Two wooden boats were rowing side by side, slowly approaching two gates. The first boat carried men and women, and the second boat carried only women. There was not a sound. Not from the either of the boats, nor the sea, nor the air around.
The first boat- with the men and women- began to speed up, taking the lead. It chose a gate and began rowing towards it. One woman stood up when they reached the gate. She was slapped, and the boat continued through the gate. The woman did not say a word, and I did not catch her face. Not one person from the boat looked up.
The second boat, carrying only women, chose the other gate. Just before they reached their gate they saw a big white shark swimming towards them. All the women knew the shark was going to attack, but they did not seem scared. They sat still, looking forward.
One woman in a black hat, who had till then only showed a pair of lips giving away a smile sealed in black liquid matte lipstick, jumped up from the boat and landed on the shark. Her knife made a smooth landing on it’s back. The shark was dead. The woman lifted her head and revealed to me a face that I want to describe as beautiful but am too scared to.
Her black lipstick made her seem pale. She wore a dress that was off shoulder and black, her pale skin peeking through the lace. She stood on the dead shark, and using it as her step, she climbed back into the boat. Leaving her knife to sink along with it’s victim. The boat of women moved forward, into the second gate. The happier gate.
FreeRovingBovine 