This story is written by David, please send comments and appreciation to voondave@yahoo.co.uk

It was not without good reason,perhaps the best of reasons,that the females of Wadi Ya Noh,had their ‘axes to grind’. Metaphorical axes,albeit. Nevertheless, having so little else to do with their days in Wadi Ya Noh,they spent half of their time,mentally honing the edges of their metaphorical axes,to a scalpel like surgical sharpness,and the other half,dreaming of separating the not so metaphorical testicles,from the eqally unmetaphorical English oil workers,who had blighted their lives,and who were the faithless wretches who had so cruelly spurned and so callously abandoned them,immediately upon discovering their pregnancy,and thereby damning them to a desolate exile,in the small,desert village,which was the colony of Wadi Ya Noh. Those unconscionable Englishmen,having sewn their wild oats,had moved on to pastures new.

Deep inside the Arabian interior,deep inside the mind numbing,oppressive vastness of that sun seared,desolate wasteland,deep inside the beige blandness,the land of sand,and hundreds of miles from the nearest ‘tourist track’,was the pitiful,impoverished village of Wadi Ya Noh,a sad and shabby huddle of oval shaped,sun baked mud hovels,that formed a perimeter around Humility Square,and it’s centre piece,of Humility Hole,like a clutch of bad eggs,laid by the monstrous bird out of some nightmarish, hideous fable. And,the sad and shabby,sun baked mud hovels,were inhabited by the equally sad and shabby,and sun baked occupants,who were the females of Wadi Ya Noh,a colony of shunned,disowned,and discarded females,who had been ostracised from the loving busom of their society,damned,by the shame of their pregnancies by the English oil workers,the faithless wretches who had promised them marriage,and who had promised them a better life,in England,and who had promised them a life of undreamed of female liberation and equality,only to diabolically dash their dreams,when they finally showed their true colours,when they revealed themselves,as the most despicable of treacherous liars and villains,when they reneged on all of their avowed promises,and disappeared from their ruined lives,melting away,as if they had been nothing more than a desert mirage. However,one notable difference between a mirage,and a lying,dishonest,deceitful,cruel,callous,promise breaking Englishman,was that a mirage was not usually noted for impregnating females,and then deserting them,and abandoning them to their fate,their fate,of being exiled to the village of despair,to the almost leper like colony,of Wadi Ya Noh.

The sons of these tragically unfortunate and cruelly betrayed females,were ‘confiscated’ by their local Tribal Lord,and were taken away,to live out their miserable,abused lives in humble servitude and harsh,cruel slavery. These lost sons, would be brought up to serve in the sumptuous and luxuriously appointed Palace of their local Tribal Lord.as the most lowly of servants,and never to see their Mothers again. These lost sons,while they were still young enough,would serve as the amusing playthings of the Palace perverts. Then,as soon as they had outgrown their uses and abuses,and they were no longer so attractive to those vile characters of depraved proclivities,the Palace perverts,and their like minded guests,they were sent away to join the slave gangs,to begin their lives of unremitting hard labour,under the curses and the constant threat of the whips of the Slave Masters.

The daughters, on the other hand,of these cruelly spurned females,the tainted fruit,fathered by those cadish,dastardly,deserting Englishmen,were considered by their local Tribal Lord, to be of no use or value,and so were left with their Mothers. And these daughters,with the ‘sins’ of their Mothers being visited upon them,were brought up as the child inhabitants,who would themselves grow up to be fully fledged citizens,of the exiled colony of Wadi Ya Noh.

My wife,Claudia,was just such a woman. She was the tainted fruit of a tainted woman,Meena,and she had told me of all these things,and of many more things,so that I would better understand the reasons for my fate,the fate that Claudia,herself,had decreed for me. One of the many things she had told me,was that all of the money she earned,from working as an air hostess for Arabian Airways,where we had ‘met’,she was forced to hand over to her local Tribal Lord,for ‘taxes’,and ‘protection’. Claudia was determined,that someone,some Englishman,was going to pay,and pay heavily,and pay dearly,for all of the woes of her world. And,Fate had decreed,that I, would be the one,the chosen Englishman,to pay heavily.To pay dearly. To pay Claudia’s price. To be, henceforth, tied to Claudia’s metaphorical whipping post,to suffer the stinging flails of righteous rage and bitter hatred,and to be put into her metaphorical stocks,to have the verbal misiles of curses and insults hurled at my head,like handfuls of rotten tomatoes,from the vengeful and unforgiving females,of Wadi Ya Noh.

Although we were officially married in our unholy wedlock,by her own decree,and as a matter of strict propriety,I still addressed my wife,Claudia,as ‘Miss’ Claudia. To all intents and purposes,and to all appearances,my home had become Claudia’s domain,where she ruled the roost,and where she called all the shots,and also,in a strictly metaphorical sense,where she ’wore the pants’. And,it was where I had become her pathetic slave,her downtrodden drudge,and I was also,by decree of my wife,Claudia,the humble and obedient servant,to all of our,in Claudia’s words,”extremely welcome,and highly honoured guests”,who so looked forward to coming to stay with us,for their 3 month long visits to England,and who were,including my Mother in Law,Meena,the females of Wadi Ya Noh.

