Panama City, Panama | 360 Explora Panama
“I should be going with you,” he said, expression more glum than worried.
Before the law changed, he would always go to the day market with her. There he would watch not the streets or milling crowds, but her. Heaven forbid she make a wrong choice or a bad bargain. ‘Why did you pick those plantains and not the larger ones?’ ‘That fisherman always cheats you.’
She adjusted her shawl and slid her feet into worn sandals. “You know the law,” she reminded.
He grumbled, not because he was ruled by law, but because a man could not go out unnoticed in times such as these. She shouldered her bag. As the door closed behind her, she felt her spine straighten, her shoulders grow light. It was always like this now, on days such as these.
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137 words
This has been an edition of What Pegman Saw. To read more stories inspired by the prompt, click here. Inspired by this little news story out of Panama:
In Panama, coronavirus lockdown means separating men and women.
Their unique approach to dealing with the coronavirus outbreak was to allow women out on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and have men-only days on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
k. Rawson 
What an inspired choice for your story. How lovely that she should have this chance to escape from the low-level domestic abuse that she suffered.
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Thanks Penny. When I read the news story, I wondered if it was a hardship…or in some cases, a relief!
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Beautiful story. You captured the dynamic of the marriage and the culture so well. Topical, too. Well done 🙂
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Thanks so much. I wasn’t thrilled with my inability to infuse it with the right vernacular, but glad you think I captured the culture. Thanks for reading!
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Another intriguing story!
Typo? Before (for) the law
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You’re right–thanks for catching that. I fixed it 🙂
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A great story Karen, I felt the relief of her ‘straightening of the spine and the lightening of her shoulders’ as a brief freedom beckoned.
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An awesome story !
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How embarrassing, the story isn’t even there. I meant to go back after I’d had a chance to revise my draft. Then, I forgot about it. Now when I try to open wordpress to add the story, it won’t let me into my admin.
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I’m so sorry but which story?
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There was no story, only a link to a news article. I actually posted the story out there as of right now. Thanks for visiting!
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Oh, I see. I love reading your stories ❤
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