by Eve Kaan
The rough sound of doors opening echoed throughout the room like a lightning strike.
Clients started to come in, taking their positions. I wondered where will the lady with the scent of jasmine settle, even though she had not stepped into the reception room yet.
My eyes were searching, but her presence was absent. Who could she be if not a client? Carrying a kimono considerably more expensive than what a Mother or sister could afford, I was convinced she was a guest.
Women at the table have an average of thirty-five, maybe forty summers of life. Of course, there are younger and a bit older ladies here, but no one's sitting next to me. Madam gestured with the movement of her hand where to sit.
Almost all the futons are filled except the two on both sides of my body.
Finally, Madam brought the ladies to the only remaining seats. They both had close to forty-five summers. Neither of these is beautiful, and I was secretly hoping, in my romantic thoughts, that my first woman would be attractive to me. ' This is just business Uta ,' a few times I repeated to myself.
Tarts of food started to come on the table along with jugs. Madam settled to the left of my back, behind a pink tulle curtain at the table with two seats. I served food, poured sake, and entertained the two clients with traditional stories. They both looked at me with the kind of lust that I was disgusted with.
With approval, Kaoru and Mother followed the scenes of false laughter. I'm slowly starting to understand why Utano was so indistinct about the first night when she became mature. She didn't want to create illusions about a woman who wouldn't treat me like an object. I have only myself to blame for the moment of hope that my first night will be shared with the beautiful women I keep thinking about.
Ever since I came back from my solo performance, I feel the smell of her oil in the air, surely one of these women has the same one. Her purpose of being here, when this kind of fun obviously doesn't interest her, is beyond me. I have to stop with such thoughts. I'm here to get the gold coins. After all, I might catch some other client's eyes when I'm in the group dance, these two are honestly just turned to my breasts.
Space is dominated by the sound of various instruments.
Mother did not remove the unconscious smile from her lips. I just have to go through The Night butterfly , and then I'm near the end of the second part.
Sayuri is having a great time, or she's just nervous - I noticed. She's smiling almost more than the ladies, and from the way their eyes are already undressing her, it's apparent that she will have a lot of clients.
Madam took the word. 'I am pleased that such a peal of good laughter could be dominant in Yoshiwara. All rooms on the floor are ready for those of you who do not wish to waste time with our girls on traveling. Now, our final dance follows. We've been waiting for this all night - enjoy The Night Butterfly , and then open your purses with golden coins.'
These ones, who are sitting beside me, drank a few glasses more then they should. They both are swaying in the rhythm of music under the influence of sake.
Sayuri made a wonderful dance, but right after, the name I had to turn tonight into was called. With Mother in my view, I ascended on the podium. I'm not sure, but it seems to me that she has a sliding tear on her trembling cheek. Kaoru looks at me proudly. That means I'm still well off when it comes to performing arts. Maybe it's just a joyful tear because of golden coins that I'll be bringing home with the first sunlight.
Dance started. The tension is focused towards us, all concentration directed on the movements in the rhythm of a flute. I'm spinning around the fan of a girl dancing in front of me. My body flapping and twisting until in the corner of my eye, I caught a flicker of the silver stick. I can't see very well. It's hidden behind the fan. The dance stopped, and music silenced.
She's located behind a pink tulle beside Madam, covered in an exhaled cloud of smoke. I feel like I'm losing balance in my knees because of her stare, different from the others whose eyes are only focused on my female attributes. She's looking steadily at my face.
I squeezed all the muscles to keep balance. It's abstruse to understand why I'm so impressed with that woman's appearance. By her hand, the tobacco is offered with the mouth, and this gesture is softer and more gentle than The Night Butterfly's movements.
While walking toward my seat located near the edge of the table, the realization of her sitting behind my back all evening long, just occurred. I could no longer see the faces, just smell the fragrance of her body covering all other scents. I'm not sure how to behave – now wholly lost in a mass of women.
Clients are leaving the futons with their golden coins. Madam pronounces the name of a girl, and then the ladies who would like to offer an amount - selecting their body - began to gather around her table.
The race started.
I used a moment to turn to her, gazing at the beauty that no other woman possesses. My body sweated all over, throughout which I felt curled napkins on my chest. They were completely forgotten. Now is the right moment to use this clutter and get rid of these sticky inserts.
I went out into the foyer. Then, in my solitude, complete silence prevailed. Space looked smaller than I can remember it to be earlier, during my previous arrival. Heading for the stairs, I intended to hide, with my back turned to the doors behind which the transaction of gold occurred. My hand traveled to find two soaked handkerchiefs hidden in kimono. Wet silk slipped under my fingers as I pulled firmly trying to get it out. After only a few quick attempts my stifled chest was free of one piece of the silk. I turned around to check if I'm still alone, and went back to work on the residual artificial breast.
The second bundle won't budge, and I have to rush it up before someone notices me. This silk is like glued to my breast. I cautiously retraced it toward myself, but the skin is becoming sensitively irritated with painful snatching movements. This kind of slow torture makes no sense. This time, instead of wincing, I determinedly pulled the silk. Used force swaged me, so I accidentally tossed the handkerchief behind my back. After quick rearrange of my wrinkled kimono in obi area, I turned around to look for the fake breast on the floor.
