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Metra Media
Mina watches for her producer’s cue. In the distance, she sees the show’s opening playing on a television screen. She wonders
how many people are watching and rubs her fingertip across her front teeth one last time. The new tube of lipstick she purchased
goes on a bit too creamy, and she already gets more critiques and analyses of her face than the Mona Lisa.
Her producer raises three fingers. Then two. He points at her.
“Esteemed viewers, welcome again to tonight’s program, where we bring you news from around the country and beyond. I am Mina
Noori of Metra Media.
“The crackle of gunfire echoed through Farah Province all day yesterday. Residents have kept to their homes for safety, unclear
whether the Afghan military forces will be able to fend off the approaching insurgents. Witnesses reported that Taliban fighters
had paraded the mangled corpse of an Afghan soldier through a central road. The insurgents drove through the town in Humvees
and Ford pickup trucks brought here by the Americans, firing into the air and declaring to residents that the area was now
under their control.
“In addition to the northeast region of the country, much of the north has also succumbed to Taliban advances.
While warlords plan collaborations with the Afghan national forces to push back the Taliban and reclaim territory, violence continues to plague communities and the number of wounded soldiers increases.
“Civilians who fled Taliban advances spoke of schools burned down and revenge killings. Shariah law was declared by Taliban
leaders, and women were advised that they should dress in full hijab when in public. President Ashraf Ghani traveled to Mazar-e-Sharif
to buoy the spirits of the Afghan National Security Forces as they set out to defend the largest city in northern Afghanistan.”
Mina wonders if the grim updates she’s just shared are being received with the same placidity with which she’s just delivered
them. She wonders, too, if her placidity might be part of the problem. Is she lulling people into a false sense of stability
or is she demonstrating admirable stoicism?
“And in world news, we move to Algeria, where rampant wildfires have claimed forty-two lives,” she reports, feeling the room
warm by degrees.
She spends the taxi ride home counting her blessings. Her parents are in reasonable health and fair spirits. She has an education
and skills that can never be taken from her. And, above all, she is grateful her travesty of a marriage left her only with
disgrace, and no children to worry over, no tiny hands to hold as they take their first steps across this untamable earth.