Jiieden

Sarai has three dreams that night.

The first is an apple, which is transmuted into the monthly changing moon. Beneath the moon there is a wolf dressed as a woman in red. It is the inversion, she supposes, of Little Red Riding Hood. In this case the wolf has impersonated the girl (not the mother) and the girl (she supposes) has been eaten. It is hardly important, but the wolf’s red coat is Armani, which Sarai feels is inferior to Dolce and Gabbana in many matters of import. As the dream ends Sarai realizes the coat is not Armani at all, but instead congealed blood. And she weeps to see it.

The second is of a single grape, which lies (strictly, and assiduously) untouched on a platter of purest white. It is seedless, and Sarai knows precisely the meaning of this bitter prophecy. And she weeps to know it, and remembers what might have been.

The third is of her (paradoxical) progeny at her feet, chained by soft intangible things, such as lust of land and water rights. The sight yields deep flush of sadness, and yet she knows there is nothing that will stop their eternal feud, which will stain the holy land as if it were hell itself. Midas touched things to gold, Sarai knows for herself it is blood she brings. And she weeps to know it.

Beyond, holding tight above her and her fate like the sword of Damocles lays the strings of her covenant with Abraham. She is bound by the sacred institution, which is declared as the meaning of union between man and woman. Any aberration is abomination, and she weeps to know the abomination of all women by association. Sarai is changed, broken, and now the princess Sarah wakes.

Hakeem

It is a multi-layered story. I can presume it enlightens the story of Sarah (Sarai) the wife of Abraham, and her journey with Hagar the concubine of her husband's children, am I right?

There is a couple of things I'd like to comment on, is that when somebody describes a dream (as you did in your story), they don't say:

"The first is an apple, which is..."

Instead you write: The first was about an apple, which...

Got me? Again I liked the way you employed such religious story..

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"The great art of life is the sensation, to feel that we exist, even in pain." -Lord Byron

iamlikethiswithoutcoffee

I would certainly be interested in reading this story.

Chris Miller

Beautiful prose, well written. Love the diverse allegories. I don't feel I understand everything, but it is a feeling of depth and comfort, and not frustration. You've done a nice job creating this special character. I almost see her as a bridge between Christianity and Islam, or in some way joining two cultures. Or maybe she also transcends these things. This could be stand alone, a thought provoking little flash.

The sight yields deep flush of sadness...
a deep flush

Beyond, holding tight above her and her fate like the sword of Damocles lays the strings of her covenant with Abraham.
lies (present tense)

...the princess Sarah wakes.
Sarai (not sure, if she is waking as someone else, then a more different name would be clearer)

Nice work.

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Barcelona Review story: http://www.barcelonareview.com/64/e_cm.html

Hakeem

Exactly.. it's quite the same in my religion.

__________________
"The great art of life is the sensation, to feel that we exist, even in pain." -Lord Byron

Jiieden

Thankyou for your comments.

Iamlikethiswithoutcoffee: That is the whole of the story. I'm sorry, but it's complete as is. I don't intend to add any more to it. But I appreciate the encouraging attitude.

Hakeem, you are absolutely correct. The story is directly talking about Sarai/Sarah, and to some extent I have considered Hagar as well within the story. You're right about the minor grammatical point, but it was intentional. I wanted to drop the reader straight into the dream, as if it were in front of them. Thus I describe it directly - saying 'the first was an apple' would somehow lessen the directness of it - but I'm not sure exactly how, and perhaps this is simply my foolish idea.

Chris Miller, I want to thank you espiecially - you always are able to help me rethink what I have written, and you're really rather consistent about it all. The name change at the end is entirely intentional though - Sarai was renamed Sarah after marrying Abraham (and Sarah means princess).

Its whole meaning is disparate, though entirely thought, and it deals with several different themes which I have been thinking about recently - the impact of marriage on the rights of women, the controversy over the civil union and marriage rights of same-sex couples, and the stance of the Old Testament espiecially (thus the relevance to both Christianity and Islam) - and more specifically still, Leviticus, which forbids various acts of abomination.