'Luckily - I caught it,' she said with a subtle smile holding the handkerchief in her hand - the woman with jasmine scent.
'Th... thank you...' barely, after a long pause, I answered. In some inexplicable way, she overwhelmed me completely.
'Uta.' I heard Kaoru's voice from the door. 'You're sold for the highest amount of golden coins. Come on, Mother is delighted,' Kaoru added with a smile.
I became aware of what I did.
Uncomfortableness passed through me, cutting through my body sharply. I walked toward Kaoru thinking of shame caused by an unadvised movement. She must have seen how I pulled a napkin out of my bust area.
Mother hugged me. 'Uta, tonight you will become a woman. I hope you'll have a lady with good manners,' she took my hand and continued, 'This is not the usual practice, but Madam told us so. A client wants to meet you on the settee. In front of the Great House. That's a good sign. So, she's not only after your body - it seems. Perhaps you will take a walk before that - you know.'
We went out.
I stepped forward to the settee. It's the same settee I was on the other day. At this point, nervousness should've struck out, but all I can feel is an extreme embarrassment, still thinking of that small incident. Who is that woman and what was she doing at Madam's table anyway? She's not one of the clients, that's almost for sure. She didn't look like a person driven by shallow desires as it is the case with the rest of attended ladies.
Girls are leaving the Great House with their clients. New carriage come as the other go. If only I had been smart. I'm prettier than half of these girls - admittedly, yet just I thought of something like showing with handkerchiefs. I have to forget about it now, and concentrate on my client, although I'm still standing by this settee quite alone.
Carriages were exchanging with cheerful faces of ladies who led frightened and paled young girls un
der their arms. Only Sayuri appeared excited when she left the Great House with some young lady.
My legs already heart from standing.
The doors of the Great House closed.
All carriages, except for the last one, were gone. Hopefully - I thought it might be the carriage that was waiting for me, but the excitement was immediately replaced by despair when the Great House's doors closed. I am tired of maintaining a sophisticated posture, and it feels like I have been waiting for ages. If only resting on a settee was an option, but stiffened ceremonial kimono doesn't allow such movement. Maybe leaning on its backrest a little would help, I can't maintain this pose any longer because of the pain in my legs.
A horseshoe snapped me out of my thoughts. At the doors, a hand with the dark-toned cigar, in graceful movements, appeared.
I froze.
Maybe she is the one who bought me. I watched her and waited. It seems like she's calling for someone. Did I understood well - Mother told me to remain at the settee - or should I maybe approach her - I'm not sure. I made a movement in the form of a step when two girls, the ones I participated in the ceremony with, appeared at the entrance.
I stopped in shock.
They all laughed as she called the carriage with her hand. When it was time to enter that black box with horses, she stretched out her hand to help them. I felt anger - may be because of the wait. She looked at me from the window immersed in the smoke of a silver stick. It's not that she is not like the others - rather, she's a thousand times worse. Obviously, she was wealthier than all the other clients when she was able to afford not just one, but two debutants for the night, and also was permitted to observe the ceremony from a privileged place. Isn't one girl enough for her. I'm lucky I'll at least be the only one. It wouldn't be comfortable to share the client's attention with another girl on my first night of intimacy.
The carriage was leaving. I was still standing in the dark. There's no one left here anymore.
So what kind of person is this!?
✽✽✽
Rin
I puff the smoke of my cigarette looking at those saddened eyes of a lonely debutant as her eyes followed the last clop of a leaving horse. Carriage rocks above the stone street during departure from an evening in which the ceremony was held. This kind of ride is very inconvenient for a person with a passion for slim cigarettes. I wanted to enjoy the scene of a beautiful girl under the tree, but she already perished far away in the distance, because of this carriage, that ran as if it could not see the sunrise.
She almost got into the hands of those two wretches.
Uta is her name - if I had heard correctly from Madam during a loud clanking of landing gold when the bidding took place, with clients generously raising their sums for the innocence of debutant girls. All that immense turmoil exhausted me, so I can hardly wait to get out of this dusty Yoshiwara streets.
Gina and Nori are nudging and poking one another on the bench across from my seat. I'm pleased with the way they performed the clients checking job in coverage. I find them hilarious in these kimonos of young debutants - with tensely fastened obis which limits their sitting positions, allowing them to seat only with half of their bodies. In times like these, there's no one you can trust more than your own relatives of the same flesh and blood like yours, and even though these two are not bound by blood themselves, they go along better then most families do. Actually, Gina and Nori blend like perfect lovers that they are. In that way, they connected many annual cycles ago.
'Rin.' Gina pronounces my name in puckish tone. 'Did you see Nori tripping on kimono during The Night Butterfly ? I barely composed myself so I don't die of laughter.'
