story of the red queen

8/12/2019 Story of the Red Queen

1/4

The Red Queen

I was a wayward traveller. I belonged to the royal navy once, but the weather and the waves hadtugged at my temper so much that I had to walk on land again. In the great west, just off the coast,were the fecund fields of Virginia. Here the sun was strong and the dust yeilded corn in summers. Iwas a farm-hand there for over two years. The third year it didn t rain. That was when I travelled

seaward. !outh-bound railroad went past a small town down south where the land met the sea andthe railroad workers mingled with the sailors of the emerald seas. It was the place of the soileddoves" their beauty lost to convenience" their chastity gone with the wind. This was an old town, thesort that ghosts float in after the decay rots away the last plank. #nly the rotting hadn t gone to it s

bones yet, I guess.The skirts were pulled up every night and every wench was richer than thewoman in the church. I walked the salty sands on the streets that morning, hungry and distraught.$nd I soon noticed that the railroad was being worked on by the no longer hungry and distraught. I

put two and two together, kissed the %lessed &ady &uck, and made enough by the night to drownmy innards with drink and buy a whore s crack. $nd as the lights began to shine in heaven and onearth, I walked into the 'ed (ueen s )unhouse.

The brothel was smoke-filled and mysterious. I thought I heard music" a jaunty, perky theme thatseemed to project happiness and fun. Then the professor found me lurking in the corner and askedme, *)urst-time here, boy+I felt a little affronted. * f course not. o I look like a boy to you+ It was true that I had oncetouched a girl. !he had smelt of lavender and honey. %ut I had not done it right, and she was still avirgin when I left her. %ut the man was obviously wrong. eople do learn a lot when working as afarm-hand. I had heard stories of them scarlet ladies. They say that these faeries of the half worlddon t need an e/perienced hand to do it right. $nd tonight I had a pocketful of happiness to boostmy esteem.Then he led me to the booth. There were girls of every sort there. !ome were si/teen, some were infull blossom. !ome were hiding their pain in their corsets, others were plumping their assets withthem. !miling faces, apprehensive faces, faces with hidden scars, faces with twinkling eyes. Thething about a place like this is that it can mean different things to different people. There werewomen who wore their scarlet shame with elan. There were women who wore their skirts long. $ndamongst them 0 old only in wisdom and e/perience 0 the 1adam.

*Howdy, young man. o you want some sweet tonight+ !he asked. Her bosom sparkled with silkand pearls.*That s what I came for, 1adam. I said, trying to sound confident.*2all me the 'ed (ueen. 3e all have identities that are often subverted by labels others pin on us.!he had an air of mysti4ue about her, which refused to be completely concealed beneath the smokey

decadence of the place.*5nless you could serve me yourself. I said, suddenly aware of my own attraction for this elegantnymph du prairie.*I don t think you could own me for a night. Her laugh tinkled like a goblet being filled with wine.*6ou don t think I have the money+ I said as I reached for my pockets.*I don t think you got the heart, honey. !he said arranging the feathers in her hair.*Try me. I said feeling the drink speak through me.*How much you got boy+*Ten dollars.!he laughed. It was loud and unladylike. It sounded harsh, like a jackdaw s call. It was meant tointimidate me, but I knew that she was only playing.

*Hon, you get %lue $lice for ten dollars.*3ho or what is the %lue $lice+ I said interested.*%lue $lice is a girl who was forced into being a man s slave and knows nothing about the art of


2/4

love-making.*3hy is she called the %lue $lice+ Is that her real name+ Is she in this room+ I asked, a little takenaback.*They re called %lue $lices because they are always blue. They moan and groan their days away,whining about how much better it would have been if they had married. &ook around you" you canrecogni7e a %lue $lice by her eyes.

