Emir’s nostrils flare when he looks at one of the posters pinned on the notice board. A minor tremor runs through his chest as beads of sweat form on his forehead. He rubs his eyes with his fists to make sure he isn’t hallucinating, yet, undeniably, there are the words that shake him to his very core: “Sunat Bayi Perempuan RM35.” He always knew that female genital mutilation was still practised in some parts but never imagined that he would be in physical proximity to people who did that sort of thing. There was an NGO lady talking about it years ago at secondary school in Petaling Jaya, alongside topics like period poverty, teenage pregnancy, sexual harassment, and many other issues affecting women. She’d taught students like Emir that it was crucial they knew about all this, lest they turned out close-minded like the people among whom Emir has apparently found himself.

“Um, encik? Did you hear me?” the nurse behind the glass window politely asks a zoned-out Emir.

“Sorry. Yeah, I called this morning. I brought a copy of the results.” He takes out a folded sheet of paper and passes it over to her.

• Tags: fiction, Issue 42, Malaysia, Ratu Yousei