Bob’s Memoir: 4,000 Years as a Free Demon
61
Fair Trade
I REMEMBER MEETING an old man somewhere in Southeast Asia sometime after I’d met Ningrum, the Bali goddess of the sea. We were continuing trading around the coastal villages. One seemed to be quite different than the others. I could say, more regulated.
I had been trading all over the islands of what is now called Indonesia and was told this was a wealthy port of call. I put in at a short pier and was immediately greeted by the old man.
“What is your business in Lontor, stranger?” he asked. He wasn’t unpleasant about it but it seemed like a strange greeting.
“Hi there. I’m Bob and I’m a trader. I come with goods from other islands and seek the unique goods of other lands to take with me.”
“Oh. Well, that will cost you,” he said. “I’m Tenduk. You can call me Doug once we know your association will be profitable for us. Now what kind of goods does your little bark bear?”
I think that’s what he said.
“Beautiful fabrics, spices, plants, fruit, and ivory all the way from Bengal,” I said.
“That is pretty much what you will find here, as in all the islands. What we need here are heavy metals and jewels. As beautiful as our island is, we lack these things and prefer our exports to be paid for with gold and gems.”
“I see. And what is your role here? I’m not sure who you are yet.”
“I am the port master. We can’t have our island overrun by foreigners, so I monitor all vessels that come in and out. I will tell you if you can trade here,” he said brusquely.
“Well, Port Master Tenduk…” I looked around at the empty docks and scarcity of boats in the strait, “it seems you do a good job of keeping people out. I will return to my boat and sail on.”
“You owe a port fee,” he said. “Certainly, you must have some gems.”
“I see.” I couldn’t help being intrigued by the old man and the scarcity of people in view. We’d sailed around the island and found no other port of call. “I probably have a gem in my cabin. I’ll retrieve one for you.”
“Very well. But don’t try to escape without paying.”
“I’m an honorable man, Tenduk.”
I jumped aboard my little boat and went into my cabin, where I called out a few warriors to act as guard on the boat and retrieved a bag of gems and gold nuggets from the infinity room. I wasn’t completely unaware of how to trade and what I could get. This fellow seemed like a good challenge.
“Now, Tenduk,” I said as I held up an emerald I’d collected some years ago in Egypt. “I am willing to pay this fine gem for certain services. It is far more valuable than the cost of moorage at your rickety dock. I will expect that it will ensure the safety of my ship and your guidance to the village so that I may see for myself what goods there might be to trade for. It may be that your island has nothing of value at all. You will introduce me to people and be my assistant.”
“I’m much too busy to do such things. I can call a boy to conduct you to the village and I will watch your vessel,” he countered. I looked at the empty bay again.
“Call the boy to watch my vessel and report to you if anything is amiss. Then you can guide me personally.”
“And you will pay the expenses of our foray,” he stated flatly.
I agreed. He whistled shrilly and a young boy in the blush of manhood appeared from his cabin near the beach and ran to us. He was given the job of watching my boat and seeing that no one approached it. I could see that he would attempt to board and explore while I was gone. Well, he’d have a little surprise. I hoped my women were gentle with him.
Tenduk, or Doug, and I headed inland.
The village was hidden just over a rise and was quite substantial. I wondered that they didn’t have hundreds of fishermen’s huts near the beach, though I had seen that most of the coast was inhospitable. After a brief tour of the town, Doug stopped in a center square and announced loudly that I was a trader and would consider buying what the villagers had to trade. We would be in the little inn. I wondered what a village this remote needed with an inn, but apparently it was the gathering point for all manner of meetings, marketing, and trading.
When we were seated, Doug ordered a meal and wine for us. We were served soup, rice, roast duck, and a variety of vegetables and fruit, making the spread look very appealing. Doug nudged me as the innkeeper held out his hand.
“Pay him,” he said.
“How much?” I asked.
“You decide, but don’t insult his preparations.”
It looked like a very appealing meal and the wine promised to be something new that I might want a stock of. I felt around in my bag and withdrew a small nugget of gold. It wasn’t very pure, but would be a handsome price that could probably buy meals like this for a month when it was refined. The innkeeper grinned and bowed, stepping back.
From that moment, people began to gather at the entrance to the inn and were admitted one at a time by the innkeeper to visit my table. They seated themselves across from me and presented what they wished to sell. The old man had been correct in his assessment that most of what they had to trade was the same as the other islands, but I poured each a cup of wine as we sat through our negotiation. Generally, I offered a semiprecious stone in trade for a basket of fruit, a live goat, a nice measure of cloth or some pottery. But then a village woman brought me a flower that was the most beautiful I had ever seen.