*I 0 I never e/pected you to be so ... candid. I thought all of you felt like that on the inside.!he did that laugh again" I wanted it to sound artificial, but it didn t.*3hat could I get if I had more money+*6ou only got ten dollars and you want me to tell you the secret of this place+*6es. I said trying to hide my curiosity and strangely, embarrasment.*8o. 6ou can t get anything more for ten dollars. 6ou pick a %lue $lice and make merry as much asyou can tonight. !ome girls left the room. !ome stood still looking despondent. I instantly knewwhat she meant.*I ll take her. I said as I pointed to a girl with soulful blue eyes. 9ven the sound of the playfulmusic of the place could not drown out the shrieking sadness of her eyes.3e climbed up the stairs and walked into a dingy, dirty room. *6ou look young, %lue $lice said,flopping on the bed.*I am man enough for you. I said puffing up my chest.*6es, dear. !he said as a small tear stole into her eyes.!omething melted in me. *&ook. I didn t mean to scare you. If you could give me a name, I lladdress you properly.*I am %lue $lice. That is all there is to me. 6ou shouldn t ask too many 4uestions. It makes itworse.*%ut every %lue $lice has a past. $ past that s about her name. I protested.*3hat s your story+*3hy do you ask so many 4uestions+ Isn t it enough that I am here with my body+ o we have totalk about my soul+*I-I... want to know how a girl like you got here+ 6ou don t look the sort, y know+ I have alwaysliked stories, especially the ones with drama and she looked like someone who was having onewritten in her life.*I was to marry an accountant. His boss found me attractive too. He forced me to sleep with his

boss so he could get a better wage. I was to get a wedding ring. Turns out, he was just another rat, just like the man he worked for. I could have gone back to the world of respectability if it wasn t for%illy getting the cough. %illy s my little brother. $nd my family needs the money. That is why Ican t give my name. )or the honour of my family.*I am sorry to hear that. &iving like this must be tough.*1ornings are the toughest. 9very night is filled with nightmares about people grinding on me andshamingme and I find myself more tired and dejected in the mornings. !ome nights I don t even

have dreams. I just lie in bed and hey presto, it s morning. I don t even notice the night waking intomorning.3e didn t make love, we mated like a couple of animals. 3e got it done really 4uickly too. In themoment we peaked, I could hear the shouts of the men who were drowning at sea as I tried in vainto save them. I could hear my mother crying to :esus to save my soul on the day I told her I wasgoing to be a sailor. I could feel the loneliness of being on the raft in the middle of the ocean. $hundred painful memories came to my mind at that moment and screamed in my head for attention.I could hear $lice crying through me" tears of unre4uited love" tears for the $tlantis lost forever"tears for a ;od long dead.I spent the rest of the night on the street trying to wipe off the sadness imprinted on my mind fromthis strange encounter. #n some level, $lice had drawn out my soul s yearnings. #n another level,

she had made me fear women all the more.$ night s ribaldry should be a night s ribaldry. 8othing more, nothing less. %ut $lice was a %lue$lice and the 'ed (ueen was right about her.


3/4

Ten years have passed since I left that old town. The wind blew me 3est to the land of ;old and Ifound my fortune in the valley. I am not rich, but I am not poor either. I worked harder than mostguys, filtering gold nuggets from muddy waters. #nce I met a girl I wanted to marry, but she turnedout to be another %lue $lice. !he seemed to have an aura of sadness about her. 9verything she saidand did reminded me of %lue $lice and the night I spent with her. 3e could be sitting holding handsunder an indigo sky and she would bring up the case of her father s pneumonia. 3e could be in the

bar dancing and she would burst forth with the tale of the dirty clothes she needed to wash ne/tmorning. Then one day, she said we ought to get married. I got away as fast as I could. $nd thewind blew me into the town of the 'ed (ueen $gain. It looked the same. There were sailors andrailroad men and the lights turned red as the nights progressed. Then out of sheer curiosity aboutwhat my money might buy me, I walked into that old brothel. The professor looked older but he stillhad mirth in his eyes. *!ame as the usual, 1ister !ir+ He asked as politely as he could.*3hat do you mean, *usual +This is only the second time I have been here. I said, looking andfeeling surprised.* lease follow me. He said leading me into the booth.There was another woman in the 'ed (ueen s seat when I looked around.*3here s the 'ed (ueen+ I asked looking aroundThe woman smiled and said, *6ou are looking at her, sir.*There was a different woman here, the last time I was here. I said, feeling a little unsettled.*The 'ed (ueen changes but the 'ed (ueen stays the same. !he said, rustling her pearls, *3hatare you here to buy, sir+*!omeone worth my money. I said already looking forward to be coached in the ways of theworld.*6ou will get &ady :ane ;ray for your worth, sir.*I know that every name here is a metaphor. 3ho s &ady :ane ;ray+*!he is the woman recovering from youth and adolescence. !he knows what she s worth and isn tafraid to ask it. ick one you like best. !aying so, the 'ed (ueen retreated into the darkness

