The Song of Mawu. Jeff Edwards

they could form, and the acrid smell of burning flesh seared the back of his throat

      In the silence of the deserted countryside the sound of Mawu’s lament returned, and joined in with his sobs of woe.

      1

      During the truly bad times Joseph Lattua, the ‘President for Life’of Namola, had occasionally imagined he could hear Mawu’s song of lament, but tonight was not one of those times. The cards had gone his way and the money he had won on the previous two evenings had been added to considerably by tonight’s efforts.

      Joseph Lattua thought of himself as a very good card player, just as he imagined that he was a very good President and administrator. Everyone else knew he was none of these things.

      The President’s success at the tables had been due almost entirely to the fact that he had been in possession of more money than his opponents and had been able to up the ante on his bets, until the opposition had been forced to drop out for lack of funds. Certainly not because they had worse hands, because, most of the time Joseph Lattua had nothing and was bluffing his way to a win.

      He smiled to himself as he counted the chips stacked on the table before him and took a sip of a cocktail which the prostitute who stood behind his right shoulder had ordered on his behalf. The scantily-dressed waitress was much to his liking and Lattua wondered if she too were for sale.

      Probably not, he thought to himself as he watched her walk away. The tips to be earned in this casino would make spreading her legs unnecessary.

      ‘What are you looking at her for?’ asked the blond prostitute with annoyance, ‘Aren’t we enough for you?’ she added, pointing to her red headed companion.

      Joseph Lattua leered at the woman, reached for her hand and dragged her toward him. He placed her captive hand between his legs. ‘I have more than enough for the two of you,’ he sneered.

      Knowing the overweight black man was worth a fortune in fees, the blond prostitute rubbed at his crotch and smiled impishly at him. ‘You’re always too much for only two. Perhaps you’d like a third to join us tonight? I have a friend that would love to experience your wonders.’

      Joseph Lattua knew the woman was lying and merely trying to extract more money from him but accepted the compliment with a grin. ‘I think two of you will be more than enough.’ The woman’s hand was having its effect on him. One more hand? he asked himself. No. I can always come back later.

      He smiled at the dealer. ‘I’d like to cash in my chips. I have other matters to attend to.’

      The dealer smirked at Lattua as he noted where the blond woman’s hand disappeared beneath the table and guessed correctly what she was doing. He made up Lattua’s account and handed him a chit for the total of the chips.

      Lattua tossed a couple of low denomination chips to the dealer and left the table with a decided bulge in his trousers. The pair of high-priced prostitutes followed in his wake.

      He liked the idea of hiring women with skin and hair colours that differed as much as possible from the women in his own country. The variance intrigued him.

      At home he had the choice of many women, and did so on many occasions but the skin colour and kinky black hair palled on him after a time. He was always looking for new experiences and anything to break up the monotony of his life. That was why he had begun paying for the services of two women at a time. Perhaps, he thought to himself, the woman’s suggestion of a third playmate might prove to be just the thing to pique his jaded fancy. Maybe I will try three bedmates on my next trip to Europe.

      He watched with anticipation as the two women walked ahead of him and climbed into the rear of his limousine with their micro minis exposing an impossible amount of bare thigh as they did so. As the luxurious vehicle pulled away, Lattua placed his hand on the red headed woman’s knee and slid it higher as the woman spread her legs to accommodate him. The long vehicle edged into traffic and headed toward the port but the trio in the rear were already too engrossed to notice.

      Lattua placed his free hand around the shoulder of the blond and slid his hand down over the ample breast that was almost fully exposed by the tight, low-cut dress. He found the woman’s nipple and began to massage it to hardness.

      The blond woman responded by placing her hand once more upon his trouser front and rubbed delicately at his rising manhood. She glanced over at her friend who responded with a knowing wink. The more excited that their wealthy ‘friend’ became, the sooner that he would reach his natural conclusion and the sooner that they could collect their fees and go home.

      ***

      The trip to the dockside was a short one and before Lattua could properly explore the blond prostitute’s cleavage, the chauffer had parked and was opening the limousine’s rear door for them.

      There was a momentary delay as clothes were quickly rearranged and then the three climbed out and made their way to the gangway leading to Lattua’s yacht.

      Thanks to the bounty of the World Bank which had contributed a sizable sum of money to Namola for the purpose of assisting that poor country in developing home-grown industries, Lattua had been able to purchase a magnificent craft. Over one hundred and fifty feet long and with it’s own helicopter landing pad, his yacht was the pride of the Namolan navy.

      Rightly upset that their money had been misappropriated, the burghers of the World Bank had demanded Lattua explain why the yacht had been purchased, to which Lattua had humbly replied that his navy had been in desperate need of a hospital ship. He added with pride that the yacht had five luxurious staterooms, a large kitchen, and a well-stocked wine cellar and that the staterooms could easily be turned into hospital wards, the kitchen to a surgical suite and the wine cellar would be required to store the much needed blood supplies and other medical necessities.

      When the World Bank questioned him as to who was about to declare war on his country, Lattua had shrugged. Without a care in the world he had then climbed aboard his new acquisition, and set sail for the casinos of Europe. There he intended to spend his country’s latest instalment of oil revenues supplied by the American companies who were sucking the valuable liquid from beneath the seabed off Namola’s coast.

      Of course there had never been a war and therefore no need to turn the vessel into a hospital ship so Lattua continued to live in luxury as he made his numerous trips to the happening places around Europe. All at the expense of the Namolan taxpayers and the World Bank.

      ***

      As he climbed the gangway, he concentrated on the women in front of him, with their short skirts and high heels accentuating the length of their legs and making their rears gyrate in a most delectable fashion.

      At the top of the gangway he ignored the Namolan seaman who saluted the arrival of his country’s President, and lead the women aft. They passed through a door and the women found themselves in a wood panelled hallway that led to the President’s private suite.

      As they neared the doorway, it was opened by a steward who was also in Namolan Navy uniform. ‘The champagne is on ice, Mr President,’ he said cheerfully.

      ‘See that we are not disturbed,’ Lattua demanded.

      ‘Yes Mr President,’ replied the steward with a short bow, as he made his way past the two women and disappeared up the corridor.

      Lattua held the door open for the two women to enter. ‘Open the champagne while I get out of my clothes,’ he ordered, as he made his way across the suite’s loungeroom and into his bedroom.

      The two women studied the room’s lavish furnishings and nodded to one another. ‘Who’s going first?’ asked the redhead.

      ‘I’ll toss you for that honour,’ replied her friend.

      ‘Ok. I’ll open the champagne.’

      ***

      Minutes later Lattua emerged from his bedroom wearing nothing but a towel tied around his waist, which did nothing but emphasise his large paunch. If his member had been aroused