Infidelity

Mostly, there is infidelity. Mostly, women raise their children as single mothers. Mostly, people do not get married. Today, there is hushed silence in the village.

Women fight for the attention of wondering men. Women are jealous of other women.

I’ve seen women argue, threaten, push, shove and scream at other women over a man. It’s loud and everyone knows it when the wronged woman approaches the "other" woman who has been with her man.

I find it to be a strange sense of amusement most of the time. These are the adults. Since last week and as I reflect on the conflicts of the past, it's not amusing anymore. The woman who fight over their men are the role models for their girls. The wandering men are the role models for the boys.

The village, usually filled with music and lively conversation is different today. Whispers among small groups of consoling people, a few birds chirp, roosters crow and the church bells slowly ring. The air is thick with disbelief.

It is shocking and families in my village were forever changed in a moment of heated passion on a recent Sunday afternoon. A confrontation between young teenage girls. A knife fetched by one girl and handed to her friend.

Young children open their doors and witness commotion. Blood and chaos are seen by those with previously innocent eyes.

The ambulance with worn tires is late and limping. The hospital is temporarily set up at George Odlam Stadium after the fire three months ago. The doctors are on call.

One teenage girl is dead. Another left with the lifetime memory of plunging the knife into the stomach of her perceived enemy. And, then there are the innocent witnesses and the stunned people in the village. The reason: a boy.