The trek back from the fields was a study in forced normalcy. The golden hour had set in, painting the thatched roofs of the Kabua village in shades of deep amber and violet. Along the winding dirt path, they encountered a neighbor—a stout woman carrying a basket of tubers—and the girls were forced to pause, exchanging the customary pleasantries while Fuyu and Manu stood a few paces back, the dust of the fields still coating their bronzed skin.
But the moment the heavy wooden door of their own hut swung open, the air changed. The domestic sanctuary felt cramped, charged with the lingering anxieties of two women whose husbands were missing from the hearth.
Susan was standing by the central fire, her arms crossed over her slender chest. Her green eyes, usually soft, were narrowed with a mother's sharp intuition. "You guys finally returned... what took you so long?" she asked immediately, her voice cutting through the quiet of the room.
Katty, still feeling the phantom wetness of her secret arousal and the "fishy" scent she had desperately tried to scrub away in the river, stepped forward first. She knew that silence would only breed deeper suspicion. "Mother, we went to see the river where the land gets its water," she explained, her voice steady but rapid. "It was so clear and the heat was so oppressive... I decided to take a swim. It was fun, Mother. That's why we are late."
Susan's expression didn't soften. "Huh... what's so good about it that it took so long? Haven't you seen a river before? Haven't you swum since you were a child? Plus..." she stepped closer, her tone dropping into a strict, maternal register, "there would be other males there as well... isn't that true?"
"Yes," Katty admitted, looking at the floor.
"Haven't I taught you to be a little respectful to yourself?" Susan's voice rose slightly, her frustration at the dangerous times leaking into her parenting.
Katty, still reeling from the visuals of the forest and feeling the weight of the restrictions her mother placed on her, felt a surge of uncharacteristic rebellion. "Mom, I know. Plus, what did I do? Just took a dip in the water. What does that have to do with self-respect?"
The rudeness of the retort made Susan recoil, her face reddening. "You—"
Before Susan could escalate the argument into a full-blown confrontation, Nula moved. She was the anchor of the household, her maturity acting as a buffer. She placed a hand on Susan's arm, a silent request for patience, and then walked toward Katty. She placed a warm, heavy hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Katty," Nula began, her voice a soothing, low melody. "What your mother is trying to say is that a young girl like you needs to be self-aware. You knew there were many other males right near that river, didn't you?"
Katty nodded silently, the rebellion draining out of her under Nula's steady gaze.
"And you went into the river without your clothes, right?"
"That's true, but—"
"No 'but,'" Nula interrupted gently. "You are a big girl now. You need to understand that males are eager—sometimes desperately so—to mate with a girl like yourself. You don't know how a male will react. You could be a victim of rape, or worse, murder, in the blink of an eye. Your mother restricts you because she cares for your safety, not because she wants to steal your joy. She wants you to be restrained and feminine, to protect the value you hold."
Susan sighed, her anger replaced by a weary concern. "Yes, Katty. I do it for your own good."
Katty looked for an exit, her mind darting back to the riverbank. "But Mother... Manu and Fuyu were there. That's why I felt safe."
"Really?" Nula asked, her eyebrows arching. "And Manu jumped in to play, so you followed his lead?"
"Yes," Katty whispered.
"And was Lara there as well?" Susan asked, her eyes shifting to her friend's daughter.
"Yes."
"Did she also go into the river with you?"
The silence that followed was heavy. Katty's head dropped. "That... No."
"See?" Nula said, her voice a final, soft hammer blow of logic. "Lara understood the risk. You shouldn't follow what your brother does; a man's world is different. You should follow what your sister and your mother tell you."
"I am sorry," Katty whispered. Seeing the girl's defeat, Nula pulled her into a deep, motherly embrace. Katty's head landed against Nula's soft, large chest—the very "milkers" she had seen Lara servicing Fuyu with in her mind's eye. The irony was suffocating.
Later, in the privacy of the sleeping room, the two girls were finally alone. The air was cool as the sun dipped below the horizon, but Katty was still fuming.
"I hate it," she hissed, throwing a reed mat against the wall. "I hate it when they restrict me. I don't want to hear them lecturing me like I'm a child!"
Lara, who was calmly unbraiding her hair, looked at her with a knowing, almost pitying expression. "But what can we do, Katty? What they say is true. The world is risky for us. Haven't you heard about the girls taken by the border tribes?"
Katty went quiet, her mind spinning. "So that's your game, Lara," she thought. "You agree with them in public. You act the part of the perfect, restrained daughter. But in secret... you're in the forest with your brother, doing things Mother would have a heart attack even dreaming about."
A new, dark realization dawned on Katty. If Lara could have her secret life and still maintain her status as pure in the eyes of the village, then Katty could do the same. She didn't need to fight the rules; she just needed to bypass them.
"Sister Lara," Katty asked suddenly, her voice turning curious. "Don't you ever feel attracted to males? Don't you want to do something naughty and dirty? How do you enjoy yourself with all these mothers watching?"
Lara paused, a flicker of alarm crossing her face before she masked it with a sigh. "Most of my time has passed, Katty. I'll be married soon. Whatever happens then will be between me and my husband. I only have to wait a few more months for a reliable man to take me."
"Liar," Katty thought, a slow, predatory smile forming on her lips. "You aren't waiting. You're taking what you want right now."
Katty made a silent vow. She would play the part of the graceful, feminine daughter. She would be the "finest material." But beneath that mask, she would cultivate a secret life just as wild and dark as the one she had witnessed in the forest. She wouldn't be a lowly prostitute—the "slaves" of the sexual market—but she would be a queen of shadows.
As evening fell, Fuyu and Manu returned, their silhouettes framed by the twilight. As they approached the hut, they saw Hayu, a weathered neighbor, leaving with a grim expression.
"What happened, Mother?" Fuyu asked as they entered. Nula looked tired, her usual warmth replaced by a haunted shadow behind her eyes. Susan was sitting nearby, her hands trembling slightly as she worked a piece of leather.
"Oh, you guys returned," Nula said, forcing a smile. "Come in, eat."
"What's wrong, Mom?" Manu asked, his voice boisterous. "You both look like you've seen a ghost."
Nula sighed, looking at the floor. "We were talking with Hayu. The news from the border is bad. More people killed... even families living in the outskirts were murdered by Hague raiders. It's making us realize that the peace agreement your father is seeking might be a desperate hope."
"It's really sad," Fuyu said, his voice a flat, calm line. Inside, Vasana stirred. "Death is coming, Fuyu. The energy of the dying will saturate the land. Use this fear. It is the best fertilizer for your growth."
Manu stepped forward, puffing out his chest. "Don't worry, Mom! No one will attack us while I'm here. I'll beat those intruders into the dirt!"
Nula smiled bitterly, patting Manu's hand. She appreciated the bravado, but she knew the reality of bronze and bone. "Don't worry, children. It happened far from here. We are safe for now."
"We aren't worrying," Manu insisted, tapping his chest. "I'm ready for them."
"Hmm," Nula hummed, her eyes drifting toward the locked door. The sun had set completely, and the village was plunging into a darkness that felt heavier than usual.
As the family gathered for their evening meal, the atmosphere was a complex weave of hidden agendas. Lara was already thinking about the "promise" Fuyu had made for the night ahead. Katty was watching Fuyu with a new, hungry intensity and Fuyu was contemplating the seventy-two thousand Nadis that remained closed, waiting for the spark of multiple women to set them aflame. The "safety" of the communal sleeping arrangement was about to be tested by forces far more intimate than border raiders.
The fire is dying down, and the mattresses are being laid out in the hall again. The "Safety in Numbers" rule is back in effect.