“From whence is this lovely blossom?” I asked.
“It grows on a rare stem on the north side of the island,” she said. “We call it orchid.”
“Can you get me one or two of these stems with the roots intact so I can plant them on my ship?” I asked.
“They are very fragile. I can get two for you, but you mustn’t blame me if they die in your care.”
“I will offer this piece of gold for these rare plants,” I said, drawing out a good-sized gold nugget. It was easily worth three times the nugget I gave the innkeeper. She gasped and bowed to me.
“I will collect the stems and return in an hour.” She left the flower in a vase of water on my table.
“Ah! So, you like things of beauty!” Tenduk said.
“Yes. And wine. I would like to buy a cart of jugs of this wine. Can anyone supply that?” I asked.
The innkeeper ran to the door and motioned for an old man to come into the inn.
“This is Sulung,” the innkeeper said. “He makes the wine.”
“Welcome, Sulung. I am Bob,” I said, pouring him a cup of his own vintage. “How much of this lovely wine can you supply me with?”
He pointed out a cart standing by the inn that was laden with jugs.
“Very well. I will take all the jugs on the cart, but you must deliver them to my boat when I go. I have no use for your donkey and cart at sea.” He waited for me to offer a price. I fumbled in the bag until I found another gold nugget the size of the one I had laid out for the old woman. He finally grinned.
“I will set out for the dock at once. It will take me longer to get there pulling the cart than it will take you when you have finished your business.” I nodded and he left.
There was quite a stir at the doorway and I turned to see a spectacular vision entering the inn. I might almost have thought it was My Lady Goddess, but I knew she was far away.
“Surintan, you mustn’t!”
“It is mine to give or sell and will certainly do our village more good if I sell it to a foreigner,” she said. The innkeeper led her to our table and I stood to bow before her.
She was young—perhaps seventeen or eighteen. She was wrapped in a skirt of flowing silk. For a top, she wore only a heavy string of flowers of the same sort the old woman was bringing me. I know that it is commonly believed that breasts were not objects of sexual fantasy until around the fourteenth or fifteenth century in Europe, but I had three millennia of learning to love them passionately. I could scarcely wait to become acquainted with these.
“I am called Surintan, though I prefer to use the name Dara while I still can.” I heard the words with my ears, but I picked up several meanings as I listened. Surintan could be interpreted as Queen or Diamond. Dara was the descriptive name for a young virgin.
“I am Bob,” I said. As I spoke it, I heard the automatic interpretation of people’s minds translating it to Budiarto—one who is wise with wealth. I wasn’t sure I was that wise. “How may I be of service to you?”
She waved a hand and Doug stood with a little bow. Then he and the innkeeper moved away from us. Apparently, this was to be a private and quiet negotiation. I poured her a cup of wine.
“I can tell from the stories that you are not familiar with our customs, and they are strange to you. You have paid as much wealth for trinkets as our village might normally see in a year. So, I must explain to you that there are customs that might seem very strange to you. On our island, everything is for sale. To give the old woman this piece of gold for her flowers will make her one of the wealthiest on our island. And you gave that price for something of great beauty. Do you think I am beautiful, Bob?”
“Yes, Dara. I find you entrancing.”
“One of the chief commodities that women have on this island is their virginity. If a man were to steal that treasure from a woman, he would be executed immediately. But a woman may sell that commodity as she deems fit. I am a virgin because no man has deigned to make an offer for that which I have to sell, assuming he would never be able to meet my price. You have wealth beyond all others. If you were to buy what I have to offer, I could then buy any man on the island to be my husband. It would take me out of the realm of being a seller and into the realm of being a buyer. Tell me, Bob,” she said standing and dropping the silk skirt to the floor. She was dressed only in the flowers. “What would you pay for my virginity?”
I was perplexed. I had never paid for virginity before. That is not to say I had never bought a woman and freed her from slavery. Often such women became quite attached to me, refusing to leave. But a straight-out transaction for a woman’s virginity…
“And this is the custom of your people?” I asked.
“It is.”
“What if I simply gave you the price and let you keep your… commodity?”
“I would be deemed a cheater and a liar and a thief. I would be executed,” she said.
“Oh, dear.”
“It is a hard lesson to learn for one from outside, but the women of my tribe developed this business many generations ago and we are well-kept and well respected as a result. Again, I ask you, Bob. What would you pay for this precious commodity?”
