been a sailor drowned by our song in decades! What's the
point? Men breed on the surface and all our singing didn't stop their
boats from getting bigger and stronger. I agree, something must be
done, but singing has failed us!”, Ellen's brown complexion was
flushed. “Singing is what we do. It's what we've always done!”,
her mother persisted.
“And how many victories
has it brought us these past decades? When was the last time a man
actually threw himself overboard because he heard our song? And if
the need to fight the land dwellers is so important, how come the
males get to sit around and study philosophy while we sing ourselves
hoarse?”, Ellen balled her fists as she spoke.
“Oh come now Ellen, you
know the males can't sing to save their lives!”, her mother
interjected. “Oh? And why is that then? Could it be because they
never get any lessons, hm?!”, Ellen's near black eyes were spitting
fire. “Well I am not the one in charge of the war effort. If you
have complaints you can direct them to the king. In the meantime, you
have to do your part!”, her mother shouted.
Suddenly her shoulders went slack. She had a sad look on her face when she spoke in more quiet tones: "It will be a severe punishment this time. There is nothing I can do to protect you." With that, Ellen's mother
disappeared beneath the waves making a big splash.
Ellen sat with her
lips pursed and her comb forgotten, staring into the darkening
waters. She had tried speaking to the king already. Many times she
had received an audience. The king had listened politely. He'd nodded and changed nothing. When all the stars were out Ellen slid off the
rock. She went under without disturbing a single drop of water.
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