It was the 1^st anniversary of my marriage to Claudia. We were now due to take to the airport,for their flight back to Arabia ,what was the 4^th relay of visitors,of the females of Wadi Ya Noh. In the now well established routine,we would drop them off at the Departures Terminal,then,after saying their goodbyes,we would then proceed to the Arrivals Terminal,to meet and greet the next relay of visitors,which,on this occasion, would include Meena,who was Claudia’s Mother,and my Mother in Law. After reporting to Claudia,and informing her that I had loaded all of their luggage into our people carrier vehicle,the females,as always,completely covered except for their eyes,in the traditional attire of their homeland,their black burkas,all exited from our house,for all the world as though they were one multi legged, single organism,and they proceeded to the people carrier,where they took their seats. When I put the people carrier in gear,and set off for the airport,an almost miasmic melancholy settled over the females,for they knew that they were now taking their first step,back to their pitiful existence,back to their lives of dusty,desolate exile,back,to Wadi Ya Noh. When we arrived at the Departures Terminal,there were lots of tears from the departing females,as they took their turns hugging Claudia,and,although I did not understand a single word of their Arabian tongue,the sad,regretful essence of what they were saying,was plain to hear,while I listened to them,as I loaded their luggage onto trolleys. When all of the tearful,sad,regretful goodbyes had been said (none of them said goodbye,to me,and certainly,none of them hugged me),and I had loaded all of their luggage onto trolleys,Claudia turned her attention to me,and,with her vast authority over me,plain as day and crystal clear in her voice,for all to hear,she ordered me,sharply,and so that many of the other departing passengers turned their heads towards us,at hearing her superior voice,curious to see who that imperiously commanding voice belonged to,and equally interested, in who it was being directed at, “park the people carrier,david,and then come and find me in the Arrivals Terminal. And,you had better hurry,david. You do not want to miss the arrival of our guests!” “Yes,Miss Claudia”,I replied,subserviently,to the mild surprise of the curious observers,who then stood and watched Claudia shuffle away,in her black burka,making her way to the Arrivals Terminal.

Finding Claudia in the Arrivals Terminal,so distinctly attired as she was,was not difficult,and,after she had refused my solicitous offer to go and buy some refreshments for her,on the grounds that there was not time,I took the seat next to her,as she had bidden me to. Her excited anticipation was apparent and palpable,so looking forward was she,to being reunited with her Mother,Meena,and some of the other females of Wadi Ya Noh. “It is over an hour now,david,since their flight landed,and so they may come through at any moment”. No sooner had Claudia uttered those words,than the tightly packed group of the black burka attired females of Wadi Ya Noh appeared,and Claudia,immediately upon spotting them,commanded me,urgently,and with supplementary supercillious clicks of her fingers,as though to emphasize her authority, “here they come! Go,david! Go now,and give them your welcome!”,she cried.

 Upon hearing Claudia’s commanding, imperious voice,many people,taxi drivers,and a host of other people meeting and greeting  family,friends,business colleagues,etc,turned to look at her,their curiosity piqued,by the harsh and strident nature,of that female voice,and of the peremptory,and authoritative commands issued, thereof,and,their curiosity changed to surprise,and then to amazement,and then to outright disbelief,as they watched me obediently respond to those imperious commands,the commands of the black burka attired female,by proceeding to the centre of the Arrivals Hall,and going to my knees,there to address the approaching black burka attired females,and to pay homage to them,by repeatedly raising my arms,and lowering them,outstretched,to the floor in front of me,palms down,as I cried out loudly, my salutation,to them. ”Oh! Jewels of Wadi Ya Noh! Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!”,I intoned. Then,upon seeing Claudia,the females of Wadi Ya Noh ignored my welcoming salutations,and they pushed their luggage trolleys around me,like motorists,driving around a piece of debris in the road,and the onlookers felt the hairs on the backs of their necks raise,as though by some primitive,atavistic dread,as the females of Wadi Ya Noh emitted their eerie,howling,yodelling,ululating wailing,that froze the blood,just to hear it,and which was the tumultuous expression of the joy of their greeting.

All of the females of Wadi Ya Noh,had made haste to the waiting,and welcoming arms of Claudia. All,that is,but one,and that one remaining female,was Meena,Claudia’s Mother,and my Mother in Law. And now,to even further amaze and confound those meeters and greeters in the Arrivals Hall,some of whom I had overheard,stating with firm conviction,that now,they had “seen everything”,they now found that they would have to ‘eat their words’,as I remained on my knees,and I continued to welcome and to pay homage to,with my salutations,this one remaining female,dressed,just like all of the others,in her black burka,almost completely covered,except for her eyes. Eyes,I knew well,as I knew so well,all of their eyes,for it was  by their eyes,upon first appearance, that I could distinguish one female from another,whereas to the casual and disinterested observer,the females of Wadi Ya Noh, were just like carbon copies of each other,like peas out of the same pod. I knew them by their voices,too,and,of course,by their feet. Especially their feet. For, it was through their feet,that I experienced and knew something of their personalities,as I so well knew Meena’s,who I now welcomed,as commanded by my wife,Claudia.

