The Wager by Mitali Perkins

By Mitali Perkins

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Reading 4 SHORT STORY

WORKSHOP 8268

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mute (adj.) silent or unable to speakcapsized (v.) turned over in the water

“Bo-ba! Bo-ba!”

A stone struck Sakina on the shoulder as she walked to the river. Sometimes that gang of giggling urchins took it too far.Sakina put down the basket of dirty clothes she was balancing on her head, turned, and stormed towards her tormenters. Thechildren scattered in fi ve different directions.fi

Boba.

Mute.

It was true enough; Sakina rarely spoke. Her brain understood and remembered everything she heard, but when it came to uttering they g gwords, hher tongue groped frantically in the dark.

Sakinaa remembered how her father used to reply wheen passengers in his ferrry boat asked why his daughter was so quiet. “WWhen she speaaks, everybody listens,” he’d tell them. “Because sshe has somethinng important to say.”

And Sakina did speak, sometimes. When she used to hhelp herfather coount out the money he earned at the end of eachh day, short sentencees came easily. Baba never minded silence, and sso in his presencee, without the pressure to speak, Sakina could taake the time to say wwhat she wanted. It was the same with her brothher—she still crooned Azim to sleep every night with simple lullabies.

In times of shock and crisis, words came, too. She’d bbeen able to scream ffor help when Baba’s boat capsized. Passersby leeaped intofor help when Baba s boat capsized. Passersby lethe wate rent, buter to try and save the boat from the sudden currit was to bay after oo late. The Padma River was storming into the the mons e swept soon rains. Baba and two of his passengers weredownstre d from eam, tumbling and sinking until they disappearedsight forrever.

Now t d she knew there was nobody to explain Sakina’s silence, andthe other but he wasr villagers thought she was useless. Azim tried, only ten. e now that . What could he do? And Ma rarely left the houseshe was a widow.

Sakinaa made her way down a muddy path to the fl stones in at sflthe shall washing herows where Mira, Sakina’s favorite cousin, was wwashing her family’s cclothes.

Sixteeen-year-old Mira was as beautiful and intelligent as she wasen-year-old Mira was as beautiful and intelligent generouss. “Here, take my soap,” she offered.

The Wager 269

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