Nori began to tickle her. With laughter, she answered instead of me, 'How can you? You made me ware this kimono, and I told you it was too long and that I'm stammering on its ends with tassels. I could've sprawl all over the floor - then it wouldn't be so funny, would it!?'
Gina laughed barely managing the words, 'It's not my fault you don't wear traditional clothing 'cause you're to enthralled in Europian culture. This is a normal length of kimono for these occasions, nothing is too long. Maybe if you'd practiced that dance moves more…'
Nori interrupted her again with tickling. 'Europe has spoiled us all.'
'It's not Nori's fault,' I added a comment, hoping they'll stop touching each other in my presence.
'Rin, that's all your fault - if you haven't agreed to inherit Yoshiwara from greataunt Etsu, we would still be enjoying the view of some restaurant terrace with a bottle of fine red wine,' Nori said with nostalgia in her eyes.
'You mean, you'd enjoy it while I would be studying. There's no place I haven't studied at in order to take such a generous source of our financing,' I confidently answered.
'Rin, don't pretend now that you weren't enjoying yourself. We stayed in Europe three times longer then we intended. And about the finances - we all know that you have more gold than you can spend in five lifetimes, so you agreed on Yoshiwara solely - well - I'd say - from curiosity - maybe?!' Gina said in a teasing tone.
'Greataunt Etsu selected you for her successor long time ago, when you were only a child playing with fake samurai katana running and hitting every branch of the tree you've come across. She said in her rough - and even then, old voice: ' Now I see that I will be able to find some peace in the old days, Rin will be my real heir.' Nori laughed after imitating the voice of greataunt Etsu.
'Leave the poor woman to enjoy herself now a little bit, it was time to retire from business. Besides, she couldn't entrust Yoshiwara to you, Nori - now could she!? You burst in tears when you see a dead ant.' Gina commented in disbelief.
'That's not true. It was a long time ago... and happened only once, not even because of an ant,' she angrily defended herself.
'So why was it then, my sweet violet?'
'Well, it was because of the passed ant...' Nori began confidently, but Gina gave her no peace.
'See! That little ant died, just as I said.' Gina pulled Nori toward herself and with a smile kissed her on the neck.
'That's not why! What was I on about?' She paused a little, Gina lifted her head from Nori's neck but still holding her, 'Little ant...'
'Ah, yes, the little ant passed away. Then the other little ants came for him. They were carrying him on their backs. That ant could've been left on the soil to rot, but instead, others of his kind took him to bid their farewell and make a burial with a small ceremony,' she proudly finished her story about the ants.
'Well, you're a sweetie, even honey is bitter compared to you Nori.' Gina lisped, and then turned to me. 'I can't believe you two are related. You differ like sky and earth. '
'You want to tell me I'm not sweeter than honey?' It's only with them that I can indulge myself in laugh and such.
'You're more like...' she paused and thought for a bit, 'more like, well, let's say...'
Nori quickly said, 'Ice block' and both of them laughed.
'You will see your block of ice! Ever since we traveled to Iceland, you haven't stopped with that worn and battered joke on ice blocks,' I pretended to be insulted.
'Come over to us Rin. Sometimes even the toughest are in need of a hag too.' Nori lured me. I turned a little on my seat pretending that something in view through the window occupied my attention, but Gina managed to retrieve me enough only to pat my shoulder.
'You're always so tough on the outside, but actually soft as velvet inside.'
'I'm not,' I responded briefly while sulking.
They resumed to their cuddling and lisping of two lovers. To my luck, the carriage finally stopped. I would not withstand another moment with the sweetness they had exchanged in many kisses before my eyes. We stepped into the dark. I lightened a cigar, and instead of going to the house, I walked into my beautiful garden that leads to the forest. They headed to sleep, mumbling a farewell for the night while they were walking off in an embrace. I'm happy to have these two in my life, and I'm not sure if I would have da
red to take such a big responsibility if it weren't for them - who I can trust and always rely upon - by my side.
The female part of Yoshiwara was inherited by me a few moon cycles ago from my greataunt Etsu. She also inherited it through the bloodline, but that's the way it goes in a family of traditional demeanors. I must admit that we are among the wealthiest families in the country, and yet they tend to educate us, their legatees, to have a purpose in socially useful careers. Gina and Nori disagree with this mindset and therefore refused to educate themselves in the fields of businesses their families tried to impose on them. As a result, they have a rent that's not enough even for kimono supply restoration these days. Of course I share everything with them, including my own wealth, but in reasonable amounts - of course. Their capacities to spend, in one go, entail more gold than sums paid for innocence in our district tonight.
Yoshiwara flawlessly works with clients from high class all over the world, given that we are unique in providing services exclusively to women. Ensuring to keep everything regulated, like doing the maintenance of wells, drains, public lighting, and providing food products for every household, mostly from our own cultivation. We are like a small self-sustainable town that takes care of the whole infrastructure of our district. Rice, as well as silk, are grown in our fields that are located quite far from ladies entertainment. Along the edges of the settlement are small parlours where our tailors sew clothing supplies like kimonos, as the most common example, especially by commissions.