How can such a thing be explained? This article is inspired by the erotic psychological thriller The Maiden, where two women narrate, each from her personal perspective, an erotic encounter that inevitably leads to a fateful conclusion.
The Maiden
Poets love words
Cristina Peri Rossi, Evohé
and women love poets
therefore it is proven
that women love themselves.
Last night I dreamed of her. She called me to her room because a nightmare kept her from returning to sleep. I knelt at the edge of the bed and stroked her straight hair, saying things that made no sense; like it was just a dream, it’s over now, everything will be fine. She asked me to stay by her side for fear of another bad dream, lifted half of the blanket, and turned to one side of the bed as a sign of permission. I lay beside her, back to back, watching the dance of shadows cast by the candle comforting the poor winter, talking about irrelevant things that are the perfect antidote to drive away bad dreams. I was tense with desire lying next to her, pretending to be natural. She talked to me about the man who courted her: how would she know if he truly loved her? What was it like to be body to body with someone? She turned and asked me to explain what a kiss was like. How can such a thing be explained? I took a candy from the nightstand and passed it over my lips. One, two, three times, I filled her mouth with sweetness. I pulled away. It is not possible to explain a kiss any other way, just as it is not possible to put into words what only looks can convey. She took me by the neck with her cold hands and pulled me close to her mouth, devouring me with the natural clumsiness of a first kiss.
Last night I pretended to have a nightmare to call her to my room. She came running to the edge of my bed where she knelt, touched my hair gently, and said sweet things; like it’s over now, it was just a dream, everything will be fine. I asked her to stay with me, craving the comfort of a body next to mine with the excuse of fearing another bad dream. I slid the blanket for her to enter, showing my back under the dim candlelight. I asked her irrelevant questions to distract from the tension of her back against mine. She answered naturally, genuinely pretending to distract me from the fake nightmare. After a brief silence, I asked her, as if I cared, about the man courting me; does he really love me? What is it like to be body to body with someone? Her breathing changed rhythm, I turned and asked her to explain what a kiss was like, if she knew. She said nothing. She got up and from the nightstand took a candy, passed it over her lips, brought her head to my pillow, and placed her mouth over my breath. One, two, three times I tasted the sweetness of her flavor, becoming mine. She pulled away and her eyes drew words in my mind. I took her by the neck and pulled her to my mouth. I kissed her with the clumsy eagerness of a first kiss. I passed my tongue over hers, my lips over hers, my breath over hers.
I lowered my hands to her shoulders and kissed them softly.
I asked her to explain what it was like to feel someone’s desire on the skin.
She kissed me once more and took the path of my body.
The neck, the shoulders, the belly.
The legs, the ankles, the toes.
She made her way back to settle between my legs.
She looked at me with eyes full of brightness.
She forever submerged herself in the spring of my desires.
