Chapter 4 – Youssef
—
“But these rooms are much larger than I need,” said Dr. al-Ahzar.
“Your predecessor was a lamia,” I pointed out.
We were sitting in the foreroom of the resident quarters, where the clinic’s doctor was expected to reside. The room was large, and barren. Aemilia’s lamia-sized furniture had been removed along with any personal memories she had left behind. One of the staff had brought a pair of chairs for us. The chairs didn’t match, but I was impressed that they’d been found in the clinic at all.
Al-Ahzar had allowed himself a moment of genuine delight when I presented the antique Turkish tea set, a gift from a long-ago student that Yurilee had insisted that I bring along with me. The doctor – “Please, call me Youssef” – had packed Koshary Shai with him when he left Cairo. Now we sat with delicate cups of the hot, sugary brew and talked with the sudden intimacy of strangers who share a common language in a foreign land.
“They’ll find furniture to fit you,” I assured him, “although it may take a few days. Ask for anything you want, and the women will find a way to make it happen.”
Youssef shook his head. “Surely everyone does not live like this? Where do you live, Mark?”
“I share a house with a woman named Yurilee. She’ll be your language teacher when you get settled in. You’ll like her,” I grinned. “She is both wicked, and wise.”
“But she is not your wife?”
“That’s…complicated, like I mentioned before. Formally, I’m a husband to this whole village. For legal purposes I’m married to one of the village leaders, but that only really matters if I leave the Islands.” Which I doubted would ever happen. “Marriage isn’t really the same here, not like you’re accustomed to. Some of the women do have special favorites. Yuri and I are certainly partners. But she also has her students, and I attend those community meetings I told you about.”
His face creased with confusion. “How does that even work? The ways of the women here are…unorthodox, to say the least.”
“Well, they don’t have a choice,” I reminded him. “These girls have very few men, and they’ve had to be aggressive for the species to survive. Getting pregnant whenever they get the chance is a high priority.”
He didn’t seem fully convinced, for which I didn’t blame him. I was still getting comfortable with the arrangement myself. “So the men here are just used as breeding stock? A kind of sex slaves?”
“Not at all. More like pampered pets. We’re expected to breed – that’s why we’re here – but beyond that we live as we like. And it’s a pretty soft life. No politics to worry about, not for the men at least. No religious conflicts. No scarcity. Everybody’s getting laid. Sometimes a brawl breaks out during a soccer game, but that’s more dick-measuring than anything else.”
“No religion,” he mused as he sipped his tea. “The lamias have no gods?”
“They do, but they don’t talk about them much. Mostly focused around fertility and childbirth. Their gods have teats and tails, of course. Among the men you’ll find plenty of Muslims, and Greek Orthodox, and a smattering of others. Nobody gets in fights about it, because there’s no point. There’s no power for the men to take.” I paused to refill my cup. “We’re in a strange sort of heaven, that wasn’t designed for us but is full of beautiful creatures that adore us. It’s better than the afterlife I was expecting, anyway.”
Youssef smiled at my mild blasphemy. “Heaven for you, perhaps. Yesterday I thought I would be pulled to pieces and shared like loukoumi.”
I laughed with him. “I’m sure you did. Well, you should be more comfortable on this island. Not that most of the women won’t think you’re hot and want you in every way. But the Medusae are more restrained about it. They’ll explain logically why you should take them to bed, or just smolder at you until you give in. You’ll have to learn a dozen ways to politely say ‘no.’ Or not, as you prefer. Just remember that the rules are different here…and men didn’t write them.”
We talked over another cup as the afternoon cooled outside. I wasn’t impatient to leave. I’d found myself liking the new doctor. He was out of his depth, of course, but every man is when he first arrives. There was no avoiding that. Al-Ahzar seemed game enough.
But I had one more duty to complete before the sun set. So I thanked Youssef for the tea, and invited him to call on me if any weirdness needed explaining. He said he would, and I thought he might.
Then I set off on the muddy path back to my village. Overhead, daylight faded behind gathering clouds, and the afternoon mists followed me home.
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)You need to be a registered member to rate this post.
Loading...
nice, keep them coming brother
That’s the plan! We’re about to wrap up this collection of small scenes.