The Red-Light Area

They broke my wings and forgot I had claws

“Should we go?” I asked Raien tenth time as I combed my hairs and sprinkled some perfume before I buttoned my shirt. I had just come out of the shower and was getting ready to meet Kiara, yet I felt nothing. There was no excitement, no glitters in the stomach like it used to be when we were dating. Although, I felt nervous and overwhelmed, apart from it there was nothing, absolutely nothing, and the fact made me contemplate if I was doing right in chasing after her for all those years.

I loved her and there was no doubt in it. I’ve spent a large part of my life enslaved to that thought, so I should know the meaning of the word at the cost of my life. Love. Oh, yes! I loved Kiara. I was sure about it as sure as I was of my existence.

Kiara was my first in everything. She taught me how to love ever since we were nothing but some hormonal teenager. She had introduced me to the delightful concept of freedom, making me fight to make freedom my most precious commodity. She taught me how to talk tenderly when everything within you wants to scream at the person and break a couple of teeth. She taught me how to kiss and how to make love.

She was there when I had rebelled against my parents for the first time and when I fought with the other boys at school because I refused to be their target anymore, and who immediately homed in on me as the butt of their cruel jokes, and only after much blood had flowed from my wounds and theirs, only after a bone was fractured and I had to explain that it was nothing but an accident where, many afternoons, I had to hide my scars from my mother—because it was up to me, not her or anyone, to solve my problems—did I manage to show the world that I could take a thrashing without bursting into tears.

Kiara turned me into a fighter. She taught me that it was up to me to fight and no one. And so, I fought. I fought with my parents, who wanted me to be a lawyer, not a detective or a cop. I fought to get a job to support myself, and went to work as a waiter in a bar at the very dark street of the town where drug dealings were as normal as a selling ice-cream, to be free from the rein of family and blackmails:. That says: “We’ll pay for expenditure, but you’ll have to be our pet, follow the decade old rules that we believe is right and because we care for you.”

She was the one who helped me hide my scars and cleaned up the mess I had become after multiple fights in the ring. She saw me going fist to fist during day time and groaning in pain at night. She was there…and perhaps it’s the feeling of belonging and dependence that I cherished.

It is a human thing. Isn’t it? To dream of achieving something unattainable, feeling passionate about it till it is out of reach and once we see it coming. Once it becomes ours. It doesn’t feel that worthy and tempting anymore that it once felt and the passion to get it doesn’t remain so strong that it was when we had dreamt of it.

Kiara was that dream.

“Do as your heart say.” Raien answered. “ask your heart if she even worth it? You have been spoiling your life…for her and she didn’t bother reaching out to you until today when her brother is behind the bar and she needs your help to bring him out. That’s what she said. She needs your help.” He added, making me feel conflicted, seeing no way out of that. “She is a lawyer and a professional. Professionalism indicated selfishness─ take it in any way possible. They are taught to use people. It’s what they say. Be careful! You might have something that she wants and it definitely isn’t love.” He put the last part as softly as he can and it broke within me, perhaps a hope.

“But we were in…love.” I tired to defend in vain, thinking over and over about it. Was I to be used again? The thought filled my heart with bitterness. I hated to admit that but Raien was right.

“And I would again give you the very same answer, Paige that I don’t know. It’s your call and you should decide.” He shrugged giving me lemonade as he surfed the internet for tips and tricks to sober up. “Drink water, Paige. You will have beastly headache by the time you would reach there.”

“What do you mean by you would reach there? We are going together.” I urged Raien to deny and he did. He shook his head, popping on the bed as he rolled and stretched.

“Naah, I am not coming. Not in the mood to watch lovers reunite. Why would I be a third wheel? But if you are planning on having a threesome…I may-” He couldn’t complete his sentence I threw the bottle of perfume, shutting his mouth. He let out a loud guffaw as he rolled over and sat straight.

“Get up, get dressed. We have got a mission coming. It is time for people to pay back.” I huffed sauntering out of the room, bracing myself for whatever coming up.

