Mothers Mercy

7.

“It is true? Don’t you know anything about this place?

“No mam. Nothing.”

Celestine laughed.

“Oh honey, don’t call me mam. I’m not old enough to be a mam. Oh well, where to begin. This is a Gentlemen’s Club. They come here and talk to us girls, flirt with us, buys drinks in the bar and if they want, they can pay to come with one of us upstairs and have a good time.”

“Good time?”

“Yes, you know. Some just want to talk or cuddle.. Some wants.. A bit more.”

“What more?”

“Oh sweety” Celestine laughed again. “To have sex.”

My eyes went big as they could get. This was a freaking brothel. I ran away from one predator to come to a house filled with them.

“Have you never had s*x before sweety?”

“No! Never!” I started to cry. It was so overwhelming to have ended up here.

“Oh no, don’t cry sweety! It’s okay. Mother said you will start as a Yellow. They don’t provide that kind of services. You are a minor. You are safe here! No one touches a Yellow. If anything happens, we call the police and they get banned from here. Honey, you are safe here.”

She hugged me like the big sister I have never had. She comforted me and assured me that nothing would happen to me as long as I was under the age of 18. I had 3 years of safe space.

“We don’t see us as hookers or whores. We don’t take everyone to our rooms. We always have the final say. We also decide what we want to offer, and what the price is. So it’s not like you have to do anything you are not comfortable with - when that time comes.” Celestine explained.

“As a minor, you will be a Yellow. Pearl and Ruby are Yellows as well. Pearl turns 18 next year, and Ruby in 4 years. Yellows sleeps together in the basement - it’s real cozy down there. Some of us sleeps down there as well from time to time, then we talk and gossip all night. Yellows wear a yellow collar, and you must wear it all the time you aren’t in the basement. Pearl and Ruby only takes it off when they shower, so they don’t forget to put it on. Come, let’s go down and have a look, shall we?”

Celestine walked towards the back of the room. There were a black door with a sign on. “No entry.” She opened it and revealed a hallway.

“In the back is our kitchen. That’s where we eat all our meals. Breakfast at 9 am, lunch at 1 pm and dinner at 6 pm. We help each other cook and clean afterwards. Mother always eats with us, but never cooks or cleans.”

“What’s Mothers real name?” I asked.

“We don’t know” Celestine said and shrugged. “She presents herself as Mother to both us and the customers here. Like she gives us new names, we don’t know her real name. It for our safety.”

Kind of wierd, but I had to accept it if I wanted to stay here. Celestine hadn’t told me her real name, and I never spoke my real name in my years at Mothers Mansion.