I found Norma Khoury to be a fascinating character. I’ve tried to understand what motivated her to behave as she did. The following piece, which I read in class, came to me as I grappled with her personna. I’m posting it as a reference for students as they create their own writing in response to “Forbidden Lie$.”
Smoke and Mirrors
I am a writer, a poet, a world traveler, a story teller. My stories reach across cultures and time, rivers and deserts, languages and barriers to touch the heart. Do you believe me? What if I told you everything you wanted to know about me? Thirty-years old. No husband. No children. Running for my life. Scared and broken-hearted. Seeking refuge in a land not my own.
And what if I told you everything you wanted to know about me? Thirty-years old. Married ten years. Mother of two children. Running from my lies. Greedy, double-minded. Getting cash however I can.
And what if I told you everything you wanted to know about me? Thirty-years old. Victim of my father. Victim of my husband. Victim of a system that none of us can trust.
Do you know me now? Do you want to? Can you look in my eyes and see who’s there? Can you look in my eyes and see yourself?
There is a reflection, a cigarette burning…images, faces, affixed to a wall. A stairway to nowhere. A skit re-enacted. A singer repeating I’m not even here.
If I told you I cared – about a struggle, about women, about mothers and daughters fighting for life. If I told you I dared to take brazen chances, to ignore peril to get at the truth. If I sat down before you, straightway told you I lie for good reason…would you believe me?
Do you believe I know who I am? Can you guess why I do the things I do? I tell you this – and you can believe. I just want someone to listen.
Chiquita Mullins Lee 11/1/10