It would be me who shall be used, Kiara. I thought to myself.

~~~

The sun was peeping from the clouds by the time we reached the red-light area, and the lights in the street were still on. Raien yawned as he scanned the encompassing, scrunching up his nose. There was the concentration of prostitution with lines of s*x shops, strip clubs and adult theaters. There were bars and specifically designed places for male prostitution. We saw men coming out of bars, clubs and apartment, stumbling over and fumbling with their attire with woman hanging by their sides. The strong odour of smoke, alcohol and s*x stretched to the length as we drove past buildings.

“You know, Rainey. All men, tall or short, arrogant or unassuming, friendly or cold, have one characteristic in common: when they go to a club and was to have s*x, they become afraid. There is this constant fear of performance, ejaculation and drawing a perception in the mind of a lady who is paid to pleasure them, that gets in nerves. They become afraid of their size, passion and timing when all it takes for a man to ejaculate is three minutes. Isn’t it absurd? We think twenty-four hours a day of a pleasure that lasts for three minutes.” I spoke looking at the pictures of a semi-naked woman on the walls. Raien gave me thumbs up for the explanation nonetheless, didn’t comment.

“Man, I really liked your philosophy, but I badly need some sleep to function it all. I think I am taking a day off. I am exhausted.” He whined as he looked over the chain of bars each with its name that lists out the service it has to offer.

We drove till the end of the street where I, at last, spotted apartment 109. I told Raien to pull over as I eyes the apartment in sheer dismay. It was a loft dwelling that gave me a sense of uneasiness just by looking at it. I felt vibes of mysteries streaming out of it and in the moment, I forgot everything but the two dead bodies mysteriously murdered.

The lover in me disappeared as the detective took over and the brain started to function as a professional. That was Juana’s apartment where she used to put up and where thousands of clues could be underlying, waiting to be noticed. It might reveal something about the murderer.

Was it that Arab guy or Atri had visited, Juana disguising himself as Arab?

It was a tiny apartment or so it appeared from the outside, refurbished, it had two large windowpanes at the front with a balcony in a ‘T’ at the end. At the altitude the windows were designed, it could hardly let any ounce of sunlight pass through it. I presumed. There were wooden panes and see through glass cover with a layer of pink over it. Above it placed two chimneys that had smoke coming out of it, perhaps to keep the cottage warm.

Raien might have sensed something for he sat alert and overlooked the tiny loft as well.

“So, this is it!” He said and got down. I mimicked his gestures and stepped out of the car as well. “This is where Juana used to put up. I expected a better place since she was Ahura’s mistress. The vanity in Hussein’s house was way better.” Raien commented and I couldn’t disagree.

“Come! We have made her wait enough. Let’s finish this once and for all!” I rubbed my palms together and with a heart-thumping in the rib cage advanced towards apartment 109 and were a mystery was to begin.

I looked up at the window and saw Kiara peeping out of it, staring at me. Her gaze had something to tell. I couldn’t decipher what it was and I didn't care. 

~~~

“I need your help, Pietro. I am really sorry for what happened. Can’t we put it behind for some time and act more professionally. It’s a matter of life and death. I know, you know that Atri isn’t the murderer and I know, you have the clue who it could be. Please…I beg you. Help me.” Kiara said as she sobbed on the phone call. “Justice must be served! Truth must be revealed! You remember that, right?” She stuttered within hushed breathes.

I had an urge to roll my eyes at her shades, only with much self-control for the sake of humanity, I had refrained myself. I thought of an appropriate reply, only to keep my mouth shut when I couldn’t think of anything.

Times changes everything─ I had read somewhere as a child, but that day─ I understood the true meaning of that phrase.

All it takes is time to tame people and make them realize the worth of people. There used to be a time when I could have died for her, just to watch her smile. I was crazy, wild and in love, but that day her sobs didn’t affect me. I could not feel her pain like I used to do and there were no emotions of pity. I could only remember the miserable and lonesome hours I had spent when she had left me with only a note that she was breaking up and moving out of the country.

Why?

Wasn’t the question worth answering?

