They called me the Red Rose of Shelby. I’m not sure if it was supposed to be sweet, or sultry, or damning. The attitudes they had and the attitudes they expressed never seemed to fit; like a patchwork quilt, every piece screamed the lie of the others, and the only thing holding it together was everyone’s tactic agreement that it was, in fact, a whole. The Town Feels, they would chide me as they draped a shawl across my freckled shoulders; or The Town is Concerned That, as they white-washed my bright purple fence. As if everyone member was in accord. As if they didn’t whisper secrets in my ear and turn away when the lights came on.
There was never a dinner-party I wasn’t at, never an event I wasn’t asked to take part in. Always slightly above, slightly to the left. I draped flowers over the shoulders of bright sparkling girls whose mothers would steer them away when they saw me on the street. I pinned medals onto the gowns of women who would turn their signs to closed when they saw me coming, fearing the scandal my presence would bring. I was the guest of honour, seated to the left of the host, and the opinions they asked for where snickered at behind white powder gloves.
The Red Rose of Shelby. I don’t know who started it, or whether it was clever or a simple off-hand remark. I thought about it more than it deserved, imaged meanings in it that were far too deep for its creators ever to have intended. Red is the colour of lust, of desire, the colour of wanton women and loose ladies. The colour of the lanterns they light in the cities and the dresses they wear just to be removed. But the rose can be pure, can be sweet, can be lovely, like I can be. With thorns hidden in my leaves and a blush that women sniff at, knowing it will fade and only the reputation will remain.
I suppose I could have shunned them. Denied their requests for my presence, knocked their hands from the small of my back. But when all you are is a sparkle in the night, who dares to turn on the lantern? Who dares step out in the day?
Today’s image comes to you courtesy of Rene Blais. Check out his work on His Facebook Page, and see more about him on Lucid Dreaming’s Contributors Page.