Everything in her life was so calm, in fact, that it was like existing in a still and soundless landscape. All of it: her married life, her motherhood, her friendships. She was at peace, so her heart stopped forgiving. She couldn't bear the past any longer. All of it seemed now to have grown to an enormous size inside her, and it choked her.
A glimpse into life in Oman on the cusp of leaving behind the old ways; slavery is not entirely in the past, cars are becoming common, and women's formal education is beginning. Communities may be tight knit but they are not entirely harmonious, and each generation's outlook differs. Yet, through it all, what remains constant is that daily life is a grind.