Crimson Lights

Finding Her Footing

Annahad been given a place to stay and some change of clothes by both Madam Ahjuntaand Samar, yet she was still feeling uncomfortable with her stay, even thoughtheir kindness provided a safety net for her.

She was still struggling to fit into life at the brothel house despite being there for a while now. The comings and goings of customers and escorts were very much discreet to an extent that she hardly came across any men during her stay there yet the sounds that she would sometimes hear late at night would often keep her awake, feeling nauseated and ill deep inside.

The other women that shared the same living space as her all kept to themselves; the only time she would see them was mostly during mealtimes. She wondered whether the women felt any sort of connection with each other since they were in the same ... field of employment; from what she has seen so far, she highly doubts it.

The women here were highly volatile; Anna couldn't keep track of how often she had seen some of them lashing out at another for the pettiest reasons. In a way, it was hilarious as they were always calm and collected whenever Madam Ahjunta came to visit; they were always polite to each other; the comradeship portrayed was enviable. Once the madam left, however, well, that was a different story.

However...

Even though the act that the women here had to do for a living confused her and – at certain moments, disgusted her, the knowledge that Samar would be doing the same act, letting out the same kind of moans that she had heard left her reeling with a kind of fury that left her shaken. When she realised her train of thoughts, she was shocked at how deep she felt about the whole thing. She was still dumbfounded with her attraction towards Samar; surely it meant nothing but gratitude?

"Day-dreaming again?"

Anna glanced at the person addressing her and smiled nervously.

"I was just thinking about the contrast of my life now and a week ago."

"Well, it's not like you know what happened or how your life was the week before that right? That could be even more contrasting than now." The person added, "Who knows? Your past life might mirror ours right now; you're not so sure of otherwise."

Before Anna could reply, Samar walked in. She stopped short upon noticing them.

"Fancy seeing you here with Anna, Thea. You avoided the kitchen as if it was a plague before this."

Thea's laughter vibrated across the walls around them.

"True, I normally would but there's something delicious here, so I thought I'd take a bite of it just to see how it tastes like. If it was good, I was hoping to make a meal out of it and gobble it up whole," Thea replied with the wiggle of her brows at Samar.

Anna stared at them, confused at the nature and tone of the conversation while Samar huffed her breath and stalked away, tired of having to deal with Thea's suggestive tones every time she was around Anna.

Thea Jarvis had an athletic built, unlike the slender looking Samar. Her beach-blonde hair was tied up high in a ponytail as usual. Anna loved the look of her, even though her nose and eyebrow piercings threw off her innocent look away.

The fact that she was barely twenty made Anna feel an instant kinship towards Thea.

"What's with the staring? Where are you off to this time?" Thea asked, breaking her thought once more.

Anna blushed, realising that she was staring directly at Thea without even blinking or averting her gaze. No wonder Thea was weirded out by her.

"No, I was just thinking about something. Do you mind if we talked for a while? I have some time before I have to help Samar with lunch; there are quite a few things that I'd like to ask you."

"If that's the case, why don't we go up to my room? There's more privacy there and I'm beginning to feel uncomfortable being down here for too long."

Anna nodded and followed Thea as she made her way up the stairs, not realising that Samar's eyes followed their movement from the distance.

*****

"Come on in."

Anna stepped in through the doorway and began gawking at Thea's room.

"What's wrong?"

"Your room is completely different than mine."

"Of course, everyone else's rooms are also different than this, we all have different tastes and preferences after all."

Thea flopped onto her bed and patted the space beside her, inviting Anna near. Anna sat beside her slowly, her eyes still roaming around, taking in the details.

"So, is this where you .... every night?"

Thea chuckled slowly.

"Of course not. It'll be difficult for me to sleep when everything's over. I'd take the "guests" to the building next door and find an empty, unoccupied room for the night."

"Oh..."

"No guests are allowed into this building that we're in. You can think of this as a dormitory; no outsiders are allowed here except for certain exempted individuals."

"But then, I sometimes hear "things" in the middle of the night."

"That's probably someone watching some pornos, wanting to learn new moves or just letting out steam." Noticing the conflicted look on Anna's face, Thea asked, "Didn't Samar mentioned all of this to you?"

"No, she didn't. We hardly talk actually, except when she's teaching me in the kitchen."

"Oh, but I thought you were her pet?"

"What?!?" Anna exclaimed. "No, I'm not. How is that even possible? I'm not restricted to her rules or anything if that's what you mean."

Thea shrugged.

"Well, it seemed that way. Anyway, is that what you wanted to know?"

Anna bit her lips nervously.

"I have another, but I'm unsure if you'd want to answer."

"What is it?"

"Well... I just wondered; why this job? I mean, you're younger than me but you seem so much more capable of handling things, so I wondered why."

"Why not?" Thea asked.

"Well, I don't really have an answer for that."

"Do you find what I do disturbing?"

"Well, not exactly in all honesty. I'm more disturbed by the fact that ...." Anna trailed. She almost said that she was disturbed by the knowledge that Samar does it too.

"It's nothing," she said at last, wanting to avoid saying anything stupid. She got up, intending to leave when Thea grabbed hold of her arm suddenly.

"You want to know my story, Anna?" Thea asked softly.

Taken aback at the question, Anna could only nod her head.

Thea gave a wry smile.

"Don't blame me if you're late for kitchen duty later on."