"I'm getting married next year", she said
as she busied by the dressing mirror.
I froze as her words hit me. She instinctively turned my way
and continued.
"I'm getting older and I need to be out of here
soon. I shouldn't be telling anybody this, but I trust you".
Her face was angelic. Strands of the Brazilian weave she
fixed over her husk-like hair curled around her ear lobes. The undergrowth was
showing- stiff and wispy, at the ridge of her forehead. We gazed at each other
for a long while.
"Who's gonna marry you", I asked,
patronizing her.
"Naturally, someone will come-by. But if somebody
doesn't, I will find a way to make it happen. I still have my charm, you know-
Oga Chris even said so", she concluded, turning her face back to the
mirror. She was beginning to apply mascara. Something to hide the age-lines
that etched across her beautiful face.
I felt pity for her at first. I've known Bella for years,
even before she lured me into this unholy trade. As I peeped over her shoulder,
I realized she was actually looking older- her image on the mirror was proof.
There was a jowl forming beneath her jaw-line. Her buttocks were flatter than I
had known them to be few years ago (I knew because I occasionally smooched her
behind, the way call-girls do each other). Years of beings constantly ravaged
by drunks and randy men had done them in. The skin between her belly and waist-line
was dotted with blue hued webbed veins. Stretch-marks littered the sides of her
belly, underneath her armpits and atop her sagging breasts. Her shoulders
sloped a bit too steep. She looked tired. If she were to retire now, she could
save some crumbs for whichever man she would lure into marrying her. But that was
bullshit.
Bella had no right to shit-talk in my presence. Call-girls
shouldn't be saying dumb things- like talking marriage. I wouldn't mind if it
were Cindy or some of the other girls that said such. Anyone but her. She had
no right to indulge in stupid fantasies. Bella was our "Madam".
It was Bella who introduced me to this body hawking. She, who used to preach
that there is dignity in this labour. Dignity and ecstasy too. How could she
turn around now?
Then suddenly, an idea materialized. I could see things in a
different light. Here was a chance to deny her of the usual service- charge. I had
to grab the opportunity.
I stood from the bed and walked up to her by the table. I
brushed a weave off her bare shoulders, kissed and fondled her from behind. She
giggled a bit as I dropped the room keys on the dressing table and made towards
the door.
She stood up after me inquiringly. I knew she expected her
percentage from the money I had in the clutch under my arm. Bella was entitled
to a tenth part of our earnings. She paid for the room we used- I and the other
girls; she arranged most clients for us, even Oga Chris. She was our procurer,
and we were mere hustlers on her turf.
I smiled at her as she looked on.
"Bella, you should lead by example; instead, you
talk a lot of shit. I am not paying your cut this time, or ever again. Don't
make a fuss or the other girls will hear about this awesome conversation we
just had", I paused waiting for her anger to build up. She didn't
loose her composure. If she was angry, she didn't show it. I didn't mind,
anyways. Like me, she was a prostitute, and years of practice should have made
her to be proficient in hiding emotions.
I walked majestically towards the door, yanked on the knob,
turned and added.
"Prostitutes shouldn't talk marriage. I'll be the
next Madam after you've gone to find a hubby next year."
She hissed momentarily as I strode out to join the other
girls at the bar.
I had four thousand naira in my clutch and I wasn't paying
Bella a dime. After all, it was my body that Oga Chris defiled, not hers.
©Poet Razon-Anny Justin
Anny Justin Udofia, 28; is a Food Technologist and an African Poet/ Writer who hails from Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria. Apart from this, he has a flair for flash fiction and short stories. He speaks Ibibio, Igbo and English. His poems have appeared in RedParrot Magazine in Owerri- so too has his articles. He has also been published online on www.kalaharireview.com; www.poemhunters.com etc.
"The Metamorphosis and Other Poems' is his unpublished poetry collection.
He writes under the name Poet Razon-Anny Justin too.
E-mail: razon_anny@hotmail.com
Phone: +2347036647700
Twitter: @Poet_Razon, @Razon_daPoet
Beautiful piece. Truly this poet guy is wonderful with his pen and imaginations. But, where could he have garnered the experience for this write-up? *smiles.
ReplyDelete-Benyto