She had not missed Rokhaya's tired eyes with their dark circles, her fleeting smile. A widow without children, the old woman had found in Rokhaya the daughter she had never had. Rokhaya gave her things to eat, and had her laundry done and pressed by her own laundress. She felt doubly indebted to Rokhaya for her kindness, and the countless little services she did for her. Mother Diould urged Rokhaya to confide in her, swearing she would keep everything absolutely secret.
Sterility is unacceptable and shameful.
True death consists of leaving no image of oneself in this life. The punishment which follows for the woman is, in many cases, rejection or the likelihood of seeing a rival wife added to the household. Then if that wife conceives she will be overwhelmed with attention, coddled, praised to the skies by her husband and his family. And so all the ills of the world could be read in Rokhaya's eyes. Mother Diould , nonetheless, had acquired a solid reputation in the art of dealing with sterility.