"Yeah, baby... " Man One drawled. 

"Woo hoo... Look at that bodyyyyy!" Man Two said from the side, tossing a few bills on the stage at the same time. Someone who seemed to be a friend spoke up from his right side, "George, you see dem legs?" The George he called stilled and looked, not at him, but at the female performing on stage, and replied with a lecherous smirk, "Nah dude, look at that firm arse." I could not help but to smirk. Another idiot is enthralled by my beauty. 

"David... David... Look... Man... Look!" Number Two shouted when I shook my ass to the beat. I looked away, losing myself, blanking out my surroundings. 

Music was always my muse – or, more specifically, dancing. If I never allowed myself to get lost in the music, I would probably look tragic.

After all, who in their right mind would willingly dress in scraps of clothing to dance for licentious men—no one, right?

Yet, what choice did I have?

It didn't matter, anyway. This was something that I did.

I swayed my hips from left to right to the music, moving as if I was one with both it and the pole.

One leg raised straight, a hand grabbing the pole. I hooked one leg on it so I could have a decent grip then climbed up, being as sensual as I could.

The jeers and throwing of money signified that I had done what I had sought to do, making me breathe a sigh of relief.

With the song close to an end, I twisted around the pole, moving upwards, before slowly sliding down legs moving as if I was walking on air; my arms my only support, twisting my hips to the slow beat.

This took core strength and the power from my arms... Amen to push and pull-ups.

When I reached the floor, I placed first the left leg gently down, and then the right, slightly in front of the other.

I shook my butt, facing the crowd as those males and the few females present exploded. Raining more bills.

A thirty-two-inch waist was small compared to forty-inch hips, a pair of size thirty-four C-cup perky breasts, and a peach-shaped butt. It seemed bigger with my tiny waist and broad hips. My thighs and legs were also a decent size, powerfully shaped from heels and dancing.

This body I was proud of... Grateful for.

This was the fastest way for me to make money as a student without starving and becoming homeless. After all, I had escaped from that place and tried my hardest to blend in... No one will find me here.

How were they?

Even though they had disappeared, I felt... I felt that they still lived.

With them gone, will I be found again?

Yeah, I'll be fine. It was a chat in my head that I need to quickly throw to the side, so I could focus.

Six hundred to one thousand a night gave me a great life. Having a temper, and being kicked out of school just before the third term, meant that I was a disappointment, but I graduated the year before that and had only stayed the extra year to get extra certificates; they had come too close too finding me. I did not want to go back there; it was just... too much.

I had finally fixed my body after their "care"; I would never be able to survive if they took me again.

College was not cheap; textbooks and other materials drove me to my limit and, not one to continue suffering, here I am.

Well, it didn't matter. I was a stripper. It would discredit me, but who cares right now? My goals had to be met. I will sort it out when it came.

Picking up my money, I retrieved my small bag and placed it inside, separating the amount I needed to pay the club, then headed to change.

No lap dances, no private dances, massages, or sexual intercourse –  purely pole dancing.

Even if I was a stripper my limits had to be drawn, like a clear line saying, 'Do Not Cross!!' Yup, exclamation marks included.

I think of it simply as me wearing a two-piece Brazilian-styled bikini, while I'm dancing and those around me are beachgoers.

Minus the fact that they catcalled and threw money on a stage.

"Yuh did good girl!"

"Since she came here, de men don't pay we no mind." 

"So? Ain't like she doing private dancing, all she is doing is tekking de stage," 

"Oi girl, where yuh from? Yuh sure you's a Bajan?"

I pretended to be mute, trying my hardest to stay in my corner. I grabbed a new outfit, spraying my arms in case I stank.

"Girl, yuh can't speak?"

"Candy, leave Lollipop. You know she is like a mute," 

"Tch, she getting on like we all not whores,"

I wanted to roll my eyes, but remembered the girl who had been stabbed two weeks ago just for reporting back. This very woman a bit too loud.

Sure, she was light skinned, pretty with long human hair that reached her waist, grey contacts, long fake lashes, and a slim, slightly shorter build.

Still, it is well known she bleached her skin, and she was thirty-five percent fake as a**.

Sidestepping her once I was finished, I walked to the exit.

"You nuh better than us. How a whore could try to be classy? In the end, you still a hoe!" 

Her voice was loud, her Jamaican accent thick, other than her being so damn coarse, I loved her accent.

I just want to listen to her whisper sweet nothing in my ears for hours.

The door slammed closed, and I looked around the club, nodding to the guard. Somehow, Barbados accepted the fact that we had a club owner from Asia.

It was all I remembered, since I still made money in spite of the fact I needed to pay three hundred a night.

"Hello, Lollipop, can I offer you a drink?"

