Trimming the grass

Posted on by Reena Saxena

The grass had not been trimmed for ages. They believed that it protected the house against evil. It did breed a lot of mosquitoes though.

The health worker, Sara, who came to the village, to teach prevention of malaria found herself battling social evils instead. The campaign brought her face to face with an old lady locked up by her son, as she was possessed by the demon.

“Sara, go back, my girl! I am a gynaecologist, and helped a few women with termination of unwanted pregnancies. Demons roam openly here.”

“I will liberate you first, and then the demons…”

(100 words)

 

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22 thoughts on “Trimming the grass”

  2. It’s sad but true. These superstitions evolve, not always from bad intent (though sometimes so), but have serious health ramifications later on. I remember when some of our children in the home in India came down with chicken pox, distant family members came to take them back to the village. It was believed the reason they had chickenpox was that a god inhabited them. With unclean water, etc., they received substandard care. One of the little boy’s recovery took longer than normal and the family said it was because he had been living in our home and the god was not happy. Sadly, they did not bring him back. Sorry to ramble but I can relate to your story and Sara’s frustrations; “The health worker, Sara, who came to the village, to teach prevention of malaria found herself battling social evils instead.” Well-written story, Reena! =)

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  9. So often men demonise women as a means of controlling them, and eventually, as with your old lady, the women believe them. I hope Sara succeeds in her quest, and that success doesn’t come at too terrible a price.

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