My name is Miriam and I live in the heartland of her. We are a society ruled by women. When I was little I was taught that men were animals. Men have no economic or political power in our society. Only women can participate in our assemblies or hold office. Men are mainly breeding animals, much as cattle. We do breed with men. However, love, between men and women, is forbidden. Marriage is reserved solely as a union between women.
But my passion for men falls like the ruins of sanity in cascades of teardrops wept on rainy nights under the stars where unholy mantras of wolf howls dance on eardrums. The space-time fabric of celestial intoxication mates with rainbow nebulae whose galaxies collide with the ferocity of gladiators. My Amazon warrior woman armor is cast aside for neurotic hanky panky with my troubadour man in full regalia of naked strength in the throes of Orphic mysteries for my sun which throbs in the heated crux of gates of Eden leading to my womanly warbling of soprano treble spilled on sheets of Zen satori.
As a child, I am paired with Alana. Once in battle, she saves my life. She pulls me from the burning wreckage of a building. She nurses me and gives me back my life. For that, I am eternally grateful.
But then I meet a young boy named Zach. He is a gangly boy, with a mop of raven black hair, and the cutest dimples. I fall madly in love with him at the age of eighteen. He whispers, "I love you." I laugh. How silly the idea of love between a man and a woman seems to me. But I love him too. I do not speak it out of shame.
Indigo skies permutate into saturated obsidian summoning him to my corporeal parlor on nights in the makeshift bedrooms of the woods where we trip with trepidation merrily to the tune of the magical minstrel galliards from the town square where skirts spin when darkness reigns in the apocalyptic squirrel's nests of eternity but tickling like a feather upon the nexus of my hollow where songs left unsung quietly mulch till new tunes stretch tendrils rising as Opera notes, mad ones, whose pitch wavers in waxing wobbly wonder till time stands still in the moment of ascension.
But at long last, we are discovered. I get pregnant with Zach. Alana notices that my periods have stopped. She sees me kiss Zach while I gather water at the well. Zach will pay the price of the crime, for women are not held accountable in these matters. If not for the kiss I could have professed my relationship with Zach as purely for breeding and he would have been spared. But my brazen affection for a man imperils him.
Here I stand with my sisters. My worst nightmare unfolds. The night waxes lunar madness. Ankh necklaces are laced around our necks. The ancient drumbeat gathers us females around the sacred fire. I am bathed in wet heat.
I know that he has been told this will be a sexual bondage ceremony orchestrated by me. His cock is already at half mast. I tell him, "Zach, this ceremony will stir the Lovelies desire for men."
"Maybe they'll want our hand in marriage instead of just making whoopee in the barn."
"And the roll in the hay will have intrinsic value aside from putting buns in the oven," I say.
I watch as the Dark Guardian stands before him, in her long flowing black robe, with her kinky raven hair falling down her shoulders in waves. She looks like an angel of death. Her eyes seem to glow like coals in the firelight. She is so beautiful, I think, but she is deadly like a poisonous snake. I am aghast as I watch her anoint his body with oil and rub it into his sex.
I look into his smoky eyes and he meets my gaze. I mouth the words, "I love you." He looks at me as though begging for deliverance from his sexual frustration. I know that it is in my power to protect him. We will be spared if I agree to accept exile from my tribe. But I have never known any life apart from my sisters.
I remember tender moments when Alana gently applied ointment to my wounds when she scraped me with her knife. She taught me the most important lesson in life. Always be true to your deepest feelings. Never allow a passing fancy or mood to guide you. But if you feel something deep within your heart and it rings true follow this feeling. It will guide you out of the wilderness into the freedom of truth.
My heart trembles as I watch Zach being led to the cross. I tell him "Mount the cross, Zach. Do it for us. It will all be over before you know it. Bite down on this rubber dog toy to protect your teeth when they clench. Give me a kiss before I thrash you." I shackle his wrists and his ankles.
As I hear the Dark Guardian begin her chant, I stifle sobs deep in my chest. She says, "You were the one defiled by your man. Therefore, you are obliged to mete out his punishment. You see that the only accessory he wears is his belt. You are to undo his belt. There now his leather strap is yours. It has more uses than holding up pants as he'll soon discover." I feel like screaming when she hands me his leather strap. I am repulsed by the thought that this beautiful man, whom I had shared such deep passion with, is about to be whipped by none other than me.
The Dark Guardian screams with cat-like howls. Her eyes glow with the fire of righteous indignation. Her howl sends waves of terror rippling through my body. I feel ripped apart.
I say, "Zach if you keep a stiff upper lip while I chastise you we'll be free to live on the perimeter of our queendom as wife and husband."
"This is worse than when you caught me in a self-inflicted love pose."
"Didn't you ever get spanked by your mother?"
"Jeez, you want me to let you spank me? I'm very sensitive to pain. I can't even get a hickey from you without groaning. This is ten times worse."
"You look like Jesus on the cross. The pain will be great my love. But bear it for our freedom. Here, I'll start with a hand spanking on your luscious buns. How do you feel when I slap your ass?"