The bell rang It was that woman

By Muctar Koroma

She had a reputation amongst women of packing fat nicely into curves. She charged exorbitantly.

 But it was part of the deal in a certain circle  that what you wore was stitched by her. 

Muctar  had once complained about her and the harm she did to his wallet. That woman  had come again

Muctar  called his fiancee  The woman looked around  with impatience. She had convinced other women to believe they had to be grateful when she showed courtesy. Beautiful to a  fault, haughty and  self absorbed. She didn't do home service. She had grown too big for that.

 

Muctar 's Fiancee  came down with apologies,  and gave us a wink. She had to  let us know it was flattery. She knew her guy Muctar detested obsequiosness.

The women got ready to relocate . But Muctar  had other ideas. 

He announced  he didnt want very tight dresses made for his wife. The woman gave us a squint. And gasped. When she began the measurement ,  he told the woman to pause. She dropped her hands and the tape in irritation.His wife kept a straight face. With Wara things could go in flames very quickly

"I have heard that you are one of the best in this town". The impatient woman sat down. She was still not looking at Wara. She perhaps wanted her insolence to match Wara's effrontery.

 But  man Wara was undeterred. 

"You have a cult followership. So you can affect the trend. Why cant you help  rescue  your fellow women from this  bondage? I have seen some of the dresses you made. I must commend your artistry and neat stitches. But why lock up women in textile jails in the name of fashion? "

The woman smiled. 

"Please have some wine"

She accepted the cup.

Then he told them  the story of a sartorial  accident.

The wedding ceremony was  in the neighborhood. The men were walking freely. Young men had trousers hugging their laps but no one opened his chest. The women were all walking with difficulty. Trapped in tight skirts and gowns, determined to bare all else. They shuffled and hobbled. 

At the reception,  men sat with ease. The women sat stylishly, nervously.

 Whenever a woman had to sit,  she would have  to negotiate herself into a seat. 

A woman successfully  sat in front of us. I could not  fathom how she did it.  Her long gown left her no room to do anything but  barely breathe and wear a plastic smile on a over decorated face.  She had a wedding ring.

Then she tried to get up, something snapped. She sank  back into her seat with bulging eyes. She beckoned to a friend. Someone tossed her a wrappa. She left,  head down.

Muctar  finished the story. The fashion designer emptied her glass and responded.  

It was the fault of men, she said.  Men wanted to see the curves from afar. And her duty was to make the world a more peaceful place. 

I shook his head.

 And said there would be more peace in the world if married women used the energy they used in strapping fat and consuming the resultant flattery in courting their in laws.

 Muctar  said that since husbands knew the true anatomical state of affairs of their wives,  the argument that they did it to retain the attention of their  husbands was flawed. 

Muctar said he was sure married women were misguided because men were neither blind nor  foolish.

Muctar's fiancee asked  if unmarried girls could wear tight dresses. 

Wara nodded. 

He said unmarried women had license because  had to make quick impressions on people who had no access to their realities. 

So he wouldnt  blame them for put everything on the front shelf.

 But He didnt understand why married women were also in the competition of  packing  fat into tiny contraptions in the name of looking sexy. 

I had stayed away for too long. My sympathy fell to the women. I said the trend  could be to help  self esteem. 

Because the squaring of roundness and the drooping of turgidity that comes with age  could sag self appreciation. And the women won't have to  admit  they were  propping up anything. So we could just help them by believing  they were in it to satisfy their husbands. 

The two women shook their heads.

Muctar  laughed. He  said but  if that was the case why are nearly  all women involved including married  who haven't lost form and have nothing to prop.

The women hissed , and walked away.

Muctar  said there was too much fraud in the world