In terms of...

Short story by Nabila Radiva

Act 0

Days are counting, she’s fourteen, soon to be married to someone who’s thrice her age.
“You are soon to be married to Mr. _____ ” Her father said coldly.
Time is slowing down for her. Her mother's scream echoes in the background; her mother begs, cries, yet the decision has been made. She will soon be wed to a rich and famous man.

She recognizes his name because sometimes his father complains about him during dinner, but he is her father's biggest client and his ticket to higher society. She doesn’t know what that man looks like. But his name is quite famous even among her peers. There’s a famous story about his personal life:
That he has been married twice and failed twice, both of his wives married young. Both ran away and were later found lifeless, hanging from the big tree. Both were 19, and both were gone, soon after they gave birth to a child.

perhaps they were too young?

He buried his late wives beneath the tree. Sometimes, people see figures of his late wives still hanging on there, laughing, maybe even oddly happy? They seem like they are no longer burdened by their time on earth, finally felt free. Perhaps they simply regret their life, and choose to laugh it off.
God knows if this story is true or not. But well, he has two sons who have very distinct faces from one another (maybe from the first and second marriage), so maybe the story has truth in it.

Act 1
One day before her marriage to that old man, her mother cried and begged endlessly, even offering herself to take her place instead; she could not bear the thought of watching her daughter being treated like only a piece of skin without a soul. At the end, her mother threatened her husband: if their daughter were to be sold, she would hang herself from the same big tree.

Act 2

On the day of her wedding, her mother was found hanging from the tree. Yet the lavish wedding continued.

She cried, her father enjoying the party, today 2 souls are gone.

Why should men's ambitions be paid for by women’s freedom?

Interval

Sadly, this is not a new story. Ambitious men sell their daughters, sell their souls, to some powerful old men, all to gain power and courtesy, while being disgusted with one another. Once ones gains power, another comes offering his young daughter, and the cycle keeps repeating.

Act 3

Later on the, Her f____a___t__her, a man she no longer wants to call that, married a woman just two years older than her. He thinks he is more novel than her h___us__ba___nd because his new wife is older than his son-in-law’s wife. But that makes no sense. They are all the same. They want nothing but skin.

Interval 2
This is a typical story about women's lives back then, maybe even now. Behind those curtains, behind those pretty houses, behind those gates, and behind those pretty lies and promises. There’s women who have been treated like a commodity.

Act 4

She lives a decent life, with everything she needs within reach; it’s true that her h___us__ba___nd provides all her needs, even when she request something impossible, just to test, just to see, how she can flip the table, to be able get what she wants. Yet on the inside, she felt miserable and disgusted with herself. She knows that this man, that she have to call her h___us__ba___nd sees only her skin, never her soul, never whats inside only what’s apperes.

During this time, she quickly adapted (or learned to act) to her new role, and gained a good reputation from it. He often brings her to very lavish meeting, with some older man and their younger wife (wives). She accompanies him everywhere like a shadow, treated like a doll he can dress however he likes and bring wherever he pleases.

Naturally, people start to notice how keen, well-mannered, and educated she is. She taught herself how to read and how to write. In her little moments alone, she learned to stand out. She learned how to survive.

Act 5

She is 18 now. Four years have passed. She just gave birth to her daughter, Her h_____ba___nd has started seems to grow uneasy. Probably afraid that he will be left alone again. She thinks that the famous stories about him are true. He seems afraid that she will leave him hanging from that tree like the others. Afraid that he will need to find someone else. Yet it is her 19th birthday, and she is still here, learning to navigate her life.

Act 6

30 years, have passed. Her h_____ba___nd dead. All of his possessions, businesses, and everything else now belong to her. She runs the business herself and grows it far beyond what he could have ever achieved. She promises herself that she will always be able to sustain her own life and her daughters, promise to protect her, and never again become a man’s skin or shadow.

Artist Statement Wayang are often made from animal skin and performed as shadow puppets upon a screen of light. Skin and shadow; from those two words, I want to tell the stories through a wayang performance format, of how women were often treated as commodities throughout history.
Women are so often seen only as the shadow of a man, valued merely for their skins while everything within them is ignored. Yet like wayang, we continue to tell stories. Stories that teach about how to endure, nurture, and navigate the roles forced upon us. Yet, we survive. We adapt. We learn