don’t,’ I say.
T hey ignore my protests and increase the intensity.
‘You must sleep,’ Rosa says.
‘Eh, I’m okay. ’Sides, it’s too bright … too much coffee.
They respond by drawing the sheets over me, tucking me in and closing the blinds. Big bullies.
To my surprise, I fall asleep immediately.
When I awake, its 4 PM and I’m disorientated. After a while, I slide out of bed and make my way to my two new friends with benefits .
They welcome me warmly but peer at my face. I think they’re worried that I will cry again. To put me at ease, they laugh and poke fun at each other. I really appreciate their niceness and gravitate towards them.
I’m starving but I can’t bring myself to eat. I just ask for more coffee as I surreptitiously takes in my surroundings, looking for ... well, cadavers, mighty cleavers, table cloths made out of human skins, lima beans ...
Nothing. Everything here looks so confusingly normal. I open the refrigerator on the pretext of getting more milk. Nothing - j ust cheese, milk, soft drinks – all the stuff you find in our Elaine’s kitc hen back home. (Not my fridge though – it’s always filled with beer, flat, diet coke and mouldy month-old pizza. I used to explain that I was planning to making penicillin for a third world country.)
Maybe the villagers are wrong about the cannibal bit. Please let them be wrong as I’m starving.
Rosa takes my hand. ‘Come see your home.’
My home . Meekly, I go with her.
Tana Mera is perched on top of a hill with breathtaking views of the ocean and partial views of the valley. The lawns around the ranch are manicured and lush with luxuriant blooms of roses, dahlias and tulips – colourful and festive. A gardener pruning some rose bushes pauses and stares at me.
‘Diablo’s woman!’ Rosa yells.
He breaks into a smile. ‘AAAHHH! My name Sam,’ he says, and bows slightly. ‘Velcome, Senorita.’
I smile at him. ‘Nice to meet you Sam.’
‘ Diablo’s voman !’ Sam suddenly yells to someone behind me.
Startled, I spin around and see an armed guard stationed in a tower overlooking the ranch.
‘AAAAHHH!’ the guard says . ‘Senorita,’ he nods.
‘Come,’ Rosa says and we continue our tour. ‘We got ta ten villas. You, Diablo, you stay in tha t villa.’ She points to the one I slept in.
‘Christa,’ she says, pointing to the largest villa on the highest point of the ranch. ‘She sleep there, tha t villa. The big one. ’
So Christa has a bird’s eye view of her five thuggish sons and the men that resided at the ranch – how controlling.
‘Where is everyone right now?’
‘They go work. Later, they come, we make a party.’
Work. Mfff ! Bet they’re out pillaging and stealing from other villages or shooting foreigners and throwing them into the ocean. But I’m happy they aren’t around so I can relax a little. And I do, while Maria and Rosa busy themselves with dinner preparations for about thirty five people and during that time, they argue every single minute, giving me a massive headache.
As the day fades, my stomach starts to churn . I become restless and wear out my spearmint carpet with my pacing. They’re calling me Diablo’s woman – scary. I’m twenty one , not good wife
T hey ignore my protests and increase the intensity.
‘You must sleep,’ Rosa says.
‘Eh, I’m okay. ’Sides, it’s too bright … too much coffee.
They respond by drawing the sheets over me, tucking me in and closing the blinds. Big bullies.
To my surprise, I fall asleep immediately.
When I awake, its 4 PM and I’m disorientated. After a while, I slide out of bed and make my way to my two new friends with benefits .
They welcome me warmly but peer at my face. I think they’re worried that I will cry again. To put me at ease, they laugh and poke fun at each other. I really appreciate their niceness and gravitate towards them.
I’m starving but I can’t bring myself to eat. I just ask for more coffee as I surreptitiously takes in my surroundings, looking for ... well, cadavers, mighty cleavers, table cloths made out of human skins, lima beans ...
Nothing. Everything here looks so confusingly normal. I open the refrigerator on the pretext of getting more milk. Nothing - j ust cheese, milk, soft drinks – all the stuff you find in our Elaine’s kitc hen back home. (Not my fridge though – it’s always filled with beer, flat, diet coke and mouldy month-old pizza. I used to explain that I was planning to making penicillin for a third world country.)
Maybe the villagers are wrong about the cannibal bit. Please let them be wrong as I’m starving.
Rosa takes my hand. ‘Come see your home.’
My home . Meekly, I go with her.
Tana Mera is perched on top of a hill with breathtaking views of the ocean and partial views of the valley. The lawns around the ranch are manicured and lush with luxuriant blooms of roses, dahlias and tulips – colourful and festive. A gardener pruning some rose bushes pauses and stares at me.
‘Diablo’s woman!’ Rosa yells.
He breaks into a smile. ‘AAAHHH! My name Sam,’ he says, and bows slightly. ‘Velcome, Senorita.’
I smile at him. ‘Nice to meet you Sam.’
‘ Diablo’s voman !’ Sam suddenly yells to someone behind me.
Startled, I spin around and see an armed guard stationed in a tower overlooking the ranch.
‘AAAAHHH!’ the guard says . ‘Senorita,’ he nods.
‘Come,’ Rosa says and we continue our tour. ‘We got ta ten villas. You, Diablo, you stay in tha t villa.’ She points to the one I slept in.
‘Christa,’ she says, pointing to the largest villa on the highest point of the ranch. ‘She sleep there, tha t villa. The big one. ’
So Christa has a bird’s eye view of her five thuggish sons and the men that resided at the ranch – how controlling.
‘Where is everyone right now?’
‘They go work. Later, they come, we make a party.’
Work. Mfff ! Bet they’re out pillaging and stealing from other villages or shooting foreigners and throwing them into the ocean. But I’m happy they aren’t around so I can relax a little. And I do, while Maria and Rosa busy themselves with dinner preparations for about thirty five people and during that time, they argue every single minute, giving me a massive headache.
As the day fades, my stomach starts to churn . I become restless and wear out my spearmint carpet with my pacing. They’re calling me Diablo’s woman – scary. I’m twenty one , not good wife
Similar Books
