The tongue of the toad cannot reach the wings of the dove

you know there used to be a prostitute that hung out by the Fu Nan River that flows through the city of Chengdu. She was one-legged and had a dwarf patna. They would chill in the shadows under old willow trees and lean on the rails, gazing wantonly at the men that passed. Old men with long-stemmed pipes and bed-head peasants would loiter around her and engage her in conversation.

The dwarf was her defiant champion as well as sidekick and freaky bonus for those who contracted her out. Usually it was blowjobs, from what she told me, but she also got taken to apartments and swimming pools and gardens for threesomes and fivesomes. she was asked to do all sorts of freaky shit.

She was from Liaoning, way way in the north, came here by way of factories and truckstops, drifting in and out of prostitution. She didn't remember me, because she told a different story about her leg each time i saw her. Only when she crossed the other side of the river to where my bar used to be did she catch on and keep with the one story ...

The dwarf was in a travelling circus with dwarf strongmen and bearded dwarf ladies and all that. she was the made-up ho. They would go from village to village and put on shows for the peasants. There would be singing and dancing and some older farmer would always take her into the back. The sickness; the silence of the dark as she did things for them was irresistible.

They have been gone from the river for some time now. Only ladyboys in white face cream and trenchcoats roam the riverbanks now. They have the same look as the one-legged ho and her dwarf patna ... listless and inviting.