Palindrome

Palindrome was an unusual citadel. Constant in most factors, it was noticeably unusual in one respect.

Every newborn had to have a name that was the same backwards. A palindrome.

The naming authority wasn't precious about style or authenticity. It was the honest truth of a reversible name that meant all.

A palindromic name allowed full entry into society and all its shining departments. Ada, Edde, Kik, Anna, Iggi, Ululu, Oro, Pertrep. All fully accepted members of the community since birth.

The name's the ticket it said on the mirrors.

So woe betide if anyone disobeyed the decree of the palindrome. The strongest possible sanctions would be applied to the parents, with the harshest of prejudice.  Such parents might be changed, re-written, never to be named again, the child being forced into the care of the citadel forever, relegated to the footnotes for life, stripped of a normal title or worse.

And so it was for Florence, the first child ever to have a non- palindromic name in the city state's history.

Named after the classical city of the Italian state, Florence's parents, being of Italian stock, wanted to celebrate their beloved Grandmother who was graced with the same name. Their love for her knew no bounds.

Florence was a promise and a tribute. It simply had to be. It was her destiny.

The citadel's Father's were swift to act. Aberrations in nomenclature were potential triggers for mass re-namings and could not be tolerated. Consequences were immediate.

Florence's parents were first incarcerated in the city keep atop the Main Hall and then positioned on the Hall's window ledge. A siren blared across all the departments. The girl herself was perched on the Leader's balcony. A huge mirror was erected. 

ONLY PALINDROMES IN PALINDROME!

A large crowd had gathered below the balcony in the square. As Florence quivered on the edge, her parents were reversed in full view of her and all the citizens massed below.

We are not Acronyms nor Acrostics nor Abbreviations. We are Palindromes! Proclaimed the Leader.

They gasped as the reversals took full effect. Nothing like it had ever been seen publicly in the city before.

What about the girl? Someone yelled from the crowd.

I have looked in the mirror and the girl will be placed in ellipses until a suitable name can be found. It is the fault of her misguided parents and not hers! Spoke the Leader into the microphone.

In the meantime I shall be her guardian in the House of Drome, where she can reflect on her future. It is not irreversible as we first thought.

Go home now citizens. Stare in the mirror and be thankful for your names.

Remember. There can only be palindromes in Palindrome!