by LJ Frank

The village possessed a medieval charm. I received a call to meet her at an inn called – The Sign of the Monkfish, on a cobblestone street near the wharf.

As I walked towards the inn, I could hear the clip clop of hoofs behind me and turned. Exiting a horse drawn carriage was the woman I was to meet. Her appearance retained a chameleon like quality. She wore a cloak over her business attire, a broad rim hat and high heel boots.  She appeared to readily fit into the ambience of the scene that unfolded before me. I stood still as she approached when a man in a dark suit and white collar nearby made the sign of the cross and uttered the Latin phrase – stipendium peccati mors est (the wages of sin is death) and then quickly retreated in the opposite direction.  

I shook my head as she reached out to me. We removed our masks, kissed each other on the cheek and placing her arm on my mine we walked to the door of the inn. 

I opened the door and we were greeted by a voluptuous waitress with much of her bosom on display. She smiled and guided us to a table with a lit candle  near a window in a corner.

“Have you ever had a Monk before now?” My companion asked.

“No, I don’t think I have.”

“The tail and cheeks of the Monk are the most…fleshy and tender,” she said with a full grin spread across her deep burgundy lips after which we ordered the fish and some slightly chilled pinot noir.

I involuntarily scratched my month-old extended goatee and gazed in her deep brown eyes. “I’ll take your word for it.”

“Thank you for meeting me.”

“You knew I couldn’t resist.”

“I prayed you wouldn’t…considering our agreement.” She then reached over and touched my hand. “You’re sure that you wish to go forward with this?”

“I’m…certain.”

“That being the case…I’ll ask a silent confidant to perform the ritual.”

“When…?

“Tonight!”

“Oh?”

“Think of this as the last dinner before our celebration.”

“And then?”

“And then…all that you ever dreamed, hoped and prayed for since you were a young man, but it was never within you grasp…until now. I sit before you.”

“You leave me breathless.”

“Such words gladden my heart. It’s confusing for a person immersed in the shadows of our earth-bound existence to distinguish between the edge of the dark and the edge of the light.”

“I pleaded for you…”

“Hush…I know…now we can become one.” She said as we finished our meal. “I want you to close your eyes…”

I did as she asked…while simultaneously turning off my lap top computer. I needed to stop the fantasy.

 I then heard her voice. “Are you ready?”

“How could that be?” I asked myself.

“Open your eyes.” She whispered.