Becoming a Woman

Netflix drops gifts into my mailbox on a weekly basis, some are expected while others are careful disguised jewels that leave me emotional and thoughtful. The recent movie I saw tugged at my heart strings and I'm glad I decided to watch "Bedtime Stories" prior to experience the horrors of "Maya".

It depicits a young girl's experience of becoming a woman and the celebration it provokes in India. The movie opens to screams of a young girl and a boy beating on a locked door. Sanjay is a mischevious young man whose sidekick in his life is his sister Maya, an equally exhuberant child. They do everything together from pranks on the local shopkeepers to sharing a bed until Maya's period comes on. The response is startling and confusing to the children especially because Maya has no idea why she is told not to exert herself, asked to wear a clothe and is suddenly a woman not a child. The family returns to the village Maya was born in to have a huge celebration and prayer festive in the honor of puberty. Sanjay is feeling left out during all the preparation for this big day yet and does things to stir up drama which further isolates him from Maya. Part of the celebration is for the family to have a holy priest precede over the prayer ceremony and to cater a big meal for the village.

It troubled me how Sanjay felt something wasn't right about the priest and no one listened to him. Too often children's voices are ignored because adults believe they know what's right. Its important that adults are aware of how children respond to other adults as they might be indicators of who that person really is.

The prayer ceremony consists of Maya, the priest and his four cohorts in a temple which was locked once they entered. Prior to entering, Maya began to feel strangely and started to hesitate but continued inside and again felt odd and resisted physically and verbally with screams to no avail. Her family waited outside the door smiling, ignoring her merciless screams and feeding guests while those men took turns raping her.

Sanjay was the only one asute enough to even try and help but his father beat him and scolded him for embarrassing the family. When it was over, Maya limped out of the temple disheveled looking while these Holy men smiled and said she had a pure soul and God really loved her. It sickened me to watch how the family catered and bestowed all this graciousness to these men that just raped their child. I wondered if the family knew what the prayer ceremony consisted of and if so why would anyone condone the deflowering of a child to a group of men.

Even though Indian Government forbids these practices, NGO's estimates 5,000 to 15,000 girls are still dedicated to such or similar practices every year.

The film was based on a few practices such as "Devdasi", "Jogini" and "Anang Dana Pratana".

"The things which the child loves remain in the domain of the heart until old age. The most beautiful thing in life is that our souls remain hovering over the places where we once enjoyed ourselves." - Kahlil Gibran

The Prize - unedited

The day always held such electricity for the adults and kids in Coffin Park. The Coffin Park neighborhood had a Halloween tradition of randomly selecting 13 houses to judge the costumes and tricks. This forced the kids to parade around to each house hoping a glass eye, severed finger, a bat wing or bloody heart was dropped into their bag. Each item had a different score to it and it changed yearly so it kept the kids eagerly awaiting the results at the bonfire.

Sampson, a ten year old with the hair and mind of Einstein with a dark side, planned out his costume months in advance with his mom at the craft store and a crayon sketch to use as inspiration. Plastic and store brought costumes were for amateurs. Sampson considered himself an expert of All Hallows Eve, he studied the origin and had read all literature about the day, it was his absolutely favorite holiday. He planned on winning the prize this year and had canvassed the neighborhood to try to figure out which houses were judging this year.

As the sun began the set, Sampson finished putting the final touches of his makeup on and looked at himself in the mirror. He then heard the howl that marked it was time for trick or treating, smiling he set out to make this his year. This year started off differently as Sampson walked outside and felt a chill move onto his sandaled feet and gave him goosebumps. The little kids skipped down the sidewalk dressed as princesses and superheroes and Sampson scowled at them. He stopped at the edge of his first house and watched as the porch light flickered on and off as an skeletal hand gave out candy. His focus wasn't the candy but the prize so he had to watch closely on what was dropped into each bag. People were sneaky.

Stepping up to the door, he began to sweat and felt like someone was behind him. He turned around and found a strange sight all the lights were flickering on and off and no one was on the street. Where did the little kids go? His hand touched the door and he shivered and held out his bag and whispered "Trick or treat" while the skeletal hand dropped a glass eye in his bag along with bubble gum. "Thank you" as he turned around to a gang of kids running up and down the sidewalk. Every house he went to he had hot flashes that were followed by chills. His bag was getting heavy and he still hadn't gotten a heart yet and time was running out. Sampson stood in front of two houses, Ms. Ruth and Mr. Jacobs. Mr. Jacobs was an old man who thought having several different pairs of dentures and sending kids into his study to find his glasses in a drawer that held more than 50 pair was funny. Ms. Ruth smelled like moth balls and never gave candy instead she had a bag full of miscellaneous items that she gave out so of course no one liked going to her house. Sampson stood between the two houses and something flew by his head causing him to move toward Ms. Ruth's house. Walking up to her door, he saw the light flicker and he heard the light bulbs pop and go out as he touched the door.

Ms. Ruth opened the door quickly, "Come in boy!"
Sampson wasn't expecting to go inside the house and he knew if he didn't arrive back at the bonfire before the final howl he would be disqualified but he let her shoo him in. Her house was dark except for the candles burning and something smelled dead. "Ms. Ruth, I have to go the bonfire should be starting soon." His voice and body tense as his eyes struggle to see through the darkness.
"No worries, young man" "I hold the key to that prize you crave so dearly"
His body relaxed and his breathing calmed a bit, "Ok, so where's the prize and what IS that smell?"
She laughs "That my dear is the prize. Come with me." She grabs his hand sending a icy jolt through his body as they head towards the kitchen and the smell got stronger with each step.
"Umm, Ms. Ruth" His eyes watching a pot boil on the stove and his feet became heavy as she went over to stir the contents "What's in the pot?"
She pulls out a ladle and a bowl, "Have a seat Sampson. Your reward is near after you have had a bowl of my Wolfat stew. Each year one person is selected to eat a bowl of this Coffin Park specialty and this is your year."
She pushes the bowl towards Sampson and the candle light flickered revealing the contents in the bowl: a severed finger, a bat wing and the heart of an animal in a garlicky broth. Strangely, Sampson began shaking and salivating and before he knew what was happening his fingers were in the bowl grabbing at the contents and shoving them into his mouth. He was disgusted by his behavior yet couldn't seem to control himself. As he ate his senses grew stronger and he heard something deep inside rumble. He felt the need to run and Ms. Ruth already had the door open as his metamorphis began. Sampson fell to his knees and ran out of the house on his newly formed paws with delight as he stopped and looked up at the moon and began to howl and happy song. He had heard the legend of Coffin Park that there were Wolf and Bat People living among regular people and he did all he could to be the prize this halloween. He trotted towards the bonfire to reveal himself to the others with pride.