by Carol Ann
“Madame won’t let you go either, silly,” she said.
“She’ll give me her blessing. Madame is very generous to those she loves. She taught me so much. She’ll teach you to read.”
“I don’t need to read.”
“You can manipulate more people that way, you little cold bitch.”
“That sounds interesting,” said Clementina.
“Madame is a brilliant woman. Oh, by the way she is not lesbian. Don’t try anything!” I said.
Madame asked me to come visit her often and of course, I did. And she never found out about Rupa.
I said I would come to her when she needed me and she replied did this mean when she was dead.
I laughed and said, “No, I want you to know I’m here. If you were dead you wouldn’t know I was here. Majesty you taught me so much: I shall always love you.”
“Gitana, I will never forget you.”
“Nor, I, you.”
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And so it was, I went back to my roots, set up camp, bought farm animals, a large wagon and hired a man to help me with the hard tasks. I cooked and wove my clothes, and adopted gypsy garb again putting my many gowns in four pine trunks. I set up a boojoo shop and began to read fortunes, tarot and bones. I lived like any other gypsy and hid the nature of my fortune for I knew they would rob me if they knew. People sometimes said I looked like La Gitana and I always laughed and said I was no such person. I was back in Sacro Monte again to find my old self, Tekla. I took great pleasure in sleeping in the open in my wagon with the stars over my head. Life burst forth like a giant orange sun and I had feelings I hadn’t felt in years.
Then my life became an infinity sign for I was back to where I started from. I saw a man with gray hair riding towards me on a mule. He said, reaching his hand down, to pull me up, “I have need of a woman: have you need of a man?” “I have need of a man, Julio.” I said and mounted the mule in back of him.
I know of lush red wine, the softness of a woman’s shoulder, the yearning in men’s balls, the taste of tears, and the violence of harsh laughter. I learned to be bold.
The meek do not inherit the earth. They inherit a palace of tears. Remember me for I am dead.
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRY- THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY- SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT