The Child Bride by Cathy Glass

Author:Cathy Glass [Glass, Cathy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2014-09-24T23:00:00+00:00

My heart was still thumping loudly from adrenalin as I pulled into the driveway at home. Although Zeena had stopped crying and trembling I was still struggling with the notion that a father and uncle could threaten a young girl, and in such a horrific manner – saying they would set her alight!

‘I suppose it was just a threat,’ Zeena said as I cut the engine, clearly trying to minimize what had happened.

‘A really sadistic threat,’ I said. ‘It’s illegal to threaten people, especially children. It’s shocking. They have to be punished.’ For now that the immediate danger had passed, I could see that Zeena might simply want to forget it, and not give Norma the information she needed to prosecute, as had happened before.

‘And you can’t be certain it was just a threat,’ I added as we got out of the car. ‘They had lighter fuel.

‘I know,’ she said, grimacing at the recollection. ‘But what do you think Norma will do if I make a statement?’

‘Prosecute them, I hope. But Norma will explain it all when she sees you. You said yourself that you trusted her to do the right thing.’

I opened the front door and once inside I gave her a hug to reassure her, and me. Paula was home and in her bedroom. I called up a hello and then went through to the kitchen where I poured two glasses of water. Zeena took hers upstairs and I heard her knock on Paula’s bedroom door and then go in. I switched on the radio in the kitchen to distract my thoughts and began to make dinner. We still had to eat whatever was happening. Lucy arrived home from work shortly after 5.30, closely followed by Adrian who’d worked an earlier shift. At six o’clock I called everyone to dinner. When Zeena and Paula came to the table it was clear from their conversation that Zeena had told Paula what had happened. Hearing their comments Lucy and Adrian looked at Zeena quizzically, and she then shared what had happened with them too.

‘Your father and uncle threatened to burn you?’ Adrian said, horrified.

Zeena nodded.

‘They want locking up,’ Lucy said, meaning they should go to prison.

Hopefully they will be, I thought. I also thought it was good that Zeena was able to share this with us. It was far healthier than keeping it bottled up, and it also boded well for when Norma arrived to take Zeena’s statement. Hopefully she’d be able to continue talking about what had happened and give Norma the details she needed. Zeena also said that it wasn’t unheard of in rural Bangladesh – where her parents originated from – for a woman to be set on fire if she dishonoured her family, husband or her husband’s family.

‘It happens in Pakistan and parts of India as well,’ Zeena said. Which left the rest of us shocked.

At half past six, as we sat at the table talking, the front doorbell rang.

‘I expect that’s Norma,’ I said, and I left the table to answer it.

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