As she waited for the laundry, Clara, as she had been named, thought about the wild spirit of Olivia. She could be so much more if she were to know intimacy with Adal. She was beautiful and Clara was certain that Adal would want to be with her. After her initiation with Adal, perhaps she would become a member of the highest group of women among the chosen. Adal had a way of finding women who were in greatest need of the group. They were wild, free spirited, and beautiful, just as she had been.
Clara remembered her own initiation. After Adal had found her with a whiskey bottle in one hand and a cigarette in the other, he had promised a life like no other where she would be cared for and loved unconditionally. She had been young and idealistic. She followed him without question to a small cabin in the woods. They shared a sweet drink which made her drowsy and Adal carried her to his bed and kissed her weak flesh. He told her that the only way to rid oneself of the desires of the flesh was to satisfy those desires so they wouldn’t interfere in the true purpose of the chosen ones. As Clara thought about her time in the cabin, she could feel her flesh begin to burn with lust. She quickly resumed her duties, ashamed of what she had been thinking. She began to hum one of the hymns she had learned as she tried to rid her mind of its sinful thoughts.
The front door flew open, causing Clara’s heart to beat faster. “Who is there?” She heard the footsteps clomping toward her and she braced herself against the washing machine.
“Where is he?”
“Olivia?”
“Yes. Where is that rat bastard?”
“There is no one here by that name.”
“You know who I mean, or are you really that brainwashed? Adal, where is Adal?”
“He is out back, but Miss Olivia, what is troubling you?”
“My car won’t start and I have no way back into town.”
“It is getting late. You are welcome to stay here for the night.”
“I’m always welcome in this house. It’s mine.”
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