There were no answers, but only silence. The silence that was eating me. I used to dial her number every minute, waiting for her to pick it up; yet the calls were never answered and the number was soon added into ‘blocked list’. She didn’t know how it felt to keep walking, watching people smile, children playing and the traffic flowing freely with happy chatters and carefree air unaware of the pain I was enduring, everything seemed to be in order—except that none of them knew that I had lost the most important woman of my life; even if they knew, they didn’t care or pretended not to care.

Nobody realised the pain I was in. Nobody felt sad, sympathetic, supportive of a man whose soul was losing believes in love as if it were losing blood from a deep open wound; but the universe continued laughing, immersed in the lives of happy people that only happened on weekends─ and she wasn’t there.

I received a call from Kiara as soon as I out of our apartment, expecting her to boost up her knowledge and abilities to control the situation as she always does, only to get a shock of my life. I have known Kiara since she had first found her interest in law. She used to play with facts like a pro, moulding it in the shape that would be beneficial for her. Colour the lies as truth and truths as lies was one among the various skills that she used to wear as a badge of honour.

“It’s duty hour, Ms. Aronson. Please call me back after sometime. I am busy.” I managed to choke out after a prolonged effort. I had decided to stay alone until I had managed to work out what was going in my life, but all in vain. All it took was a single phone call and I was back to square one.

From the driver’s seat, Raien gave me questioning look and I shook my head, implying that it was nothing.

“Pl…Please, Pia. His life is at stake. I have tried everything. They aren’t letting me see that gift. I think it contains something important. No one is helping me in the police station. I don’t even have clear facts. Ahura uncle has powerful influence on them. He is hell bended to hang, Atri. I…I feel helpless. Just three days…trial…Please.” She hiccupped, making me shiver.

“Fine! Meet me near the red-light area in an hour. And don’t forget you have promised to do anything.” I said before I hung up on her. I heard her saying something. I took out my notepad. I decided to get all the ideas out of my head and put them down on paper. The trick had always worked for me.

“Alright officer, let’s leave sentiment to one side and see what you should do.” I talked to myself. I needed to be practical while contemplating the options; after all, life wouldn’t give me another chance. I would not be the first nor will I be the last policeman who had found the shreds of evidence and could do nothing to catch the criminal.

There might have been many constables in the history who had almost solved the case only to witness their superiors promoting as a payback for their hard work. I might also not be the only man who had been blessed with an opportunity to get revenge on his girlfriend, but I wanted to be the only man.

The only man, Kiara will remember for the rest of her life as THE man.

“Take the turn to the Red-light area.” I told Raien, doing everything to gather my thoughts as I braced myself for the evening.

~~~

It took us exact forty-five minutes to reach the red-light area. I spotted a strip club at some distance and motioned, Raien to follow me which he did. It was a small club standing like an igloo in-between two large towers that offered massages and alcohol. I was still dressed in uniform, but nobody cared. The news of the murder might have spread throughout the area, like a fire in the jungle and the people might be presuming us to be the sleuths. Or they just didn’t give a damn.

I was the first one to enter the club, followed by Raien who looked at the place curiously. “Is it your first time in a strip club?” I asked tilting towards the stage were women were dancing. Raien blushed, looking everywhere but I and I got my answer.

We greeted as if we were old friends of the family; “What would you like to have, Sir?” asked the manager as he guided us to his office.

“Nothing! We aren’t here for Juana’s case. Treat us as a customer.” I replied sternly and watched the manager’s demeanour changing. The muscles in his face relaxed for he was clearly put to ease.

“Of Couse, sir! Juana Rodriguez! The woman has nothing to do with our club. She was not our girl, you know. She used to work for Joseph. Why am I telling you all these? You are here to relax. Let me show you our best place. Come! Please follow me.” He smiled relaxed and guided us to a table from where the whole stage was visible. It covered the maximum display; the manager had told us as he helped us with the drinks and instructed a waitress to take care of us.

“Can I get somewhere secluded? I may have a friend later.” I asked and was shown a booth next to an exquisite clock; I listened to the music blasting through the speaker as I entered inside the private chamber that looked out at its private stage.

I smirked at the pole as I made myself comfortable on the couch. “I am waiting, Kiara. Let’s see how desperate you are for the justice.”