From nowhere, came sound of shamisen. I had fallen asleep around the dawn, tired like mud, when all my customers went home.

Suita suisen sukareta yanagi no.

That's Sister Lucile's voice. She was murmuring a hamauta to the shamisen.

I opened my eyes and noticed the broad daylight.

Sister Lucile was a geisha before coming here. As a geisha, she fell in love with a bad guy and ended up in such a whorehouse. The guy still haunts Sister Lucile for money. The quick-tempered Sister Paula has once snapped and shouted at Sister Lucile. "Stop that, Lucile-chan! With such a scum sucking your blood, you'll never get the out of here.!" "Calm down, Sister Paula." Sister Lucile shook her head on the thin neck and smiled sadly. "That' all right. He doesn't dump such a whore as I. That's enough honor for me." Sister Paula couldn't argue back.

The women in the house had various histories. Still, those histories had something in common.

Although we lived in a world called kukai (the world of agony), we had our fun and glory. First of all, I loved dancehalls. Once, a Greek ship owner bought the whole house for one night and took us to a dancehall. It was a luminous, beautiful place. Compared with the dancehall, the colored glasses and flash bulbs decorating the door of our "Fuji Hausu" were nothing. A ball covered with countless small mirrors was hanging from the ceiling. Lights in many colors were pouring onto the dance floor. Dandies in fad Western clothes and women with modern short hair were laughing and talking. I smelled cigarettes and pomade of the musicians. Cocktails were sweet on my tongue. It was a never-never land for me.

Since then, I had Mike take me there for a couple of times. He taught me Mambo and Charleston. Mike liked to see me dance, kicking up the hems of my kimono. "Beth ha, odori ga jouzu desu!" ("Beth, you are a good dancer!") He took my hands and embraced me. In fact, Mike danced far better than the Japanese dancers in the hall. He looked perfect in Western clothes, and Western dance needed long limbs as his. I didn't have any Western dress, so I had to pull up the hem of my kimono when I danced Charleston. When we danced, everyone looked at us. Such a honor made me dizzy with joy.

And.it felt good to sweat without a guy humping over my body.

Beyond the reach of my knowledge, a deal was going on.

One day, the mistress summoned me. "Besu, you were ransomed." "What?" I was astonished. It must be Mike. He had paid my debt. There were several other customers who patronized me, but it couldn't be anyone other than Mike who would bother to pay that much. Imagining a new life with Mike, my sweetheart, I felt my heart beat fast with joy.

"Prepare yourself so that you can move out in a couple of days, alright?" said the mistress. "Yes, ma'am." I answered, without hiding the smile coming up to my face.

"Besu-chan, were you ransomed?" "Congratulations!" The blessing from Sisters and the colleagues comfortably embarrassed me. I don't have to entertain many customers any longer. I can devote myself to only one patron. That's all ransom is about, but I still couldn't believe my great fortune. "Thank you.for all your kindness in this house." "By the way, who's your patron?" Asked by Sister Marie, I muttered. "Eh.the mistress said nothing, but probably, it's Mike." "Hmmm.then why didn't the mistress say anything about him.? "Well, anyway, Westerners are different from us." Such was the conclusion of the sisters.

"Is it different from usual ransom?" Out of uneasiness, I asked Sisters. "Well.yeah, in most cases, the customer would first consult with the girl." "Maybe Mike-san didn't know how to bring out the topic." "Yeah, Western customs might be different."

"Anyway, I wish you happiness." "In such a house, ransom is next to a miracle." "I envy you. Give me a piece of your good fortune." At my door, everyone somehow blessed me.

I had few personal belongings, so I had almost nothing to do during the couple of days before my release. I carefully wrapped the red collar Mike had given me in thin paper and put it in my luggage.

On the morning, I walked out of "Fuji Hausu," following Take-san.

He lead me to. a shabby wooden row house. I was puzzled and looked at Take-san.

Every apartment had a similar wooden sliding door. At the end of the row of doors, he said, "Come in," forcing the squeaky door open.

"Take-san, what's this house.?" My question staggered. "Oh, this is my roost," Take-san muttered.

"What? Yours?" "Yeah." "T.then, did.YOU pay my ransom?" I asked again, shrinking myself into the narrow doorframe.

"Yeah, I did. Take your sandals off and go ahead."

Sitting on the worn-out tatami, I didn't know what to do. Did Take-san ransom me? It wasn't Mike. I could never see him again. Such a thought brought a tear to my eye.

"Stop weeping." Take-san's ruthless voice gave me a start. The voice was not loud, but it deeply horrified me, allowing me no objection.

Hick, hick. I could never stop my sob.

"There's no use in weeping or crying. I own you from today. Make up your mind." "But.but.why?" "To train you." "You.train me?" "Yeah, you're fond of animal play, don't you?" "A.a.animal play?" "Being treated as a dog." "Uu." "My job is finding and training chicks with such a taste."

What is he talking about.? I had no idea.

"Enough for conversation. We get to it right now. Put off your clothes. Quickly." "What?" "Can't you hear? I mean, get naked NOW!"

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