To the beat of pre-dawn drums, we girls pretty ourselves, then form a circle, united yet apart.

The order in which the boys may choose is long-decided. They assess, appraise, make their final decisions.

Drums stop, silence echoes.

The first boy steps forward, chooses me.

My family will be happy.

Laura Besley writes short fiction and squeezes her writing into the bookends of her day. She has lived in Holland, Germany, and Hong Kong, but now lives in land-locked central England and misses the sea. Her flash fiction collection, The Almost Mothers, was published in March 2020. She tweets at @laurabesley.