So far I have written about the first three tunes of our new CD, "birth, love, hate, death" and they all have been intros to the story and characters. The 4th song, "The Prophet," introduces us to the character named "Danielle," a young woman who was born into a cult and was the victim of an arranged marriage.
http://www.universaldice.com/music/s/the_prophet
http://www.universaldice.com/the_music/
Arranged marriages of under-age girls is not as rare as many might think and the topic was featured in the news recently.
Reuters reported: "The governor of New Jersey declined to sign a measure into law on Thursday that would have made the U.S. state the first to ban child marriage without exception. Republican Chris Christie, a supporter of President Donald Trump, said such a ban would conflict with religious customs.
Underage marriage is widespread in the United States, where about 170,000 children were wed between 2000 and 2010 in 38 of the 50 states where data was available, according to activists. Although age 18 is the minimum for marriage in most of the nation, every state has legal loopholes allowing children to wed... Opponents of the measure said exceptions should remain for marriages of young members of the military - 17-year-olds can enlist with parental consent - and pregnant teenagers. The bill as it was already approved by both houses of the legislature would have made New Jersey the first state to outlaw child marriage altogether, according to Unchained At Last, a group that opposes arranged and forced marriages...
Most such marriages are underage girls married to older men, it said.Studies have shown that child marriage is associated with mental health problems, poverty and increased high school drop-out rates." http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trafficking-childmarriage-idUSKBN1872VB
In the song, the courageous Danielle plots and executes her escape from the cult, but unfortunately, not until after the arranged marriage takes place. Her escape and subsequent story are not without consequences from her experiences, as we will see as the story progresses. This song is "The Prophet."