She was the youngest environmental activist on the continent. At least in the eyes of her fans, for whom she was practically an idol. They all thought she was the bravest teenager of all time. Someone who dared to do something. And who had already achieved more than most would ever achieve. Yet she was actually still a child, dressed like a child and talked like a child. And nobody knew that in reality she was just an obedient girl. A good daughter who did what her father asked of her. Because if not …

Edna had grown up in a strictly religious home. She knew what it meant to honor her father and mother. And she knew what awaited a rebellious girl who disobeyed the Lord’s laws and defied her father’s orders. For where children are brought up according to the words of the Lord, the rod of discipline is not far away. And it had made her into the girl her parents wanted her to be. A well-behaved girl who wore an old-fashioned skirt while others ran around outside in jeans. A hard-working girl who did her homework and always brought home good grades.

She was one of those girls who grew up slowly and retained her childlike appearance for a long time. She was estimated to be fifteen, sixteen at the most, when she first appeared on television. Even for that, she still looked quite young, as she was petite and small in stature. Her breasts were barely visible under her modest clothing and only very attentive observers recognized that there were definitely curves under her loose summer dress that indicated that this Edna had long since crossed the threshold from child to woman.

In reality, she was not fourteen, as one might have thought at first glance. Nor was she sixteen, as was generally assumed. She was eighteen and therefore, according to the law, an adult, of legal age, independent.

Before the law of the land, yes. But not before the law of God. For the believers in her church community knew that there is always a man in a woman’s life to whom she is subject and owes obedience. At first, it is her father who has the task of raising her from an innocent girl to a modest woman who has all the prerequisites to be a wife and mother. Later, her husband takes responsibility for her, for he is the head of his wife, just as God himself is the head of man. Consequently, she is obliged to treat him with reverence and to submit to his will in everything she does. This is the divine order and this is how his law has determined it.

Edna’s father was a pious man who was not only highly respected in the community. He was also an honorable entrepreneur who was committed to the environment and headed a company that equipped single-family homes in the area with solar panels. And he was regarded as an up-and-coming local politician, whom most of the town’s residents already saw in state politics.

Edna fitted into this model world like a piece of a mosaic. Or rather, she was expected to take on the role of the obedient daughter who was a role model for others and consolidated the family’s impeccable reputation. In the church community. In the village. In politics. In business life.

Edna was invited by schools across the country to speak about protecting our environment. She led numerous demonstrations where students held up their self-painted signs demanding a world where the food was healthy, the air was pure and the water was clean. Environmental protection was in and anyone who stood up for it was one of the good guys in the country. What’s more, young people have always needed a reason to rebel against the sins of the old and delude themselves that they are the generation of tomorrow that will make everything better.

Only those who listened carefully noticed that Edna had a somewhat strange tone of voice. She had an unspectacular appearance and was a rather shy girl. She was dressed like the eco-freaks who bought their clothes in the Third World store and always looked kind of rumpled. She looked like the well-behaved daughter that all parents want and was completely different from the mass of other teenagers who walked through the streets laughing with their banners to celebrate their difference. She was remarkably serious, even grim, and didn’t seem to have any friends outside the demo world.

Today, Edna was standing on the small stage that had been set up in the market square of a small town. She clutched the microphone with both hands and said what she had said a thousand times before. Her mother sat a little apart in a street café and watched the demonstrative hustle and bustle of the youth. She didn’t really like them, the teenagers of today, who acted far too loudly and rudely for her liking. Especially not the girls in their jeans that were far too tight, which had to be a challenge for any boy.

Mother was always the one who drove Edna to the numerous events. There was a small electric car especially for this purpose, which was suitable for underpinning the family’s emphatic environmental claim. Mother was a woman who was used to doing what was expected of her. She was the wife who had her husband’s back so that the successful businessman, the esteemed chairman of the local council, the aspiring politician could take care of the important things in life unencumbered.

She knew that she had married an energetic man who believed in firm rules and principles and she did not question the role she had to play in this. And now her job was to accompany her daughter and make sure that the girl didn’t do anything stupid and did exactly what was asked of her. After all, everyone in the country knew her name and therefore her father’s name, which would be on thousands and thousands of posters at the next election.

Edna had been stubborn this morning. She wanted to go to vocational school instead of being in public again. She was doing an apprenticeship at a haulage company and Fridays were always vocational school days. But her father didn’t listen to her pleas. Friday was also the day on which most students skipped school to demonstrate. Everything had already been arranged and Edna was supposed to give a speech today. The speech that he had practiced with her a thousand times until she could recite every word by heart. The speech of a young student who was actually already in training. Or that of a teenager who was actually already of age. The speech of a heroine who was adored by everyone and brought her father exactly the fame he needed to be successful.

