Sailor

He has always been dreaming of becoming a sailor. This came true to a certain extent during his military service. He served on a ship which was a part of NATO forces. The fleet sailed around the Mediterranean, crossed Atlantic twice visiting eighteen countries.

One evening on the coast Morocco some older sailors took him to the city with them. In the bazaar he got a lucky charm painted on his arm. It was a passage from Koran supposedly protecting the seamen. After smoking a hookah, the sailors headed to the brothel. He was shy, young college graduate among the sea wolves. One of them even bragged about sleeping with an Indian woman in a boat, somewhere on Amazon river. The price was good, he said.

In the brothel, they walked along the narrow halls in search for their share of love for the evening. Only a curtain separated them from the couples moaning in the rooms. The older sailors quickly made their choice, overweight ladies in their forties, wearing heavy makeup and perfumes, wrapped in oriental clothes of bright colors. He was alone.

As he headed toward the exit, in one of the rooms he saw a woman whose appearance was strikingly different. Young lady with short hair was sitting on the bed. Her skin was dark, she was slim, dressed in a modest tunic. Still in two minds about staying, he stepped in.

In a poor English she talked to him but he did not answer. Then she saw the lucky charm painted on his arm and switched to Arabic. He uttered something in response. She took his hand and told him he has been a good man to wear such a lucky charm. He asked about her haircut and her skin, darker then other women. She explained that she comes from a desert tribe. Her parents have abandoned her and she has been living in the brothel ever since. What have they been talking about? Later he could not recall. She just held his hand, fondled his arm where the writing was, interrupting the dialogue to voice something in Arabic under her breath.

Noise came from the hall. Other sailors were done with their fun. They were laughing loud and calling his name. He paid for the conversation and left to join them.