The fall of The girl wiTh The pearl earrings
Written by Ilaya Efe Oghenetega.
ChapTer one
“Wake up, we need to go the market to get some items.’; Nina said as she tried to pull Seraph from her bed. Nina was seraph’s elder sister and she was already awake and prepared to go to the market but was hindered by her sisters lateness. Seraph eventually woke up, took her bath, got dressed and followed her sister. As they passed through the village, people would instantly stop to look at seraph. She was extremely beautiful; she was like a mixture of the European and African features. The pointed nose, the shining ebony skin, the high chiseled cheekbones, the straight white teeth, the thin almond eyes and tall slim figure. She was ideal type according to the villagers; Nina was just another copy of her but because of her rebellious nature was seen as the type that would kill her husband as she was not easy to control. As they walked along, Nina couldn’t help but tell seraph that the only reason people looked at her was because they were child abusers. She also said it was because she was young, beautiful and a virgin, someone who fed and nurtured the Ego of men and their fragile masculinity, someone who when grows older and is no longer young would be considered a used product, someone who’s beauty was more noticed than their talent, someone who’s life is going to end up revolving around the village and their family, someone who enjoyed pretty
privilege but was soon going to get sick of it. Seraph felt Nina was just speaking out of jealousy as nobody noticed or liked her due to her character and accused her of being jealous. They were so lost in their argument that they didn’t even notice they had reached the market. When they noticed they were finally here, Nina held seraph hand and pulled her to stalls where they bought the items they came for and went back home.
ChapTer 2
The had arrived just in time to cook food before their mother got back. seraph started the cooking while, Nina arranged the house. Within a time, frame of ten minutes they were done and slept off, Nina had the habit of sleeping like a log of wood. While, seraph was a person who slept with one eye open as she was fond of being alert. Their mother, lolo was back and was knocking on the door waiting for one of the girls to answer so she would quickly clean before their father arrived. Luckily, seraph was not so asleep and heard the continuous knocking, she stood up drowsily and went to the door in order to open it. She opened the door and found her mom standing. “Why didn’t you girls respond when I was knocking earlier” said lolo. Seraph apologized saying she and Nina were asleep and had done all the chores, she also said they had cooked food for all of them. Seraph’s mom was impressed and praised them for being good children to her. Later that evening, lolo called seraph quietly into a room. She sat seraph down and told her the history of her mother and grandmother, as much as it sounded cool, seraph wondered why she was telling her all these. Lolo stopped and brought out a small trinket; she gave seraph and told her to open it. Seraph opened it and found two beautiful pearl earrings which she wore on immediately, lolo smiled and said “they are for my mother, who was given to by my grandmother and so on. They are now yours; they represent a woman’s beauty and the joy of youth. I only gave you these because to me you are more special, beautiful and blessed, the dream of every woman. Guide them with your heart and pass them on to your most beautiful daughter. Seraph smiled and assured her she would be careful with such a precious heirloom, she then left her mom, went into her room and fell asleep.
CHAPTER 3
Seraph day started with a streak of Goodluck, she finally was able to finish the cloth she was sewing, got extra allowance money and her breakfast was more than Nina. She later went out to showcase her new earrings, as she wandered around the village people kept looking at her, it was not like the usual way they looked at her, it was different. Everybody now called her the “the girl with the pearl earrings” because the pearl earrings highlighted her beauty the more and gave her a stunning look. Men would look at her, women would stop to get a glimpse of her, some out of jealousy and some out of admiration, children begged to touch her earrings and she allowed them. As she passed, she caught the attention of a soldier, Elias who had come to the village to find a wife, he studied her and followed her tracking where she lived. The next day, Elias and his servants which he rented came to Seraph’s house. At first seraph was surprised but she waited to see the outcome of his visit. Lolo came in and welcome Elias, she asked the reason for his visit and he said he wanted seraph’s hand in marriage and would treat her right if she gave him a chance considering he was a wealthy man. Lolo was happy for seraph and tells her she must agree to the marriage to which seraph reluctantly agreed. Nina stood there annoyed and shocked at her mother for such actions. Elias thanked lolo and left with the servants.
CHAPTER 4
3 weeks later, Elias and seraph were already married but their marriage was not as perfect as she imagined it would be. Although Elias acted nice on the first day, he gradually changed and became a wicked person who had no regard for her emotions but rather looked for every way to humiliate or disgrace her Infront of everyone. He stopped her from seeing her parents, restricted her from eating, would beat her up and locked her away in a basement. She tried so hard to bear the torture but the one that pushed her to make up her mind to leave was when they had an argument and out of anger, he yanked the pearl earrings off her ear causing her to bleed and then said “you are nothing without these earrings, just a silly, little, immature and unexperienced girl. One who had nothing but beauty that would fade, the pearls that couldn’t save you” upon hearing those words she cried as he was right, her worth, beauty and dignity were tied upon those pearls. She had
nothing to show, she wasn’t a woman, just a girl who thought her beauty was everything, that a woman’s beauty was everything. Nina was right she was sick of the pretty privilege and wanted to leave as soon as possible. Upon reaching home she was shocked to find out her mom had died due to a disease; no wonder she had given her the pearl earrings. She didn’t know since Elias had stopped her from seeing her parents. Luckily picking up the earrings after the altercation with Elias, she visited her mom’s grave and placed the earrings by the side of her mom’s grave saying “mom, you were wrong. A woman’s worth isn’t only tied to her beauty, youthfulness or tenderness, it is also tied to her self-worth, intelligence and kindness. And I’ve finally realized that without the pearls I’m somebody I should have believed in”
CHAPTER 5
Seraph left the cemetery and went back home; she decided to start over and take her life back to her hands. Although she had no money, she collected a loan from the village bank in order to start something useful for herself like a business. During that period, she noticed something strange, the way people looked at her now. It was as if without Elias and the pearl earrings, she was no body anymore. She made the final conclusion that women should not be treated or valued based on their attractiveness, rather women should be treated nice or valued because they are also important, because they prepare the next generation. Within three months, seraph’s business prospered which made her the first influential woman in the village, this opened a door for opportunities for young women like her. One day, seraph woke up and randomly looked at the mirror. Smiling at her reflection she said “I am more without the pearls”