Banana Bubblegum by Melody Ortenburger Suppes

Author:Melody Ortenburger Suppes [Suppes, Melody Ortenburger]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781524556389
Publisher: Xlibris US
Published: 2017-06-01T04:00:00+00:00

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Sara Bandar had until recently been sweetly plump, with a round face dominated by enormous round eyes with eyelashes thick as hedgerows, and a body once lush and curvaceous. But Hermie got the immediate impression that her appearance shocked those who knew and loved her because her roundness was now gaunt and stark from grief, round cheeks were now sharp with bone, round eyes circled with deep purple shadows, her figure worn down to the essentials of bust and hips, with arms like sticks and a shockingly thin neck. Sara’s thick, black hair was held tight in a ponytail that cascaded halfway down her back. She wore jeans and a black t-shirt that was embroidered with a small pink rose. The clothing hung on her now thin frame. And she looked at Hermie as though he was a lifeline, a hope, a chance.

With Hermie’s careful questioning while her parents looked on, she painted a picture of Sunidhi Askar that mirrored her parents’ vision of her. “Sunny was spooky-smart, generous, funny, and so kind, everyone loved her, even those who were not religious,” Sara began. “She had both kinds of friends.” Even Sara knew that Sunidhi was leaving it up to her parents to find a husband for her.

“How did you feel about that?” Hermie asked.

“I thought it was entirely Medieval! Sorry. I’m so-o not traditional or particularly religious, my parents not at all, thank God. So to speak. You see, they have friends that escaped from the Taliban, so they know. But I went with Sunny to the mosque a lot. After all, that’s where most of the men are.” She nearly giggled, then looked guilty when from the kitchen her father cleared his throat, pointedly. She blushed. “Sorry. But it seems to me religion is the cause of most of the troubles in the world.”

“You may have a point.”

“Sunny thought religion was the hope of the world. But she never tried to convert anyone. It was hard to believe she was so traditional, because she was so ‘live and let live’. That’s what made her so… special.” The hedgerows around her eyes clotted with barely held back tears.

Hermie gently got down to business: “Did she ever mention to you that someone, a man, was intimidating her, scaring her?”

“No, never. The men she knew were our friends. Most of them from school. She made men friends at the office, we went to dinners or movies, concerts with men now and then, always in a group. A couple took Sunny on double dates and such. But nothing clicked. They were either too religious and wanted a traditional marriage with dozens of kids –- sons, instantly — or they were not religious at all and didn’t respect her beliefs. A couple just liked to hang out with her because she was fun and gorgeous, made them look good, y’know? But they weren’t interested in marriage at this young age.”

“Did she correspond with any men friends on the Internet?”

“Of course. Cellphone, text and stuff.

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