This man was white with a suit and hair cut in a popular style: slightly long with short sides. Unlike the trend now among white people, he had no tan, which was a bit strange to see on the island. Perhaps he was one of those who stayed mostly indoors, fearing the Sun... I'm not sure. Anyway, it didn't matter. All I cared about is if he would be paying for my time or not.

Either way, it's a miracle for him to be so... Ah... pale, I thought, while trying to remember if outside was over forty degrees or around thirty-eight, even if it was nighttime, the temperature was still around the high thirties.

Barbados was a humid country, with an extremely high temperature, the day varying from thirty to forty-five degrees even though the feel seems as if it rose to over fifty.

"What would you like to drink?" he asked, while I sighed inwardly. To be honest, I'd prefer water, but I decided on an aged rum, one shot with soda water, no ice. This way, the bar can make some money.

"Can I have the same?"

His accent seemed as if he was from England but one can never be sure, he might just have an accent, or seem to.

Even though the music was loud, we still conversed, albeit loudly, each understanding the other. He asked what I did in my free time and I informed him.

"So you are studying business?" 

"It is common but yes,"

"That is good, and what year are you in now?" 

"I'm in my second year." 

"Good! And do you know which company you will work in?" 

"No. I am a stripper, so perhaps I will work online for an offshore company," 

"Ah, sounds good."

The night was good when it ended, strangely. I ended up with two thousand dollars in total, not including the three hundred pounds Eric gave me.

I avoided Candy, and began to walk where I can hail a taxi, but my night seemed to have made a 360-degree turn.

My head was pounding, and I, like a little fool, took a taxi and decided to walk near the wharf in the city centre. I have no idea why I would walk anywhere near a body of water. I'd almost died so many times before, yet here I am wanting to hear the lapping of water, the boats, and watch the moon as it reflected off the water. Such a pretty sight! Sigh..

"Li'l girl, you shouldn't walk here in heels."

"It's alright, I'm fine..." I said softly. The old man gave me a look before returning to fish. I was curious. People always fished here at night and aren't in danger-

Somehow, I slipped, twisted my ankle, and fell. Sadly, I could not swim, so I flailed in the water.

"Help! help!... A.. H- He.."

Something dragged me down biting into my injured leg.

I kicked, but it seemed like it was slippery. Suddenly, I was bitten. Pain knifed through that particular hand, dragging me to another side.

My mouth opened to release a scream, perhaps in an effort to relieve the pain, but that only made me realize that I am underwater and besides being potentially eaten… I am drowning. Is this karma?

Righting the wrongs that I have done?

But what of me? What about those that – 

I wanted to suck in a breath, to get in some air, but instead, I ended up swallowing a mouthful of water. I coughed; veins bulging, struggling with my remaining limbs, blood clouding my blurry vision – 

Weaker, I am getting weaker – 

I'm going to die, I'm going to die.

I haven't even had sex yet, damn it!

As a stripper, it was a total shame, but priorities. School first, then a stable job before focusing on a man.

And them! If it was not for those people! If it was not for them I'd never suffer. If I had not trusted, I would have never been tortured!

If it was not for them...

Them…

Them…

My vision went black. Feeling the pain suddenly vanish, I released a peace-filled sigh, thereafter feeling utter regret. The faces of those five flashed before my eyes, each so far out of my league, I dared not to love them openly.

Was it not disgusting? To love more than one person?

Was it not tiring? To please so many?

My mind drifted, along with my immortal soul, thoughts of them constantly bombarding me; wondering about those four I had die for me.

Were they in a better place now?

"Even if it was against morals, if I have another life, if I get the chance to be reborn..."

<..us, we... We will love you beyond eternity, >

A being with a beak able to crush bone, tear flesh, and split its enemies spoke, its voice guttural, the feathers a beautiful pitch black, cloaked in death. The eyes, reflecting, were like a deep chasm, drawing its prey into a lull, begging them silently to die for it. 

The other, yet to fully awaken, waiting for its fragmented soul to notice its presence in order to release it from its prison, opened its jaw emitting a silent roar, twin rows of porcelain white triangular teeth bared. Its form was so massive and majestic, it struck fear in those who had the honour of seeing it. 

Who would believe such a powerful being had died by mortal fish, leaving behind only blood, which too was soon washed away. 

***

"I warned her, the sharks are here to give birth. Dropping in the water this time is forbidden." Sighing loudly he continued, "It's a pity. By morning, no one will know she died." 

Using his walker beside him, he called for a clean up.

"Another one?"

"Yeah, I tried, but she fell in before I could help. Mistress three was in the water. This time she was already dragged down," 

"Shit, alright, I'll send the clean up. Man, trying to save these sharks is a pain. The humans kept feeding themselves to them! Sigh!"

"We knew what we were getting into when we signed up. Let's just clean up before sun-up, so no one notices." 

Cutting connection, he shook his head, looking at the blood in the water and the severed head that had floated up. It was eerie how she stared, with her eyes filled with a bit of disbelief and that smile on her face.