beyond and many of the girls followed suite.I looked around and found several middle-aged smiling women< all of them dressed attractively andhad genuinely happy smiles. I was about to go with the youngest of them when I suddenly reali7eda pair of blue, soulful eyes watching me.*Hello, aren t you %lue $lice+ I said to the girl.*I used to be %lue $lice. I am now &ady :ane ;ray. !he winked.I took her hand and she led me to the room, laughing and flirting co4uettishly.I had the most phenomenal time of my life. The room was strikingly beautiful. The drapes werewell-chosen to reflect the pale yellow light from the lamps. The lampshades were ornately carvedtoo and reflected stunning patterns on the walls. The bed was large enough to accomodate four

people and had been dressed with silk sheets. &ady :ane ;ray was very aware of her body and was

skilled in the art of making love. !he knew when to advance and when to withdraw. 3e laughed andmade merry and I felt as if I was in Heaven.*!o what happened to you+ 6ou seemed very sad the last time I met you. $nd now you are not sadat all. I asked as she carefully picked out a fine 2uban cigar from the bo/ and helped me light itup.*#h, once my sister got married in a good family and my brother got a job as an accountant, myfamily asked me to leave home forever. They were ashamed of me.*That must have been sad. I said sympathetically.*8ot at all. )or the first time in my life, I e/perienced freedom of the sort I had never e/perienced

before. I could eat what I liked, dress appealingly and not care, and buy e/pensive jewels formyself. I knew rich and powerful men who showered me with gifts. I got a private tutor to educate

me. 1y life became perfect.3e spent the night discussing the $merican 'evolution and !hakespeare. I reali7ed that I had founda friend in her.


4/4

I went back to my business and found success of sorts. I got married and had four kids. Then oneday, when the kids were old enough to cast lots for my money and property, I decided to leave townand go see &ady :ane ;ray again.The brothel was no longer there when I got into town. I looked around the place but could not findit. I finally asked a man for the brothel. He said there were none in town. They had built a 2hurch intown and it had changed things. Then I asked about the 'ed (ueen. $nd He pointed to a huge

mansion with a comely garden. I went in and asked to see the 'ed (ueen. The doorman smiled andsaid, *6ou must be an old ac4uaintance, sir. 8o one calls 1adam iane $rlington the 'ed (ueenanymore.

I couldn t believe my eyes when iane came into the room. !he was my %lue $lice in an attiretailored for a noblewoman. !he was gracious and welcomed me with a refined air of a heiress.*3elcome, old friend. 3hat brings you to my humble abode+

*6ou seem to have changed so much= 3hat happened+

*$s I got older, I got wiser. I no longer wished for comfort or pleasure, but read and re-read philosophical and mystical treatises. The local churchmen saw an opportunity to reform me and Ichose to follow the way of the &ord, knowing full well, that my youth was not my mistake, myadulthood not wasted and my age not tarnished in the eyes of the &ord. $nd having known ande/perienced the truth of Things, I was ready to witness the truth of the )ormless and 9ternal. I wasready for ;od. !o I gave away half of all that I owned in charity and bought respectability formyself. The society calls me 1adame iane. I was a lowly prostitute when I was praying everyday,I am a respectable woman now that I have no reason to pray. $pparently, ;od once found makesthings a lot simpler. I have come full circle -- from a prostitute to a church going woman. 1y circleis complete and I am ready for the new cycle. $nd having reali7ed this, I have, e/perienced formyself, the circle of &ife.

story of the red queen

Documents