The Book Eaters

by Sunyi Dean

“Listen,” Devon shouted, stepping in front of her. “Just let me finish, all right? Our childhood books always ended in marriage and children. Women are taught not to envision life beyond those bounds, and men are taught to enforce those bounds. We grow up in a cultivated darkness and don’t even realize we’re blind.” Hester stood on that stretch of green, hands balled into fists and gaze averted. But she’d stopped trying to walk away, at least for now. “I should have run sooner,” Devon said, voice cracking a little. “But I didn’t. Know what really stopped me? My lack of imagination, the same one that all ’eaters suffer from. I could not imagine a better or different future, Hes, and because I could not imagine it, I assumed it didn’t exist.” Her throat was lumping up. “I was wrong. Life can be different. You’re wrong, too. That’s why I think you should consider coming with me, to try something different.”