The Lady in Red


Yesterday after my morning prayer, I went for my 30- minute walk. My wife did not accompany me because she preferred the warmth of the bed to the cold outside. Usually, she does. I did not take the path that I normally take every day. The road was deserted and not a soul was in sight. I walked briskly, determined to do a certain number of steps within the time that I had. It was dark and the wintry breeze was making me shiver. I thought of the cosiness of my bed and for a moment was tempted to abandon the walk and go back home. But commitment is commitment. So, I kept walking.


When I reached the end of the walking trail, I turned left instead of right. I don’t know why I did it. I should have turned right because that’s where the walker’s path continues. On the left is an alley between two high-rise buildings. Before I could turn back, I spotted a lady smoking a cigarette. She was wearing a long, red gown and her lips were painted with blood-red lipstick. Her tired eyes had dark circles underneath them. She was tall, taller than I am, and pretty looking, though not in the classical sense. From her appearance, I felt she was a Slav, probably Bulgarian. But then she could have been from any of the Balkan countries. 


What I found surprising though was that her feet were bare and the gown was torn in many places, as if it had been ripped by someone or something. Many of you would be wondering how I could see all that when it was still dark. She was in the lobby of a building where the tube-lights were on. My writer’s mind went on an overdrive. Several questions ran in my mind. Who was she? Why was her gown torn? Did she have a fight with her husband or lover? Or was she a woman of the night and her customer had given her a rough treatment?


Thinking all this, I retraced my steps back home. Then, I heard a scream. I had come out of the alley but I quickly went back again and was just able to glimpse a hefty woman pulling the lady in red by her hair and taking her towards the lift. 


For once the morning walk did not turn out to be refreshing.


-          NZ

30.12.2019

BN: 220

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