I tried not to let my cock do the talking for me and failed completely. I put the bag with all its remaining precious stones and gold in it on the table.
“You truly offer a jewel beyond price,” I said.
She smiled at me and casually dumped the jewels and gold out of the bag onto the table to count it out. There was a gasp from all around. She scooped it up and put it back in the bag, offering her hand to me.
“When your flowers have arrived, we will walk together to your boat and you may deflower me. I promise, I will be worth every gram of precious stones and gold you have offered.”
“Perhaps you should dress now.”
“No. My people should see what has commanded such a price as we walk to your boat. They deserve to know.”
Not long after, the old woman arrived with the flower stems, potted in soil. I gave her the remaining nugget I had promised her and she thanked me profusely. Then she looked at the pouch of gems in Dara’s hand and congratulated her.
Dara took my hand and we walked through the village with the streets lined with people to see her naked beauty. At the boat, my women guards greeted me and quickly left to prepare a bed for me. The boy who had been left to watch the boat turned toward me with a dazed look on his face. I reached in the satchel for a copper coin to give him. He refused.
“Thank you, sir, but I have been amply rewarded.”
I turned and gave a copper coin to each of the porters who brought the goods I had traded for. They were all more in awe of the women who took the packages below deck to stow them. I bade the village farewell and picked up my prize to carry her aboard. My warriors disembarked and marched the interested villagers back down the dock.
“I had no doubt that you were a man with many women in your life,” Dara said. “It is why I did not offer to marry you. To sell you my virginity is one thing, but I do not think I could live with others sharing my husband.”
“I do have wives and concubines,” I said. “Dara, if this is too uncomfortable for you, we can simply tell people that we’ve done the deed and you can return to your home with your treasure.”
“That would be stupid. I would still have my virginity intact. The village will look to see the blood on my thighs when I return to them tomorrow. So, for tonight, let us make the most of it and please, try to not hurt me too much.”
And from that point on, I made it my mission to make her experience the best I could possibly offer. I caressed her, kissed her, and worshiped her body with my hands and my mouth. When I’d licked her to another orgasm—part of the ritual I was required to do was to look between her legs and verify that she was a virgin—I slowly moved up her body until our genitals met. As I kissed her yet again, I thrust into her pussy and she took my entire length, not with a scream, but with a sigh of pleasure.
“That was not so bad,” she said. “Now teach me all the things your women have taught you so when I choose my husband, I will know how to teach him.”
I did my best, and we did not sleep that night. In the morning, we ate together on the deck, looking out at all the people who had camped on the beach waiting for her return.
“I would love to take you with me, Dara,” I said.
“No longer Dara,” she smiled. “I think I shall take the name Intan, or Diamond, and the diamond in this bag will stay with me always.”
“Intan, you would be a wonderful addition to my harem and I would take you gladly.”
“I thank you, Bob, but now I can truly be free and choose the path I desire for myself. The boy who watched your boat is one I have long wanted to buy, but he could never afford the price of my virginity. Now that your women have instructed him and you have instructed me, I believe I can offer a fair price and he will be happy to become my husband.”
“Then go in peace, Intan. Thank you for this precious treasure.”
She disembarked and as soon as she was past my warriors they hurried back to the boat and we cast off. She turned and waved at me, then linked her arm through that of the boy who’d watched my boat and they turned toward the village, with people staring to see the blood and come dried on her thighs.
I didn’t intend to get so carried away with this little story, but it’s important to understand that I was really cut loose on my own to figure out how to ‘interview’ the contestant in Singapore, and everything I was doing was being recorded. I returned to my hotel room, locked the doors, and went into Areola for a conference.
“She’s, um… cute,” Liz said when she viewed the footage that had been recorded.
“She was really forward in getting you to ask her out. And she seemed to have a program all set regarding what to do. Nice and safe to go to a bar just a floor above her tailor shop to meet and not reveal anything else about where she lives or really who she is,” Peninnah added.
“I don’t like her,” Artemisia said. “She’s used to running things, including all the people around her. I bet she owns that shop and farms the work out to other tailors. She certainly can’t expect you back tomorrow for a preliminary fitting if she was doing the work herself. Unless she doesn’t sleep. She had no problems accepting a date.”
“Bob, just go with it. Take Avril as your evening camerawoman. She’s really learned how to disappear and operate a drone, as well as her shoulder camera. If necessary, I can go out to pick her up if there are complications,” Doug said.
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