For a curiosity-driven girl, she had learnt early in life the way about calculations and arithmetic. And for this, she was as brilliant and smart as she could since in numbers, knowledge springs from.
In addendum, she read all she could find and asked questions of new and interesting things to her. She attended the only school in town and was one of the few girls allowed to go to school.
Needless to say, she topped the class and had high hopes of travelling to places she had read about in books.
However, despite her intelligence and innate abilities, she was constantly reminded that as a female, her virginity was the most important and precious thing she would ever have.

As a curious-minded child, she asked questions and part of the responses she got were hush sounds to have her quiet down, and blazing stares to scare her into obedience - this after it was painstakingly explained to her, the place of the woman, as stipulated in the scriptures, and how every part of the human body would be accounted for - which gives explanation to the layer of skin that acts as seal on the package as it must not be broken until due.
She took the instructions to heart, and as she bloomed into a young woman. Her curious mind began to enclose towards the desire to protect the most precious thing she learnt she had got. She reduced her trips to the library at the back of the village school because many of those who loitered around there were boys.

She stopped following her brother to the post office where she could read newspapers about cities and thus stopped imagining the countries she could travel to. “What if the men there are forceful and would want to take away my precious….” Adrenaline sucked the blood out of her throat at the thought of this.
She stopped living.

Then the night came for her betrothed to lay with her; with the expectation of parents and the traditional white cloth in wait.
The man pierced through her and had his way without much of a resistance, he was confused.
To make matters worse, he meticulously checked through the white cloth for a drop of blood - he found none.
Broken and confused, she was ashamed, made the joke of the town, rejected by parents, abandoned by husband. She thought to take her life... and that, she did. If only she had continued reading….If only she had kept her curious mind open, she would have known that not every woman has that 'seal' that layer of skin. She would have known that her value was not limited to a piece of flesh.
She would have known that her worth was not tied to the acceptance and approval of a person. If only....
Then, she would have known....