“Oh! Beloved Meena! Blessed Mother in Law! Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!”,I shouted,in an effort to make sure that she could hear me,over the eerie,howling,yodelling,ululating wailing,that froze the blood,just to hear it,and the noisy commotion that had sprung up,from the uneasy and uncomfortable meeters and greeters. Then,to the disbelieving eyes of the meeters and greeters,and testing the sangfroid of even the most worldly wise of them,Meena,upon reaching me,turned her back on me,and she slipped her right foot out of her tatty,extremely well worn,ancient ,leather sandal,and,as I was kneeling on the floor of the Arrivals Hall,I pressed the palms of my hands to the floor,and I bent my head lower,in order to receive Meena’s right foot,at a height that was convenient to her. Meena’s right foot,when it emerged from her ancient leather sandal,was plainly visible,to all of the disbelieving,and rapt meeters and greeters,and they emitted a collective,disbelieving,horrified,appalled gasp,at seeing Meena’s dirty,grimy,calloused,hard skinned,dirt encrusted toenailed,dried out,cracked and crusty bare foot,reach back,to my waiting,available,and expectant face,there,to cup my nose in her dirty,foul smelling toes,and their astonished and amazed eyes could barely credit,could barely believe what they saw,as I performed this,what was by now,the very familiar ritual,and I deeply inhaled Meena’s unique foot perfume,her own,personal foot aroma,direct from her cupped,dirty,smelly toes,as I gazed solemnly at her bare heel,and I concentrated on her heel,and I studied her heel,and I absorbed her heel,in exactly the fashion that Claudia had impressed upon me,was “The Way”,and the smell of her foot,and the sight of her heel,became my whole world,until Meena removed her right foot from my face,and replaced it with her left foot,for me to pay again,to her,my homage and my respect. Then,the meeters and greeters grew silent,as though awed,at what they witnessed,there,at the centre of the Arrivals Hall,as I demonstrated the sincerity of the respect and of the humility of my kisses,as I  kissed the many places on the proffered soles of Meena’s dirty,and unkempt bare feet,as she placed them to my lips,and,it was not just Meena,but all of the many meeters and greeters,too,who were convinced of my sincerity,of the respect and humility of my kisses,to the soles of her dirty,grimy,calloused,hard skinned,dirt encrusted toenailed,dried out,cracked and crusty bare feet. (Though,the amazed and disbelieving meeters and greeters did not know,of course,that the sincerity of the respect and humility of my kisses at the feet of the females of Wadi Ya Noh,was guaranteed by my extreme fear of the 8 feet long,flexible cane,that tapered gradually to a point at it’s tip,and that made a hideous,shrieking whistle,as it carved it’s path through the air,and that they used,to punish me with,routinely,and especially, during their ‘traditional celebrations’.) Then,finally,Meena dipped the toes of her right foot into my mouth,and I knew that this was her signal for me to begin licking her feet clean for her,starting at her toes,licking thoroughly and sucking with all of the suction I could muster,and working my way up her foot,to her dirty, begrimed heel,where I first licked,and then took the whole of the bottom of her heel into my mouth,where my tongue became very busy,and industrious in it’s duties. First,her right foot,followed by her left foot,until Meena was satisfied, with the results of my humble ministrations. Then,a veritable hubbub of commotion erupted, amongst the dumbfounded and incredulous meeters and greeters,as they sought confirmation from each other,that they had not lost their marbles,that they still had their sanity,that they had not been ‘seeing things’,and one man directed his question to the collective observers,” hey,did you just see,what I just saw?”,and they said they would not have believed it,if they had not seen it with their own eyes,and even then,they still couldn’t quite believe it,as they watched the closely bunched,black burka attired females of Wadi Ya Noh,shuffle on their way,like a single minded,multi legged entity,out of the Arrivals Terminal,with me following them,at a respectful distance of about 5 yards,until Claudia imperiously and supercilliously clicked her fingers at me,which was her signal for me to lead them to where I had parked the people carrier. I obeyed Claudia’s command.

My wife,Claudia,whose face I had still not seen,told me that she had some special entertainment planned,to celebrate our 1^st anniversary of marriage together,something that she had been looking forward to for a while,she said,which was a visit to the Fun Fair. I had got up extra early that morning,and I made sure that the people carrier was spotless, inside and out,for I knew that Claudia was forever on the lookout for the slightest and pettiest of reasons to punish me. Then,at about 10-am,I reported to my wife that the vehicle was now in a fit and suitable condition for herself,and the present visiting relay of females of Wadi Ya Noh, to travel in. “We can leave at your convenience,Miss Claudia”,I informed my wife. “Very well,then,david”,replied Claudia,with her sublime condescention. A moment later,the females of Wadi Ya Noh filed out of the front door,as if they were all somehow connected together,like the links of a black chain. When they had all seated themselves in the people carrier,I closed the side door after them,and then I sat in the drivers seat,and waited for my wife’s orders to proceed. The people carrier was soon filled with the hubble bubble of their excited,Arabian chatter,as they pointed out to each other,the various rides and attractions of the Fun Fair,in the leaflets that I had procured for them. My wife,who always sat beside me in the front passenger seat,turned to me and asked,”how long will it take you to drive us to the Fun Fair,david?”. “About an hour,Miss Claudia”,I informed her. “You may now proceed,david”. As we set off,the excited chatter of the females of Wadi Ya Noh increased in intensity,and Claudia was as animated as any of them. As she had told me,she had been looking forward to a visit to the Fun Fair for a while,but she had put it off until our 1^st wedding anniversary,when Meena,who was her Mother, and my Mother in Law,would be with us. Though,as it turned out,Claudia’s much looked forward to visit to the Fun Fair,was to be drastically and ignominiously curtailed.

When we arrived at the Fun Fair,Claudia informed me that the first of the pleasure rides that they wished to go on,was the Ghost Train. I tentatively addressed my wife,”of course,Miss Claudia,it shall be exactly as you wish. But,Miss Claudia,may I please be excused from going on the pleasure rides? I am afraid that they don’t agree with my stomach,Miss Claudia. They make me feel dizzy,and quite ill,and---------“ “Certainly not,david! Don’t be absurd! You will accompany us on all of the rides,and you will sit next to me,on each one,in case I have questions for you”. “Yes,Miss Claudia”,I replied,submitting without further comment,to her decree. I knew from painful experience,that,not only would any protest or argument be fruitless,but also that it was extremely unwise,as it always resulted in severe punishment with the wicked looking,8 feet long,very flexible cane,that whistled hideously,as it carved it’s path through the air.