He had slapped her this morning when she showed signs of rebellion, had appealed to her responsibility not to betray the trust that had been placed in her. And to her duty to respect her father’s will. For she was his daughter and as long as she put her feet under his table, she had to obey him and do what he asked of her. „I’ll talk to you tonight,“ had been his words when she had continued to be stubborn and had followed her mother with obvious reluctance to take her into town. „We’ll talk,“ were the words he always used when he thought it appropriate to give his daughter a bit of an education. She knew exactly what those words meant, and he knew how to deal with an unruly daughter, no matter how old she was.

He was aware that he didn’t have much time left. As young as Edna looked, she wouldn’t be able to play the role of the naive teenager for much longer. But she would have to hold out until his appointment to the state parliament. Until the next election, she was the most important campaigner he could do without. Until then, he had to keep her on a tight leash and do everything he could to make sure she said her lines into the microphone. And he had never been squeamish when it came to his choice of means.

He switched on the television. The director of the local TV station was a friend of his and had agreed to broadcast Edna’s speech live. The camera alternated between panning shots of the town hall square, where all the schoolchildren in the town had obviously gathered, and close-ups of Edna standing up there on the stage and delivering exactly the statements she had learned from him. She sounded rather unconvincing this time, he thought. Somehow you got the impression that she was reciting something she had memorized. Her voice sounded strangely monotonous as she talked about hydropower and the energy of the sun, which should be captured instead of building power stations.
That’s exactly what people should learn. They should buy his solar panels because they wanted to do something for the environment. And they should vote him into parliament because he was the successful businessman who would take the environmental party forward. That was precisely why he had instilled the environmental idea in Edna as soon as she was able to think for herself. But he sensed that her enthusiasm was waning and he knew that she needed encouragement again. „We’ll talk“ was therefore not an empty phrase, but the announcement of an evening that would teach her a lesson.

Edna’s expression was blank as she got into the car with her mother. She was glad that the action was over and she could go home again. She knew she would have the whole afternoon to herself to read one of the forbidden books she read in secret whenever she was alone. But she also knew that she was in for another painful evening tonight.

„That wasn’t a brilliant performance today,“ Mother said in greeting, scowling. She didn’t say anything back. After the event, she had been mobbed by a few dozen pupils who wanted to take a selfie with her. She had put up with it and made a good face for a boring game. She knew how to function and do exactly what was asked of her. And she knew how to smile, even when she didn’t really feel like it.

She ate dinner with her mother in silence. She was angry with her daughter because she knew that her father was annoyed and would probably take his displeasure out on his wife. After all, she was the mother and therefore jointly responsible if the upbringing of their daughter did not bear the desired fruit.

Father wouldn’t be back in time for dinner. At least that was what he had said in a phone call. And he had instructed Edna to wait for him, even if it would be late.
Edna did, of course, and spent the evening with her mother in front of the television. She had learned to block out unpleasant things and this time, too, she tried more or less successfully not to think about the fact that she was about to have an unpleasant conversation with her father.

He was still in a meeting. This time it was the monthly meeting of the church council. But he left early, citing an important matter that he still had to attend to. His Edna had grown into quite a pretty thing, he thought as he sat down in his SUV, which wasn’t really environmentally friendly, but with its hybrid drive at least gave the impression of being careful with resources.
He was aware that fathers and daughters always had a very special relationship, and he had watched with interest as she had slowly but inexorably developed from a child into a woman. Admittedly, she was quite small, which made her appear much younger than she actually was. But she had a very attractive body, which a man could only recognize after she had taken off all her clothes and presented herself naked. He knew that there were men who liked just that. A young woman who somehow still looked like a child, but was still all woman. With a tight grotto that was a pleasure for every man’s cock and a small bottom that almost invited him to feel the flat hand of the man who counted her as his property.

He was still the only man who had the right to punish her if she gave cause, even if he was denied all other privileges. But she was already eighteen now and it was time to find her a suitable husband. After all, you could never completely rule out the possibility that a woman might weaken at some point and give herself to the first guy who came along without marrying him.

He would probably use the good old rod this time. His wife had instructions to always provide a dozen freshly cut branches, which were kept in a large clay vase that stood directly in the entrance area of the pretty villa where the family lived. Visitors to the house naturally thought this arrangement was just a decorative element. But the wife and daughter knew exactly what the real purpose of these thin willow rods, carefully stripped of any foliage, was.

Edna should have been prepared for this, but she still flinched when she heard the key in the lock and the familiar sound of her father hanging up his jacket and kicking off his shoes. Mother hurriedly got up and went to him. Edna knew the scene that was now unfolding in the hallway. She threw herself against his neck and opened her lips for a gentle kiss of welcome, which he readily gave her, while he clasped her waist and patted her bottom with relish.

