"I have the money" said the clown
"So I see" said the prostitute
"I can get more" said the clown
"I'm sure you can" said the prostitute
"But you still won't let me touch you?" asked the clown
"No" replied the prostitute
"But you will sleep with any man in town if they pay you!" cried the clown
"That is true" said the prostitute
"Then why not me?" asked the clown
"Is it not obvious?" said the prostitute "Because you are a clown"
The clown closed his eyes and said softly "But I love you"
"Oh Clown" laughed the prostitute "How could a harlequin like you ever love anyone. Now be off with you! I have real men to see"
The clown walked out of the prostitutes room with head bowed. As he stepped onto the street he felt the stinging rain lash his face. He walked along the main street of the town. When he got to the city limits he kept walking.
He walked across fields and riverbanks. He walked through towns with names that broke his heart. He saw wars being fought over the price of bread. He walked through the middle of battles and tasted mud. He saw empires rise and fall and then rise again. His face turned brown and then black and then purple. He saw the sun eat the moon and the moon give birth to the sun countless times. He became very tired. He became so tired he almost forgot about the prostitute. Almost.
One day he woke up and realised he had changed. He realised that he no longer looked or acted as a clown. He returned home at once. Dressed in a suit and tie, he walked softly up the stairs to the prostitutes room.
"Hello clown" said the prostitute as the clown entered.
"But how did you know it was me?" asked the clown "Do I not look different? Have I not changed?"
"Oh silly clown" said the prostitute "You think it was because of your make up or the way you acted that made you a clown? It is what is inside you that makes you a clown. That will never change. It is who you are. You have a plastic heart. I could never let you touch me."
The clown turned around and walked out of the prostitutes room to the town bridge overlooking the sea. He leant over the railing and stared at the dark water. And then, letting himself go, toppled in.
As he sank to the bottom of the sea his mind became still. He sank lower and lower and it got colder and darker and yet it felt good. It was relief to be away from the surface and the light where there was nothing but pain. He felt something tugging on his sleeve pulling him deeper but he no longer cared enough to resist. Deeper and deeper he was pulled down until he passed out.
When he came to, he was in an underwater cave. Looking at him with concern was a mermaid.
"Where am I?" asked the clown
"You are in my cave." replied the mermaid "There is enough air trapped here for you to breathe"
As the clown walked over to the mermaid he tripped and fell on his face.
"Oh clown" laughed the mermaid "You are funny"
"So you see I am clown as well" said the clown sadly
"Of course" said the mermaid "It is obvious. But you cheer me up. It is cold and dark down here. I need someone to make me laugh."
"Can I touch you?" asked the clown
"But no man wants to touch me!" exclaimed the mermaid "My hair smells of saltwater"
"It is the smell of the sea - wild and untamed" said the clown
"My skin is waterlogged" said the mermaid
"To me it is soft and tender" said the clown
"And I am covered in scales" said the mermaid
"They shimmer in the light and make you look beautiful" said the clown
"Then come clown" said the mermaid softly "Come lay with me"
And the clown lay down with the mermaid.
And for the first time in a long, long time, God smiled.
"The Perfect Lover"
"So I see" said the prostitute
"I can get more" said the clown
"I'm sure you can" said the prostitute
"But you still won't let me touch you?" asked the clown
"No" replied the prostitute
"But you will sleep with any man in town if they pay you!" cried the clown
"That is true" said the prostitute
"Then why not me?" asked the clown
"Is it not obvious?" said the prostitute "Because you are a clown"
The clown closed his eyes and said softly "But I love you"
"Oh Clown" laughed the prostitute "How could a harlequin like you ever love anyone. Now be off with you! I have real men to see"
The clown walked out of the prostitutes room with head bowed. As he stepped onto the street he felt the stinging rain lash his face. He walked along the main street of the town. When he got to the city limits he kept walking.
He walked across fields and riverbanks. He walked through towns with names that broke his heart. He saw wars being fought over the price of bread. He walked through the middle of battles and tasted mud. He saw empires rise and fall and then rise again. His face turned brown and then black and then purple. He saw the sun eat the moon and the moon give birth to the sun countless times. He became very tired. He became so tired he almost forgot about the prostitute. Almost.
One day he woke up and realised he had changed. He realised that he no longer looked or acted as a clown. He returned home at once. Dressed in a suit and tie, he walked softly up the stairs to the prostitutes room.
"Hello clown" said the prostitute as the clown entered.
"But how did you know it was me?" asked the clown "Do I not look different? Have I not changed?"
"Oh silly clown" said the prostitute "You think it was because of your make up or the way you acted that made you a clown? It is what is inside you that makes you a clown. That will never change. It is who you are. You have a plastic heart. I could never let you touch me."
The clown turned around and walked out of the prostitutes room to the town bridge overlooking the sea. He leant over the railing and stared at the dark water. And then, letting himself go, toppled in.
As he sank to the bottom of the sea his mind became still. He sank lower and lower and it got colder and darker and yet it felt good. It was relief to be away from the surface and the light where there was nothing but pain. He felt something tugging on his sleeve pulling him deeper but he no longer cared enough to resist. Deeper and deeper he was pulled down until he passed out.
When he came to, he was in an underwater cave. Looking at him with concern was a mermaid.
"Where am I?" asked the clown
"You are in my cave." replied the mermaid "There is enough air trapped here for you to breathe"
As the clown walked over to the mermaid he tripped and fell on his face.
"Oh clown" laughed the mermaid "You are funny"
"So you see I am clown as well" said the clown sadly
"Of course" said the mermaid "It is obvious. But you cheer me up. It is cold and dark down here. I need someone to make me laugh."
"Can I touch you?" asked the clown
"But no man wants to touch me!" exclaimed the mermaid "My hair smells of saltwater"
"It is the smell of the sea - wild and untamed" said the clown
"My skin is waterlogged" said the mermaid
"To me it is soft and tender" said the clown
"And I am covered in scales" said the mermaid
"They shimmer in the light and make you look beautiful" said the clown
"Then come clown" said the mermaid softly "Come lay with me"
And the clown lay down with the mermaid.
And for the first time in a long, long time, God smiled.
"The Perfect Lover"
sandy
Sandy
