These Letters End in Tears

Author: Musih Tedji Xaviere

In 1997 a chance encounter leads to romance between two young women, Bessem and Fatima. The odds are stacked against them from the start, a Christian girl with a deviant heart and a Muslim girl leading a double life in an unforgiving place. Despite living in homophobic Cameroon, the two fall completely in love with each other and start a relationship that will mark their lives forever.

Everything changes when Fatima’s older brother, an Islamic extremist, finds out about the affair and intervenes by physically assaulting the couple, leading them to spend three days in jail after the police raids the only gay bar in town. Right after, Fatima goes missing without a trace and Bessem is left wondering about her whereabouts, confronted by various rumors regarding what might have happened. Was Fatima banished from the Muslim community? Did she get married off like her family suggests, or are they using these excuses to cover up something sinister?

Fifteen years down the line, Bessem is now a university professor leading a quiet, untroubled life. However, she has never forgotten Fatima and is still looking for Fatima. Bessem's long-winded search will take her deep into the Muslim world where she's forced to come face to face with her worst nightmare and will, eventually, lead her to the truth behind Fatima’s disappearance and all that comes with it, from justice to her very own future.

A heart-wrenching story about forbidden love and what it means to be queer, Muslim, and Cameroonian in the 21^st Century.

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