I shook my head — not a nightmare, but a memory.
'Stinks awful bad in here,' she said. 'Awful, awful bad. You will need a cleanup before dinner. Just sit still now.'
'What's your name?' I said, sitting back while she attended to me.
'Name's-' she paused, expressing brief confusion. 'They…call me Madam L, you can call me L.'
'L? That's weird, already met a B today.'
'You spoke to Madam B?' she asked, unmistakably anxious. 'Did she mention me at all?'
'Well, no.' I said, puzzled. 'Why would she?'
The girl turned from me, soaking the cloth in a bowlful of dirty water. I took her slender wrist and she allowed the cloth to sink into that murky bowl. 'Why would Madam B mention you?' I asked again.
'Just thought she would've told you, that's all. After all, our purpose was her idea. Solution, she calls it.'
'Our purpose?' I said, releasing her wrist. 'Which is?'
She lowered her forehead to hide her blushing. She was a beauty with peachy skin, plump cheekbones, and two soft lips like streaks of red paint. Times like these I had to forget I was still a man of flesh and blood. 'You take orders from Madam B?' I asked, regaining some composure. 'Is she in charge here?'
'Madam B guides us from evil,' she said. 'She protects us all.'
The girl's voice was sincere enough; there was no hint of a lie, as far as I could tell. I even sensed a fondness for her labored-looking leader. Intrigued, I continued with diligence down this line of questioning: 'How does Madam B, a pregnant woman, protect you?'
The girl kept her face and her answers from me.
'Am I upsetting you?' I asked. 'I'm sorry if I am, it's…'
She kept quiet, and attempting to meet her eye, I caught sight of the scratches scoring her arms and shoulders. Disturbed, I combed back her fringe to discover a lash across her forehead, the blood barely dry. 'Who did this?!'
Her chin trembled with her bottom lip, and falling tears gave a polish to her emerald eyes, but if the girl wanted to tell me, her mouth kept the secret under lock and key.
'I can help you,' I said, sure of myself. 'I can! Madam B? Did she do this? Did she hurt you?'
'Everyone must have a use,' she murmured. 'A…purpose.'
I took the drenched cloth from the bowl and cleared the grime from her face. 'Please, don't cry. Whatever the problem, there is no excuse for marks like that. See there, really-'
Taking me by surprise, L smudged my lips with a rough and unfussy kiss, ending with the sound of popping lips. I was completely gob-smacked, lip-smacked rather, as she removed her raggedy top to expose her pear shaped breasts. I opened my mouth to protest, but before any words left my tongue, she flung herself on top of me and then smeared her tits through my hands.
'Our purpose!' she said, kissing my mouth and locking her legs around my hips. 'Give me a child! Give me!'
'Wh, What?!' I choked, as the girl fought herself down on top. She wasn't strong, just extremely determined.
'Madam B knows!' she groaned, rubbing at my groin. 'No talking now, mister! I'll enjoy it more it you don't talk!'
I too groaned, as this alluring creature's busy fingers unbuckled my belt. I wanted to let this happen, to go with it, but the more I let appetite take over, the louder the sense inside me screamed, 'Get a hold of yourself, asshole!'
I turned the sprite over, sat on her flat stomach and pressed her wrists against the mattress. 'I'm very flattered,' I said, red-faced. 'I really am, and I'd love to, but-'
'You gotta fuck me!' she begged. 'You gotta!'
'I don't gotta do anything!'
Again, and with wild eyes, she wrestled against my weight, all the time pleading for a baby. 'Anything mister! Anything you want!'
My strength won out in the end, and when the girl finally surrendered, her tears resumed, pitiful, hopeless sobbing. 'You don't understand, mister! You can't!'
'Make me.' I said, stepping back. 'Talk to me, please?'
At that instant, the shack door was thumped open, giving me the fright of a lifetime. Kat filled the doorway, body glowing against the evening orange. His face tensed with repulsion as he examined the sight of this older man and half-naked woman distressed on the bed. Before I could explain or hear L's story, the girl scurried over the bed and raced past Kat, who pompously tried not to notice her bouncing breasts.
'It's not what you think…' I said, feeling his glare.
***
Dusk was replaced by the rapid tide of darkness. Atmospheric lanterns lit various locations around the village, and the escalating sound of goings on lured me out of the shack. I was pleased to be away from the shit, but still very aware of it drying over my boots now.
The community was tightly knit, the sort of place were privacy is non-existent, where your business is everybody else's. The homes only were moderately better than the shack, built from disjointed stones using mud for insulation. There were around twenty of these depressing hovels built over sludge. This was a tough existence, hard work and heartache, and no matter how safe they might be, I did not envy any soul residing here.
Only one of these homes appeared fit to live in, fit for a king, in fact. Georgian in style, it was an immaculate white, had a welcoming wooden porch, two floors, clean windows, and a pleasing glow coming from red curtains inside. I wanted to point out the peculiarity of that spotless home in this dilapidated village. I needed to share this nonsense with someone, anyone, but it appeared that the only peculiarity here was my presence. Faces watched, fingers pointed, and doors closed at my back.
Arriving at a long dining table, three women assembled plates and cutlery for the evening meal. I watched their work and they sensed me watching. None smiled or gave me the pleasure of their face. Kat would be at home here. 'Excuse me,' I said, moving closer. 'Can I have a minute?'
One of them, a redhead with face full of freckles suddenly accosted me. 'What is it?' she cried, somehow insulted. 'What have I done? What do you want?'
“Sorry. It's nothing…” My mind was suddenly scrambled, not by her attitude, but by the swollen belly under her cardigan, and the baby growing inside it.
'You're…pregnant?'
She placed a motherly hand over her stomach and smiled, as Madam B had done. 'Due any day.'
The other two women placed the last of the knives and forks, and I noticed that they too were pregnant. I had to rub my face, needed to get off my feet. 'How can we help you?' one asked, but I was too mystified to respond. The young woman repeated her question, and words eventually found me.
'Where…are the men? I have seen none. Are they hiding or something? Lost?'
The redhead laughed, directing her hand behind me. 'Why, there is one man!'
I turned, hopes dashed to see Kat strolling toward me. 'Kat!' I said, hurrying to him. 'Man, we have to talk!'
Looking more irritable than ever, Kat was not interested in anything I had to say.
'You were told to remain in the shack!' he bawled, both cheeks fat with air. 'You were told!'
'Oh,' I protested, 'so it's fine for you to go on walkabouts, huh? I couldn't stay in that fucking pit a second longer! There is something wrong here, okay? We're not safe!' I clutched his arm but he slapped it down.
'You do as I say!' he said, suddenly pinching my chin with his thumb and finger. 'I will not tell you again!'
With a push of his palm, he jerked back my stunned face. My heels came away and I slipped foolishly to the mud, the samurai already returning in the direction he had come.
***
The table was surrounded by people and food that evening; it was a feast of chicken, pork, fish, bread, water, and wine. All the stops were pulled out. The colorful sights and tantalizing smells made bellies growl and dry mouths water.