The Ghost Train,was one of the most popular pleasure rides at the Fun Fair,and there was quite a queue forming for the next ride,and I saw that the ‘Train’ was going to have a full complement of ‘passengers’. As we waited in the queue,I saw that the females of Wadi Ya Noh,attired as they were,completely covered except for their eyes,in their black burkas,were an attraction in themselves,as our fellow ‘commuters’ openly regarded them. The adults,with interest,the young children,with something close to awe,and I sensed that,if it was not for the comfort and protection afforded by the close proximity of their parents,that they would have been in fear,of the females of Wadi Ya Noh,especially when,in an effort to please,I was foolish enough to directly address one of the younger females,Lasha,of whom Claudia had been teaching English,when she gave me the ‘benefit’ of some of her learning,and with no thoughts as to social etiquette or public propriety,and to the consternation and anxiety of the onlooking parents and their children. With a sound,ringing slap to my face,Lasha,who I guessed was still in her teens,shouted at me,indignantly and angrily,”you mangy dog! How dare you speak to me,you filthy cur,without first going to your knees,before me?”. I could feel my face going bright red,both from Lasha’s stinging,eye watering slap to my face,and from my acute shame and embarrassment,at this unfolding spectacle. “I beg your forgiveness,Miss Lasha,but, I was only trying to inform you,that------“ Slap! Slap! Lasha dealt my face 2 more stinging,eye watering,and thoroughly humiliating slaps,and an astonished and uneasy murmur rippled through the people in the queue. Lasha was not finished with me yet. “I promise you,you scurvy dog,I shall make you pay,and pay dearly,for your insolence!” Lasha was just about to slap my face again,when fortunately,my wife intervened. “Calm yourself,Lasha. david is not worth troubling yourself about,and,after all,you can discipline him this evening,with some extra strokes of the cane,during our Traditional Celebrations. For now,Lasha,just concentrate on enjoying yourself. Come! We can now board the Ghost Train!” After giving me a look that promised punishment and cruelty that evening,Lasha followed Claudia and myself into the 2^nd of the 3 open ‘Train’ carriages, which,conveniently enough for us,each held 8 passengers,which was our number. As I sat next to Claudia in the front seat of our carriage,the parents and children in the carriage in front of us,looked back at us,the parents,with a vague unease,their children,with a seemingly growing trepidation,as they watched the black burka clad females of Wadi Ya Noh,fill the seats behind them. As soon as the 3^rd carriage was fully occupied,with another 4 parents and 4 children,the cries of the young children’s excitement piped up,as our rickety transport began to move forward,and the Ghost Train departed from the ‘station’,at the shriek of the ‘guard’s whistle.

Within seconds,the passengers of the Ghost Train were completely enveloped in an unsettling,and total,and absolute blackness,and it must have been almost a full minute,which,to me,seemed a lot longer,when,suddenly,a collective squeal erupted from the children,a sort of delighted fear,as a brightly illuminated skeleton appeared,directly in front of us,and,suspended as low as it was,it was impossible for the passengers of the Ghost Train to avoid,as the skeleton made contact with them,and rattled,as the skeleton’s bones,which I thought (and hoped!) were made of plastic,jingled and jangled,and,for some of the small children,it was a touch of the macabre too far,and,while they did not cry,they clung tightly to their parents,for their comfort and protection. But then,it was the parents,too,who found themselves in sore need of comfort and protection,as the females of Wadi Ya Noh,as soon as the suspended skeleton rattled it’s bones over them,began to emit their eerie,yodelling,howling,ululating wailing,that froze the blood,just to hear it,and was an expression of their superstitions,as the Ghost Train once again took it’s passengers into the pitch black darkness. As the Ghost Train approached the subsequent suspended skeletons,and various other ghoulish apparitions,the eerie wailing of the females of Wadi Ya Noh,which echoed and rebounded and reverberated all around the impenetrable blackness,lent a chilling quality to the normally harmless scenes,that encouraged,and tried to trick the mind into believing the unbelievable,and to think the unthinkable,and to accept the unacceptable,and that terrified the malleable minds of the young children,and that shredded the taut and shattered nerves of their parents.

After what seemed to me like hours,the Ghost Train,to the immense relief of it’s passengers,finally emerged again into the welcoming sanity of broad daylight,and rumbled into the ‘station’,where it’s passengers hurriedly and shakily disembarked. The parents,looking none too happy themselves,some of them,with a haunted,ashen hue to their faces,fruitlessly tried to calm their small,frightened,distraught  children,to quieten their crying,and to quell their inconsolable tears. The children,instead of enjoying a fun,slightly scary,but ultimately harmless Fun Fair pleasure ride on the Ghost Train,the females of Wadi Ya Noh,had left them with tears pouring down their faces,and an everlasting impression of terror,and with an indelible imprint of horror on their formative young minds,that would guarantee them hellish nightmares for the rest of their lives,such nightmares,as would frighten away,and scare the pants off all of their other Bogeymen. Upon hearing the loud and lamentable complaints of the shaken,distressed,and dishevelled parents,the authorities of the Fun Fair,without ceremony,immediately ejected us from the premises.

However,it was the event which occurred next,that was the event that,of all of the events that occurred on that day,the day of my 1^st wedding anniversary to my wife,Claudia,was the one that I will never forget,and was the event that would guarantee ME,hellish nightmares for the rest of my life,such nightmares,as would frighten away,and scare the pants off all of MY other Bogeymen.

Claudia had instructed me to take the party of females from Wadi Ya Noh into the local town,where they would avail themselves of some light refreshments before having me drive them home in the people carrier. But,all thoughts of refreshments,light,or otherwise,were instantly forgotten,when Meena,in a ferment of sudden,uncontainable emotion,almost a frenzy,of agitated excitement,animatedly pointed out to her daughter,Claudia,a man who had just emerged from a Pub,a little further down the High St. from the fast food restaurant that we had intended to enter,and who was now casually and carelessly walking along the High St. seemingly without a care in the world, just in front of us.The man had come out of the Pub,and slowly proceeded down the High St.,with a sort of swaggering,arrogant insouciance,as though he had not a care in the world,and,indeed,his carefree demeanour seemed to suggest that he took every care and precaution,to leave all of his troubles behind him,for,his carefree and careless ways suited him very nicely,thankyou.Meena,despite the 2 decades and more,since she had last seen the man,recognised both his face and his cocky,arrogant body language,instantly. At the conclusion of their short,but urgent conference,Claudia informed me,in a sort of triumphant exultancy,”david,the day that I live for,the day that I dream about,has finally arrived! The man walking in front of us,is the faithless wretch,who so cruelly and callously spurned and abandoned my Mother,as soon as she told him that she was carrying his child. Yes,david! It is my father! It is the mangy,scurvy,flea bitten,lice riddled cur that I have vowed to find,and I have also vowed to make him pay for his crime,and make him pay dearly! Now,bear witness,david,and do not forget,ever,what happens to those who do wrong,to the females of Wadi Ya Noh!”.

