Women’s purpose in the group was to procreate. They were the breeders. But Olivia was different somehow. She made him feel things he had never felt, things considered taboo in his world. She kissed her way down his chest and looked up at him and grinned. Her eyes were closed as she climaxed with the man she thought she knew. She collapsed on top of him, telling him how much she wanted him.

When the clock on the nightstand indicated to Adal that he was expected to leave, he slowly rolled Olivia off of him and gently inserted a small capsule inside of her, administering the appropriate dose that would cause her to sleep until late in the morning. He dressed and quietly closed the door behind him.

When Adal entered the kitchen, Clara handed him a cup of coffee, being careful not to look into his eyes. She felt as though she had betrayed the unsuspecting young woman who was now sleeping, by not telling her the truth about the group. “Stay inside until Olivia comes downstairs, prepare her breakfast, and change the sheets. I will return in the afternoon.”

Clara nodded and watched as Adal left the house. She then watched as the women she had known forever toiled in the garden in the back yard. It was the duty of the woman who had shared Adal’s bed to change the sheets afterward and she wondered why Olivia was being treated differently. Then she realized what Adal was doing. This was Olivia’s house and by making her feel special he was obviously trying to avoid paying rent. She smiled as she thought of the wise prophet that he was. He was an honorable man.

Adal’s father was a prophet, as was his grandfather, and Clara supposed they knew what was best, but she worried about the babies and the women who had given birth to males. They were the breeders and held in the highest esteem. They never knew a day of hard work. Theirs was a life of leisure, becoming pregnant easily, though their male offspring were taken immediately to be raised by the prophet’s chosen caretakers in another part of the world. That was what she had been told and that was what she believed.

Clara leaned on the counter and watched the women tending the gardens. It was pretty up here in the mountains. If she had known the house belonged to someone else… well, she probably wouldn’t have done anything. No one doubted the prophet’s word, but now she often wondered if Adal was telling the truth. She doubted his word on nearly every occasion, though she never breathed a word of her doubt to anyone.




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