A Nook of One's Bliss

Deeply religious Sima lives in the shadow of her parents' strict guidance but seems content with her choices. She turns down an unexpected offer to work as a model. On her nameday, Sima is overtaken by a vaguely familiar nightmare: she pulls her hand away from her mother's touch, as if from a flame, and when her father calls her "a pure angel of God," she storms away from the festive table. Rosary. Icon. Meat. A candle. Rosary. Hands. Not hers. Cross. Scream. Meat. Fire. But not here, just not here. This cannot be happening.