Walking behind them as usual,at a respectful distance of about 5 yards,I watched the ensuing spectacle,in the unshakable grip of an appalled,and horrified fascination,as 2 of the black burka clad figures overtook the man,who was walking slowly along,in a carefree attitude of leisure and nonchalance,only to stop short,in apparent puzzlement,when the 2 black burka clad females impeded him,by slowing their pace,directly in front of him. Then,the remaing 5 black burka attired females closed up to the by now mildly annoyed man,and they then completely surrounded him. The man’s initial exclamations of surprise,and query,and mild annoyance,were quickly followed by his rather more concerned expressions of disquiet,and then alarm,and then the beginnings of fear. These first exclamations,though,were then  superseded by an inarticulate cry,which nevertheless conveyed to me his absolute conviction,that something here,was wrong. Very wrong. Then,I distinctly heard the sounds that I will never forget,and that haunt me,still,of the man’s horrified,terrified screams,followed by his by now muffled,agonised,strangled,gargling noises,as the females of Wadi Ya Noh closed in tightly around him,into a single black entity,a seeting black mass,like a big black jellyfish,subsuming it’s prey,as Claudia fulfilled her vow,and as she achieved her dream,of making the man pay,of making her father pay,and making him pay dearly. Making him,her father,pay her,his daughter’s price. Claudia’s price.

The pedestrians on the High St. were stopped in their tracks,and were rudely roused from their private thoughts and their daydreams,and interrupted from their conversations,and the attentions of the window shoppers were redirected,as the females of Wadi Ya Noh emitted their eerie,howling,yodelling,ululating wailing,that froze the blood,just to hear it,and was an expression of their lust for vengeance. The pedestrians and shoppers,who had been going about their mundane business,and performing their undramatic shopping chores,suddenly found themselves immobilized,and they found that they could do nothing other,than to stand and listen and watch,open mouthed,in astonishment and amazement,as the black burka clad females of Wadi Ya Noh,froze their blood and shattered their nerves,with their eerie,ululating wailing,until finally,they shuffled on,like a big black jellyfish,that has just stung it’s prey,and leaving it,Claudia’s father,writhing on the cold,grey pavement of the High St.,in a silent agony,in an agony, that far transcended,any thing he had ever known,or dreamt about,in his most fevered nightmares,in an agony so exquisite,that he could not waste any of his precious energy on a vocal outpouring,of screaming,since every single atom of energy that he possessed,was at that moment,I felt sure,being expended in the infinitely higher prority,of trying to cope with the pain,the pain that seemed to threaten his very sanity,the pain that had been visited upon him,by the females of Wadi Ya Noh. My wife,Claudia,did not disclose to me,the exact nature of the retributive punishment that she and Meena and the other females of Wadi Ya Noh,had meted out to her faithless wretch of a father. And,I did not ask. I did not want to know. It was enough,for me,to know that I lived under my wife’s tyranny. It was enough,for me,to know that I was nothing more than her downtrodden drudge. And,it was enough,for me,to know that I lived under the constant and ever present threat,of being punished,sometimes severely,by my wife,Claudia,and also the visiting females of Wadi Ya Noh,including,and especially,Meena,my Mother in Law,who,now that her daughter had been married and domiciled in England for 1 year,she,Meena, due to a recent change in immigrant legislation,would also now be entitled to stay,as a resident,and live with us on a permanent basis. And,I did not need Claudia,or Meena herself,to tell me,that it was an entitlement,that she would be taking full advantage of,and that she would be taking up her new entitlement,her entitlement of permanent residence in England ,her entitlement to a better life,as Claudia had put it,with immediate effect.

Meena was to share the largest bedroom with Claudia,and the 3 single beds in each of the other 2 bedrooms,would comfortably accommodate the visiting relays,of the females of Wadi Ya Noh, 6 at a time,every 3 months. In a new sleeping arrangement,Claudia had decreed that from then on,I was to sleep in her bedroom, on the floor,between her bed and Meena’s,bed,so that they would have something warm and soft and comfortable to step on,should the need arise for them to leave their beds during the night. Also,a new routine would be established,where,before settling down to sleep for the night,they would lie on their fronts,and dangle their feet over the end of their beds,for the purpose of taking their turns at having me on my knees,at their feet. In what from that night on would become our established bedtime routine,until they were ready to go to sleep,they would have me place my nose in their toes,and then,with my nose cupped in their toes,they would have me sniff,and breathe in their foot aroma,the unique scent,of their own,personal foot perfume,as I looked at,and studied,and observed,and closely scrutinized,and concentrated on, the heel which was filling my vision. Then,at their command,I would demonstrate the sincerity of the respect and humility of my kisses,as I pressed my lips to the many places on the soles of their feet,with convincing reverence and devotion,until they commanded me to stop. Then,starting at their toes,sucking energetically,and licking thoroughly in between them,I would then,with the same,unwavering industry and dedication,put my tongue to work,to efficiently perform it’s humble duties,the duties which Claudia had made it the business of my life,to perform,and work it’s way up their footscape,until I reached their heel,then,after licking their heel,I would put the whole of the bottom of their heel into my mouth,and I would suck on their heel,and I would continue to suck on their heel,with such industry and dedication and devotion,as would demonstrate the sincerity of my respect and humility to them,until they would command me to stop. Once I had served both Claudia and Meena,in this established and routine fashion,they would send me to bed,in my sleeping bag,on the floor between their beds.

