A chair is thrown across the room. A disheveled older man stands on one side of the room. His hair has begun to grey. But not entirely, there are still many years left before he loses all his dark black hair. His stance is hunched towards the target on the other side of the room.
On the other side of the room is a small woman. With dark hair and dark eyes, just like her father. She looks at this old man like he is a predator and she is his prey. She prepares herself for his attack.
Spit flies off his lips as he venomously tells her, "What are you still doing here Gilly?" He then grabs the next closest thing to him, a tapestry from the wall, and throws it in the woman's direction. It lands with a thud on the ground. Only at this sound does the woman flinch. She is worried about them being too loud.
The man continues, "Your brother, Namshita, has done everything to bring me honor, but here you remain. With nothing of value to add. Why are you still in my home?" He then grabs for yet another item to throw. This time it is a vase that has been sitting on the pillar. It has a depiction of Anu. He throws it again at the young woman. It crashes against the wall.
The woman ducks deftly out of the way again. As someone who has had practice doing so. Next, she looks towards the door. Waiting to see if someone heard the loud crack of the vase. After a moment, she returns to look at the man's face and speak to him, but she is cut off.
"Leeching off all that I have with no remorse. I am ashamed that my daughter has no spine. Get out of my presence. NOW," he demands.
Gilly may be familiar with her father's tantrums, but that doesn't make them easier. Her eyes begin to tear up. She then quickly finds her resolve and calmly replies, "father, I will leave now. Please calm down."
Her father begins his reply, "Do not speak to me as if you have authority here!"
Before he can continue the barrage any further, Gilly decides that the best action would be to simply leave. There would be no reasoning with him today. Gilly walks out of the room quickly. She unconsciously goes to cover her face as she leaves. Just in case his tantrum isn't over.
Signs and symbols from the different gods and goddesses adorn the walls of the temple. A place her family had lived in for generations. Gilly doesn't look for her family, instead, she hopes that she can sneak out before any of them notice. She is embarrassed that her father can still get to her like this. She truly thought she had reached a point past feeling. She must not be as strong as she thinks.
Gilly walks out into her city of Uruk. It's a loud and busy city. People walk from one place to another. It is almost lunchtime, so the merchants are selling food to anyone willing to stop. Most of the merchants sell food. The smell of the different foods fills the area with a delicious smell. One that reminds Gilly that there are other people in the world. There is no longer any remaining sign that Gilly had cried. Gilly quickly finds the merchant she was looking for.
"One cheese, please," Gilly's request brings the full attention of the woman onto her customer. The woman sees that it is Gilly and instantly smiles. This is not Gilly's first time stopping for her cheese. It happens to be the favorite food of someone very important to Gilly.
"Many blessings for you, priestess!" replies the merchant. The merchant grabs a cheese and lays it down on a cloth. One just big enough to wrap up the cheese with no excess.
Gilly is used to this type of behavior from people in Uruk. They act like her family is royal, even though they are not related to the king at all. "You know that the priestess is my mother. And my brother's wife, Gulla," clarifies Gilly. She has done nothing worthy of the respect others seem to naturally show her.
The merchant smiles at Gilly. "Yes, but you are at the temple every day too. What else could I call you?"
"Gilly", replied Gilly.
The merchant gives a nervous laugh. "Oh, you know I am not allowed to address someone of your status so casually." And with this, the merchant gives the carefully wrapped cheese to Gilly.
The young woman reaches into her pocket for the coins she had carefully grabbed this morning before her encounter with her father. His words still echoing in her mind make her recoil her hand slightly. Maybe she should try to find a way to earn her own money. Before she can give it too much thought the merchant has grabbed the coins from Gilly and is already making change.
Gilly stores the remaining coins back in her pocket and continues her walk. She only goes to one place on a day like today. Hopefully, it's not too early in the day to find refuge. The small brown square building is nothing to the size and grandeur of her home, the temple. But this small brown house has become more comfortable than her own could ever be. She knocks on the door and hopes that someone will be home.