„Go to your room,“ he said in his own commanding tone and waited at the door until Edna had passed him and left the room. „You know what to do,“ he whispered to her and looked after her as she climbed the wooden spiral staircase to her inevitable fate. If they want to turn a man on, they can roll their asses and it’s a real pleasure, he thought. But when they’re in for a spanking, they pretend that the part of their body God designed to receive it doesn’t exist.

Edna knew that he would take his time. So she went to the bathroom first and performed the evening ceremony, but this time she added a thorough shower. Not because she hadn’t showered in the morning, but because she knew that her father would see her the way only fathers and husbands are allowed to see a woman and she wanted to present herself in absolute purity. Fortunately, she didn’t have her period, because she had always been embarrassed to squirm under his blows while a long, white thread dangled between her legs.

Yes, she knew what to do. She knew exactly what it meant when she was sent to her room to get ready. She had known since this morning what was in store for her and yet it only happened at that moment. All of a sudden it was there, the fear of what was about to happen. It could not be stopped and slowly and inexorably crept up her body until it threatened to choke her throat.

Suddenly she felt naked and exposed in the thin nightgown she had put on after her shower. It reminded her of the day when he had suddenly stood next to her in bed. Back then, when she had discovered the good feeling that came every night when her fingers were busy with the spot between her legs, which was apparently so taboo for religious people that there wasn’t even a name for it. She hadn’t noticed him and therefore hadn’t known how long he had been watching her as she lay there with her legs spread and panting softly. She had been ashamed when he had pulled the comforter away from her with a jerk to reveal her hidden actions. And she had screamed at the top of her lungs when he had taught her with his leather belt that a chaste girl does not do such things. Her nightgown had offered her no protection, as she had pulled it up herself and was thus defencelessly at the mercy of her father, who made her aware, weal by weal, that she had sinned.

But the feeling was too good and she had never been able to do without it. After all, all the girls she knew did it. And they all said that it would be even nicer if a man inserted his penis where the woman was made for him.

Father had never shouted at her when she had done something wrong. He had reprimanded her with stern words and then chastised her silently and extensively. As a young girl, he had put her over his knee to make her bottom glow with the flat of his hand. When she finally got her period and felt like a woman, she had had to bend over the edge of the bed to find out that a bundle of willow rods or a wide leather strap caused completely different pain than father’s flat hand. But Father had never just hit her, as she had heard from other fathers in the community. For him, a punishment had to follow a set ritual. And he was convinced that the Lord had endowed the woman with a wide pelvis and a big bottom for a reason. First and foremost, of course, so that she could bear children effortlessly. But also so that she had enough elastic flesh to be able to take even a severe punishment unscathed.

For the woman exists for the sake of the man, the Bible says, and an unmarried woman was subject to the discipline of her father until his right was superseded by the right of her husband.

Edna was sitting on the edge of the bed when he entered the room. He carefully closed the door behind him and turned the key. In his hand he held the dreaded willow rod with which he was about to teach her manners. His voice was calm but firm as he gave her the usual sermon. There was talk of a daughter’s duty to be obedient to her parents. One or two biblical passages were also included. Finally came the words that he had already spoken countless times in this room:

„You know what you have to do.“

Yes, she knew. She knew all too well what her father expected of her now. She rose, stepped to the foot of the bed, knelt down in front of it and leaned forward. She put her face deep into the immaculate white comforter. She reached back and pushed the hem of her nightgown up so far that her bottom was exposed. Then she dug her fingers into the comforter and waited for the first blow.

Father struck hard and left no doubt that he wanted to punish her thoroughly. Pliant wooden twigs cut into supple soft skin, leaving thin welts that swelled thickly moments later. Edna’s mouth opened in a staccato of pointed cries as she frantically tossed her little bottom back and forth, displaying exactly the kind of reaction any educator would appreciate. She hadn’t really done anything wrong, but she had shown reluctance. She had defied her father’s will. She had been disobedient. In this Christian house, that was enough to be punished severely.

Her father never announced a specific number of blows he would give her. He simply struck until he could see from her reactions that her reluctance was broken. He punished her as one would punish a woman who deserved rebuke. He struck a final, particularly well-placed blow and then let go of her. Then he threw the rod into a corner and left the room without a word.

What remained was the pitiful sight of a young girl, who was in fact already a young woman and considered an adult in the eyes of the law. She had put up a brave fight. She had clutched the sheet tightly with both hands in order to endure the pain without giving up the position that a disobedient girl has to take when she has to be punished. Now she curled up on the bed, clutching her battered bottom tightly with her hands as she cried quietly to herself.

(any similarities with actual persons are purely coincidental)