Most nights,the visiting females of Wadi Ya Noh took it in turns,to avail themselves,of an ‘early night’. This was so that they could also avail themselves of my humble services,too,and to have me perform the same close and personal attentions and ministrations for them,and to have me demonstrate the sincerity of the respect and humility of my kisses,at their feet,too. And to have me study their heels,as they cupped my nose in their toes,and to have me inhale, deep into my lungs,their own,personal foot odour,as their toes made a prisoner of my nose,and reacquainted me with the minute and intimate details of their heel,as they had me study their heel,at that extreme close range. Then,they would have me lick their feet clean,finally filling my mouth with their heel,for me to suck on,until commanded to stop. And,making the most of my humble servitude,they would command me to show them further demonstrations,of the sincerity of my respect and humility,dedication,and devotion to my service at their feet,and they would have me shower them with my praises,of how beautiful and elegant and shapely and dainty to me, were their feet,and how wonderful they smelled,and how marvellous they tasted,and how heavenly it felt,to press my lips into the soles of their feet,in my adoring kisses,and how I cherished them,one and all,and,how lucky I was,how fortunate,to be allowed the high honour,of serving at their brown, beautiful,shapely,and dainty,Arabian feet,until either Claudia or Meena would announce,that they themselves were going to bed,which meant, of course,that I was to follow them,and perform for them,too,my bedtime routine,at their feet.

It must have been something in the order of a minor miracle,that we arrived home in the people carrier,still in one piece. It had been an almost impossible task,for me,to concentrate on my driving,as,time and time again,the view that I saw through the windscreen,was not the view of the road ahead,and  was not the view of the vehicle in front,but,it was the view of another replay in my mind,through the cinemascope of the people carrier’s windscreen,it was a view of the nightmarish,hellish vision,of the females of Wadi Ya Noh,stalking their prey,stalking Claudia’s father,who had a date with Destiny,and that day had arrived,as he was stalked,and then the insufferably cocky and smugly self assured man had found himself surrounded. His utterly carefree demeanour,had further incensed and maddened the females of Wadi Ya Noh,as his cockyness and smug self assurance,seemed to radiate out from him like an aura,as if he believed,and was announcing to the world at large,through the medium of the attitude of his smug stance,that nothing could ever touch him. But,as he found out,there WAS something that could touch him,as the black burka clad females of Wadi Ya Noh surrounded him,and enclosed him,as they seemingly blended and fused together into a single organism,that was like a big black jellyfish,and subsumed him,their prey,in their writhing,seething,collective midst,until the big black jellyfish at last shuffled on,leaving it’s prey writhing on the cold,grey pavement of the High St.,in a silent agony,as if his big black predator,his Nemesis,had firmly wrapped it’s suckered tentacles around every part of his body,and had pumped it’s pernicious poison into him,until the big black jellyfish had drained it’s wells,and completely spent itself,of every last drop of it’s dreadful poison.

When I switched off the people carrier’s ignition,upon our arrival home,I could remember nothing at all, of driving home. It was as though the people carrier had been on auto pilot,and as though I had slept,albeit uneasily,and tormented by nightmares, through the whole journey. My hands were still shaking. They had started shaking, from the moment I had witnessed the appalling retribution on the man,Claudia’s father,by the females of Wadi Ya Noh. Upon glancing in the driver’s mirror,I was not surprised to see a thin,sickly looking film of sweat on my forehead,as I dwelt on the fact that such a fate could so easily befall me,should my wife,Claudia,ever decide to decree it,as she could so easily do so,by the merest click of her slender brown fingers. I knew that I was married to Claudia,in name only. Our marriage was a complete and utter,total and absolute sham,which bore not even an atom of resemblance to a normal marital relationship.As Claudia had never so much as even allowed me to see her face,I shall leave it to the imagination of the reader,whether our marriage was ever consummated,or not. The stark and indisputable reality of the situation,was that I was her downtrodden drudge.Monday to Friday,I went to work for Miss Susan Smith,the woman who was responsible for my predicament,and who had stolen my sweetheart from me,my fiancé,my loving and lovable angel,Sandra. Miss Susan Smith treated me as general office boy,and her personal skivvy,and she had me clean and tidy up after all of the other office workers,and run on their errands,and she never tired,and never failed, to gloat,and to remind me,that it was she,Miss Susan Smith,who was responsible for my wretched and miserable existence,and that she was so proud,oh,so very proud,of her wicked achievement.All of the money I earned,went on paying all of the household bills,and on supporting my wife,Claudia,and my Mother in Law,Meena,and on the relays of visiting females of Wadi Ya Noh. Claudia was my tyrant,and she ruled my existence with an iron hand and a stony heart and a cruel mind,and she never tired,and always relished,and never missed an opportunity,to punish me,for even the smallest and the slightest of misdemeanours. Sometimes,when I was as good as gold,a right little goody 2 shoes,and it was not quite so easy for Claudia to pick a fault,she would still punish me,simply for her entertainment,knowing and revelling in the fact, that the piquant spice of injustice stung me more painfully,and to ensure that my yoke was never slackened,and that my miserable existence was maintained. And,on this day,the day of our 1^st wedding anniversary,would be one of those occasions,for the ‘traditional celebrations’,which were to begin at once,and without delay,as no precious time must be lost,in that,their most loved and cherished of traditions,as Claudia took the 8 feet long cane from it’s pride of place above the mantel piece in the living room,where it’s presence served as a constant reminder to me,if any were needed,of my humble, and lowly,and subjugated status.

