Sodom

A painting showing the confrontation between the two angels and the men of Sodom. Image source.

[content note: rape, genocide]

A mother looked out the window
Seeing the streets that were getting dark as the sun set
She didn't let her children play in the streets
It wasn't safe, even in the day.
She wished she could give them a better home
A place to run and play
"Who will help us?" she prayed.
A mother, and her three children.
One, two, three, four.

A young girl waited at home while her father arranged her marriage
He said she was growing up now, and the men of the city would soon notice her
He said she needed to be married, to be protected
If they saw that she didn't belong to any man, they would think they could have her.
She had seen her friend married off in the same way.
Forced to grow up too fast.
She wondered what would happen to her little sister
And her little brother- who would he grow up to be?
Would he be one of the violent men in the streets?
Would he be the desperate father helpless to protect his daughter?
Would he be the husband, seeing a vulnerable girl as an opportunity for himself?
"Who will help us?" she prayed.
A young girl, her father, her friend, her sister, and her brother.
Five, six, seven, eight, nine.

A man walked home alone, hoping no one would notice him
He didn't want to hear their mocking
They said he was weak
They said he was unmanly
The way he walked, the way he talked, the way he dressed
Then one day, they held him down and raped him
Since then, he has just tried to hide
"Who will help us?" he prayed.
Ten.

"Who will help us?"
The outcry against Sodom reached the ears of God.

Two angels came down and entered the city
That night, the gang of rapists found them at Lot's house
As they tried to break down the door, the angels struck them with blindness
And they stumbled away in the dark.

The sun rose on a city without a gang in the streets
For the first time in years
A mother felt hope
A young girl felt hope
A man felt hope.

But then God rained down fire and destroyed the city.

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Follow-up post: "Sodom and Gomorrah" is a story about living in a "bad neighborhood"

Other bible fanfics:

Mary's Choice
Strange Fire
Love Wins (an Ezra fanfic)
Noah's Evangelism