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Do not speak to boys
Even if they are your cousins
After a certain age
They turn into men
She was always told
To stay away from where
The boys congregated
Even her childhood friends
Became outsiders
All along she was told
Stay away from men
She played with dolls
Got them “married” too
The “groom” doll
Always belonged to a girl friend
Then suddenly one day
She was asked to don
A saree and serve tea
To an unknown family
They thoroughly checked her
From her oiled hair to unpainted toes
And declared her fit for
Their son to take home
The day dawned when she had to
Leave her maternal home
And she dreaded the night
When her husband would claim her
He had as much experience
With girls as she did with men
But he had a point to prove
And claim he was indeed a man
So he mercilessly crushed
All dreams she had woven
The vestiges were unheard sobs
And now she was transformed
Into a woman, a wife
All along she was told
Do not even speak with boys
But no one prepared her
To suddenly sleep with one

Transformation

This is specific to Indian Girls who have an arranged marriage