Sunflower

The Red-Light District

Sounds of laughter, clinking glasses and moans went through my ears. Without looking at the mirror, I knew that my face resembled a boiled crab right now. Staring at the table, I flinched every time I heard a woman’s giggle or a man’s nasty sentence. Soft chuckle sounded from my right side, making my head throbbed even more. This… this villain had the gut to laugh at me! Going out from here, I would make sure to throw him to the police! A soft hand caressed my neck as the owner walked past my seat, body glued to another man. I jumped and shuddered, sitting even more towards the edge of my seat. Turning my head to glare at the amused man, I kicked his leg under the table.

“Why exactly are you bringing me here!” I squeezed out with a nasty glare.

Gerald laughed, putting his hand onto his forehead, while smiling smugly at me. “What a kid.”

“I am a kid!” I bristled, mouth getting slacked as I watched a woman dressed in a scantily outfit kissed another woman dressed in a suit.

“I-is that woman kissing another w-w-woman?” I stuttered as I tugged the man’s sleeves.

Gerald glanced at them before grabbing my head and turning it another way. “Yeah, so what? That’s a normal relationship nowadays.”

“I-I know! I have just never seen that kind of relationship so I was surprised.” I mumbled.

The man looked at me in wonder and I could perfectly read what’s on his mind. What a sheltered kid. I fisted my hands. 

“So, why are we here?” I said as I tried to steer the topic.

“I told you, nightlife experience.”

“I don’t need it. Let’s leave, now.”

“Are you breaking the law nowadays, Mr. Gerald?” A sultry voice sounded behind me. A rose-scented perfume wafted through me as a woman walked past me and sat in front of us. Her perfectly manicured fingers clinked against the liquor glass as she tapped a rhythm against it. Her red mini dress clung tightly onto her busty figure as she crossed her legs in an elegant manner.

Without knowing it, my face was shrouded in a blush. Again.

“What are you talking about? I still need my reputation.” Gerald waved his hand in a dismissing manner. The woman chuckled and put a finger on her red lips.

“Then I will keep this a secret.” She glanced at me.

“There’ll be nothing to be kept as a secret if we leave now.” I grounded out to Gerald. The man flicked his fingers onto my forehead before taking a deep breath of his cigarette.

“Be quiet.”

The woman raised her hand towards a man which I assumed to be a waiter. She ordered something that I have never heard of. Might be some kind of alcoholic drink.

“So, what brings you here today?” The woman walked towards Gerald and sat beside him. She put her white and dainty hand on his chest and slid it towards his neck. Kissing his neck, the woman painted a bright red kiss mark on his tanned skin, attracting the gazes of people who looked at him. Gerald whispered in her ear and the woman’s gaze flicked towards me in a surprisingly calm gaze in response to his words. Which by now, I could guess what was the context.  

“So… Life story? That’s a private thing Mr. Gerald.” The woman tapped his index finger onto Gerald's lips with a mysterious smile. “You’re asking for something incredibly private.”

Gerald looked at her in mock disgust. “There’s nothing private about you. Everyone in this room know about your story except that kid.”

The woman laughed brazenly, a very opposite sight of her outer appearance. “That’s true!”

The woman pushed herself off the man before taking a sip of her own drink, nodding as the male waiter put a glass of blue drink on our table. “What do you want to know, young mister?” She licked her lips and caressed my face, body leaning across Gerald's and showing off her cleavages.

Whoa! I looked up with red face, trying to get as far as I could from the woman, and stuttered out a refusal. “N-no! I don’t need to know anything… Let’s go mister!”

The woman pulled my arms as I was standing up, forcing me to return to my seat, as she sat between me and Gerald. Snaking her bare arm on my tense shoulder, she whispered to my ears and chuckled. “My famous poor story, it is.”

#

The girl trembled as the banging and shouting sounded from the room. Standing in front of the old wooden door, her hand shook as she reached out towards the knob. Before she could open the door, her mother’s miserable wail made her pause and turn to her own small room. She hastily entered and locked her room, diving under her coarse blanket and cocooned it around her trembling body.

It’s gonna end soon… It’s gonna end soon…

She repeated the mantra all over again. A sudden banging on her door made her jump, hands clenching hard on the blanket.

 “Open the damn door! You are just the same as your shitty mother! Where’s today earning!” Her father’s hoarse voice always made her feel like the world was ending.

“I-it’s on the dining table!” She yelled back, determined to keep the door locked. Cursing sounded on her ears before fading away, signaling her father’s departure. Biting on her nails, she finally relaxed when she heard the front door slammed closed. Waiting for another minute, she mustered the courage to open her door and peek outside. Nobody. Walking hastily towards her mother’s room, she opened the door and gasped. Grabbing hard onto the knob, she stood silently, watching her mother gasped for breath on the floor. Her blood flowed down from her forehead to her neck, staining her collar. Entering the room, she searched for the cupboard, silently wishing for some medicine. Taking what seemed to be painkillers, she threw the bottle to the ground, watching as the bottle bounced and spun before stopping at her mother’s weak hand.

“M-medicine.” She spat out.

Her mother tried to lift her head, spitting out blood before glaring at her. “F-f*****g leave!”

She flinched. Leaving the room without another thought, she ran to the front door, opening it harshly and slamming it behind her as she ran forward without looking back.

For that split second, the little girl felt free, burden lifted and left behind, before everything crashed down again. The worries of not cleaning the house, not preparing food for her so-called-parents, not looking more closely at her wounded mother… And the girl has never felt so heavy in her short twelve years life.