In our back garden,which was our very own Humility Square,Claudia commanded me to stand with my legs apart,and straddling the small but deep excavation that she had ordered me to dig,upon first taking up residence at my house,which was our very own Humility Hole,and she then tied my hands in front of the pole,that had a flat piece of wood on top of it,that was inserted into Humility Hole,and which was,ostensibly,for appearances sake only,a bird table. Not that the rather arcane proceedings of our Humility Square ‘traditional celebrations’ were a secret undertaking,anymore,and had not been,since the first of these special occasions took place,and I could see over the low wooden fence that separated our gardens,that our next door neighbours,Bob and Liz,and the friends that they had invited round for a barbeque and a few beers,were already comfortably seated and settled at their table,and I thought that,judging from their light hearted banter,and from the uninhibited nature of their conversation and laughter,that they had already appreciably indulged themselves,in the aforementioned liquid refreshment,and they were,as usual,waiting with obvious anticipation,for the decidedly unusual,though singularly splendid entertainment that took place on the other side of their garden fence,to commence. Though,because of the abject shame and humiliation of my predicament,I did not look at the faces of my neighbours and their invited guests,in the split second glance that I  looked in their direction,although my eyes did not settle on any of them,it was enough for me to discern that they were a picture of contentment,as they ate their food and drank their beer, in the pleasantly warm sunshine of the afternoon. It was a lovely day for it.

To me,the afternoon seemed never ending. The first of the females of Wadi Ya Noh to weild the 8 feet long,very flexible,wicked looking cane,was Lasha,who had promised to make me pay for my ‘insolence’ to her earlier in the day,at the Fun Fair. Lasha did not stand on ceremony,and she wasted no time in acquainting me with her wrath,and the hideous cane whistled,and shrieked fiendishly,as it carved a path through the air,as 6 times,Lasha thrashed my exposed flesh,2 vicious,agonising strokes each,to my back,legs,and buttocks,and I literally howled,from the unspeakable anguish of the punishment that Lasha had meted out to me. Next ,it was my wife of 1 year,Claudia,and then my Mother in Law,Meena,followed by the other 6 females of Wadi Ya Noh,who enthusiastically ‘stepped up to the crease’,like black burka clad batswomen cricketers,preparing to hit me ‘for 6’,and who played their full part,with glee,as they participated in their much looked forward to ‘traditional celebrations’,and leaving the back of my body and legs,a seething,glowing mass of red stripes.

And,today was to herald a new and diabolical twist to these proceedings,which would henceforth become the normal and routine proceedure,at these  ‘traditional celebrations’. For,as once the females of Wadi Ya Noh had finished their anguish inducing caning of me,from across the garden fence,I heard a female voice that I immediately recognised,and I was instantly consumed with dread,when I heard her excitedly exclaim to my neighbour,”hey,Liz! You didn’t tell us it was going to be this much fun!”. It was the maliciously gleeful voice of Miss Susan Smith! It was the voice of my boss at the office,who was the woman responsible for my hellish predicament! It was the woman,a lesbian,who had stolen my bisexual fiancé,Sandra,from my arms,and who was bringing up my child with her! Now,to my absolute horror,at Bob and Liz’s invitation to their barbeque,Miss Susan Smith and my ex fiancé,Sandra,were both present,as a couple,and they had come to see for themselves,just how far I had fallen,and to see for themselves,just exactly what transpired,at these garden parties,at these mysterious ‘traditional celebrations’,that Bob and Liz had told them about,and had so animatedly enthused about,and had promised them that they would not be disappointed,at the spectacle,and that it was a ‘must see’ event.

Now,Claudia,having played her full part in warming up my flesh,made my blood run cold,as,upon hearing Miss Susan Smith’s excited exclamation to her neighbour across the garden fence,Liz,she formally invited her,Miss Susan Smith,and all of the other female barbeque goers,to come and participate in their ‘traditional celebrations’.”Please,Susan,come and join us,in our ‘traditional celebrations’,and bring your female friends with you. It will be my very great pleasure to have you join us,and,Susan,it is surely the very least that I can do for you”. Now,my heart sank ever lower,as Miss Susan Smith,with an exultant cry of sheer ecstasy, and with immense gratitude,enthusiastically accepted Claudia’s gracious invitation,and she came into our garden,into our very own Humility Square,with my former fiancé,Sandra,in hand,and they were followed by Liz,and another 2 very eager looking young lady barbeque guests,and she,Miss Susan Smith, gratefully and gleefully accepted the wicked looking, 8 feet long,very flexible cane,that gradually tapered to a point at it’s tip,and whistled hideously,as it carved it’s path through the air,and she chuckled,evilly,at the wonderful feel of it in her hand,and at the sense of such exhilarating  power,that she felt,and in the full knowledge of what she was about to do with it,and to whom she was going to do it to,and she then,struck,while ‘the iron was hot’,she proceeded to lash my back, my legs,and my buttocks,viciously,maliciously,wickedly,and mercilessly,whist,at the same time,emitting little squeals of pure pleasure,of rapturous ecstasy,each time her carefully aimed cane strokes found their targets,and all of the females laughed,and clapped their hands,happily,to see Miss Susan Smith weild the cane,their instrument of exquisite torture and torment,with such unbridled relish,and with such delightful accuracy and devasting expertise,and they continued to laugh,and to clap,and then to laugh and to clap louder,and even more gleefully,as I howled,and yelled,and wailed,at my unremitting,merciless,and intolerable torment,and I begged my tormentor, Miss Susan Smith,I begged her,the woman who had stolen my beloved fiancé,and taken her for herself,I begged her,the woman responsible for my miserable existence,the woman whose ecstasy was in equal measure to my suffering,suffering,that she herself had caused,and was at that moment further inflicting,and adding to,I begged her,and begged her, with all my heart,and appealed to her with all my soul,to “please,please,please,I beg you,I beg you,I beg you,Miss Smith,please,please stop,oh,please!”,I wailed,in my abject misery. But,ignoring my desperate pleas,Miss Susan Smith was enjoying herself far too much,to consider showing me any mercy,and her cruel cane strokes contined,as did the gleeful and wicked laugher, of the impressed and appreciative watching females.

