017 SPECIAL GUEST

BINTA

BINTA

Adam spent the night in my room. We talked and cuddled to sleep. He snuck out of the room early in the morning. Something told me he would return.

I wasn't used to this kind of lifestyle. The maids had run a bath for me already. There were all kinds of delicious scents, and the water was warm and soothing. I felt like a princess. Deep down, I couldn't believe what was happening in my life. I counted my blessings over and over again and could not believe they were real.

My father's death had brought us blessings. People thought life would be difficult for us when he got killed. They speculated my mother would have to remarry to survive, and I would have to be married off so I, too, could survive. The society I lived in believed a woman was not capable of independence. My life was proof that that notion was wrong.

People were already anticipating the building of the village school. Fathers were eager to send both male and female children to learn to read and write. Ever