A Step Past Darkness by Vera Kurian

Author:Vera Kurian
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Park Row Books
Published: 2023-12-05T18:10:55+00:00

27

Jia

Padma tucked a tendril of Jia’s silver hair up into the scarf that now covered her hair and sighed. “I love your hair. It’s a shame to hide it.”

“It would attract the wrong kind of attention,” Jia said. The plan was to split the group in two: half of them would go to evening service at Golden Praise while the other half would try to retrace Maddy’s steps. Casey had objected to setting foot in the place if he didn’t have to, so it was decided that he and James would be in the second group. Padma had shown up at Jia’s door moments ago with her arms filled with clothes so that they could dress together. It reminded her achingly of their dynamic as children: showing up unannounced but being completely welcome. “Do you think wearing a scarf at church would be rude, like wearing a hat indoors?”

“You know what’s rude? Sexually assaulting little girls,” Padma said flatly.

Jia sat on the bed beside her. “I knew it was wrong but never thought of what happened to Maddy in those terms back then. There was so much we didn’t understand.”

“Do you think they’re still doing the purity test? They can’t be, right?”

Jia turned to look at her friend’s dark brown eyes and still saw a hint of teenage Padma in them, a girlish morsel of hope that underlay all the skepticism.

They heard a knock. Jia opened the door to find Kelly, who struck a pose in her new outfit.

“What do you think? Can this pass for suburban mom with three rambunctious boys who need godly direction?” Kelly wore flowing white linen pants and a top with a sunflower on it. She had styled her hair so that the ends curved inward, a throwback to how moms styled their hair back when they were kids.

“It’s going to have to,” Padma said.

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