315th story

There once was a beautiful woman named Zara, renowned not only for her striking appearance but also for the attention she attracted wherever she went.

Her husband, a wealthy merchant, preparing for a long journey, grew anxious at the thought of leaving her behind. His heart, torn between trust and suspicion, devised a curious plan.

Before departing, he had a white garment sewn especially for Zara, spotless, pure, and without a single mark upon it. Then he handed a bowl of indigo dye to his servant and said:

“I am going to gift my wife this dress when I come back. Watch her carefully while I am away. If you see from her even the slightest improper act, press one finger dipped in this indigo onto her white dress. That way, when I return, even if you are no longer here, the truth will reveal itself to me.”

And so the merchant left.

Time passed.

At first, Zara behaved impeccably. But days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. Temptation crept in slowly, and the servant, ever watchful, began to notice small lapses, glances held too long, meetings too frequent, laughter too intimate. Each time, he did exactly as he had been instructed: one finger of indigo, one mark on the dress.

When the merchant eventually wrote to his servant, his letter was light and confident, almost boastful, wrapped in verse:

“Zara has done nothing that would bring shame? No trace of indigo stains her dress with blame?”

The servant read the letter, sighed deeply, and replied, also in verse, but with sharper truth and darker humour:

“If the master delays his return but a little more, when he comes back, Zara’s dress will be a leopard design, instead of the plain white.”