My stomach lurched as I heard his words. They tore at my carefully constructed reality, threatening to expose my naiveté. They confirmed a view of Kabul-life that I’d long guessed at, but resisted believing.

Sweeping generalization? Yes.

Widely disputed? Yes.

Incontrovertible? Here… maybe.

The words swept across the bar crashing into his audience… three women. Each woman drew the words in, each reacted in her own way. One raising her eyebrows and cocking her head to the side, momentarily questioning his truth, before her chin settles into a slow nod.

The next, took a long draw on her cigarette, her brow knitting together as she scrutinized the man she had observed, against the bold proclamation he now made. She paused as the smoke curled from her lips, slowly exhaled and pushed the bold statement away.

The last reacted as though she’d been slapped. Shock filled her face, her jaw dropped slightly before snapping into action. She didn’t bother to argue the statement, she went right for the statistics. Her face dropped when those around the bar settled on a 5% figure on truly faithful men.

Whether the conjecture is right or wrong, the reality stands people reinvent themselves. Truly, single can take on a whole life of its own.