How bad could things get,I wondered,having to suffer so,at the hands of this,of all females,Miss Susan Smith. I soon found out,when Miss Susan Smith handed the wicked looking cane, to the woman I had thought I would marry,and live happily ever after with,like a fairy tale that I could no longer believe in,my former loving and lovable sweetheart,my ex fiancé,Sandra. Then,I was soon in almost as much shock,as I was in pain,at the evidently gleeful relish in which my former sweetheart and fiancé took the cane to me,as she carefully aimed and delivered 6 agonising stokes to my already throbbing and redly glowing buttocks,”this is for deserting me,david”,she informed me. Oh! Was my life not wretched enough,was my life not already filled with enough misery,that I had to hear those cruelly unjust words from the lips of my former darling? Then,it was my neighbour,Liz,who sent the 8 feet long cane whistling hideously through the air,to connect agonisingly with my bare flesh,and bringing forth fresh wails of anguish from my lips,as she informed me,”this is for not keeping the noise down,like I told you to,david”. Next,and finally,came the 2 eager young lady barbeque guests,who happened to be Liz’s nieces,who also gave little yelps of ecstasy,each time they landed a stroke of the cane,that gave them particular pleasure and satisfaction,and that made me howl,and that made me writhe,and that made me squirm,and that made me plead with them,and that made me beg them to stop,and that made me cry. The message I received from these 2 young ladies was the same ;”this is because I want to,david,and it is because I can,david,this is because I can”.

After what seemed an absolute age,Claudia smiled cruelly at me,as she untied my hands from in front of the pole,and then the ‘bird table’ pole was removed from Humility Hole,and then I was unceremoniously lowered into Humility Hole,by the willing and eager hands of the females of Wadi Ya Noh. Then,in turn,my wife of 1 year,Claudia,on our wedding anniversary,followed by my Mother in Law,Meena,and followed in turn by the other females of Wadi Ya Noh,stepped up to me,and then turned their backs on my head,which was protruding out of Humility Hole,up to my neck,and eased their right foot from their leather sandals,and they reached their foot back,and they cupped my nose in their toes,and,first with their right foot,and then followed with their left foot,I sniffed,and deeply breathed into my lungs,their own,personal foot aroma,which was unique to each one of them,and was like an olfactory signature,by which I could recognise them all,and,as I smelled and inhaled their indididual foot perfume,I gazed at their heels,and focused on them,and my eyes absorbed the sight of them,as they filled my vision. Then,I demonstrated the sincerity of the respect and humility of my kisses,to the proffered soles of their feet. Then,I licked their feet clean,starting at their toes,and finishing at their heels,where I would continue to suck on their heels,with industry and without abatement of efficient effort,until they removed them from my wide open,receptive mouth,that was like a second home for their heels,so that yet another female could take their place,and avail herself of my humble and lowly services,at their feet.

Then,on that day,a day forever indelibly etched in my memory,of the 1^st wedding anniversary of my marriage to my cruel,sadistic,and tyrannical wife,Claudia,I suffered the final,and the greatest indignity,and the ultimate degradation,of that unforgettable day,that was the worst,and that was the hardest to take,as Miss Susan Smith,who had chosen to wait until last,to take her turn with me,stepped up to my head at Humility Hole,and then,following the examples that she had so rapturously watched, she turned her back on my protruding head,and with a slight effort,she eased her right foot out of her well worn,black pump,one of a pair that she seemed to always wear,and reaching her foot back,she quickly found my face,and then she firmly cupped my nose with her toes,and I instantly associated the incredible,noxious stink that assaulted my nostrils,and offended my being,with the rank and rancid foot odour,that I remembered from what now seemed a lifetime ago,when she had kicked her pumps off,these very same pumps,I believed,aboard our,and my,ill fated Arabian Airways flight.And,as I sniffed and smelled her foul,malodorous toes,and as I sniffed and smelled and inhaled and breathed into my lungs,and into my mind,Miss Susan Smith’s very own,personal,foot perfume,her very own,unique,foot aroma,and while my mind railed and raged against my indignant knowledge,that I was sniffing,and smelling,and inhaling,and breathing into my lungs and into the very heart and soul of my  being,the essence of the olfactory signature,of Miss Susan Smith,by which I  could recogise her,even with my eyes closed,with my nose deeply buried into her stinky,noxious toes,I gazed at her heel,and I focused on her heel,and I stared,fixedly,at her heel,and I visually absorbed her heel,and I carefully contemplated her heel,as though in a trance,and with an unbroken and unwavering concentration,as Miss Susan Smith cooed,in absolute pleasure,and in the throes of a thrilling emotion,of an ecstasy that she had never known before,that was almost sexual in it’s intensity,and,with her voice filled with her sublime emotions,she said to me,Miss Susan Smith,the woman who had destroyed my happiness,the woman who had ruined my life,and the woman who had consigned me to a living,hellish nightmare,”oh,yes,david,yes,this is where you belong,where you truly belong. Exactly where I have put you. In Humility Hole”.

It was then,as Miss Susan Smith’s exultantly cruel,and gleefully callous,and wickedly devastating,and supremely sinister words echoed around my brain,and reverberated through my mind,and,like demons taking possession,they insinuated and established themselves into my very psyche,and crushed my soul,and withered my spirit,it was then,at my latest and lowest ebb,at my nadir,that I demonstrated the sincerity of the respect and of the humility of my kisses,as I pressed my lips,to the many places,on the soles of her proffered bare feet.

THE  END