A Long Road to Heaven

“Ruby!” Eric called as Anisa looked around the house in awe. “Please do take my guest here through the usual session.” Anisa stared as a woman in a white shirt and a patterned green skirt walked in. She smiled warmly at her, though it seemed wary. “Anisa, this is Ruby.” Anisa looked at Ruby and grinned happily at her. “She’s going to take you to get ready for dinner and clean you up a bit.” Anisa looked up at Eric, who gave her a warm smile as well. “Just follow her up the stairs and she’ll show you to a room.”

“Yes, dear, just come this way.” Ruby beckoned for Anisa to follow her and she slowly let go of Eric’s hand. He smiled lightly at her, and then walked away, retreating into a room. As Anisa walked up the stairs, he plopped down into the chair in his study with a grin on his face. He had done it again—she was his.

Ruby led Anisa up the stairs and down the hall and into a large room. Anisa looked around at the room in awe. The fireplace was roaring, and a large four poster bed was backed up against the light green walls. The wooden floor felt warm, and Ruby smiled at her sadly.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes.” Anisa walked over to the bed and graced her fingers down the carved wood. “It is all amazing.”

“Come with me,” Ruby said quietly as Anisa made to sit on the bed. “We need to get you washed up before you can lie on those clean sheets.” Anisa stood up quickly, suddenly feeling aware of her appearance. Ruby led her into a room with a large porcelain bowl she called the bath. Ruby turned on the faucet of the tub, drawing hot water into it. The water vapor steamed up as it hit the bottom of the tub, and Ruby sat her down in a wooden chair. “We gotta brush your hair b’fore you get in tha’ tub.”

“Yes ma’am,” she said, sitting down, and Ruby hit her shoulder.

“You is the man’s guest righ’ now, and I ain’t no ma’am to you,” she said, and Anisa smiled.

“Well, thank you, anyway,” Anisa said as Ruby pushed a comb through her mangled hair.

“No problem, miss,” she said, and Anisa frowned.

“Do call me Anisa, Ruby,” she said, and Ruby grinned.

“Whateva, Lady Anisa.” They sat in silence as Ruby brushed Anisa’s hair, pulling lightly at the tangles until they were all out. Anisa put a hand up to her hair, feeling the smoothness of it. Though it was dirty and oily, it was no longer matted. Ruby turned off the faucet and stood Anisa up. “Now, you have to get in the bath. I’ll wash you up, but I’ll let you soak for a spell.” Anisa smiled and looked down at Ruby. Anisa had always been tall, but Ruby stood well below her frame. Her brown face was wrinkled and held the memories of hard times, Anisa could tell, and she felt bad for the woman. She was a slave, and probably would be for the rest of her life. Anisa smiled at her again. “You can take off your clothes and step into the tub,” she said, turning around. Anisa blushed and modestly slid out of her rough clothes and stepped into the tub. She glanced towards the mirror and saw her face. Dirt was smudged all over and hung in the crevices of her face. Her cheekbones were prominent and her cheeks hollow. She frowned at her appearance, but laid back down in the hot water. It sent chills up her spine and she settled further into the tub. Ruby turned around and pulled an assortment of scented oils out of a closet and dripped them into the tub. They spread around Anisa and she closed her eyes, feeling the smooth oils against her skin and the warmth spreading through her. The scent was one she didn’t recognize, but she enjoyed it. Ruby let out a laugh, and Anisa looked up at her. She was smiling at her, and Anisa raised her eyebrows.

“I bet you’re thinkin’ about how lucky you is, righ’?” she asked, and Anisa bit her lip. Ruby seemed to read her mind.

“Well, yes,” she said, sliding deeper into the tub. “I haven’t been treated this nicely in a long time.” At this, Ruby let out a bitter laugh. Anisa frowned. “What?”

“Oh, nothing, Lady Anisa,” she said, looking around for something. She turned back towards Anisa and held up a cloth. “He’s done this before.” Anisa narrowed her eyes at Ruby as she sat back down in the chair next to the bathtub.

“What does that have to do with anything?” she asked, and Ruby shrugged, grabbing a bar of soap and wetting it, rubbing it all over the wash cloth. “I mean, that’s good, right? He’s just a nice man, saving people like me and letting them live here in the house.” Ruby began to rub the soap over Anisa’s body.

“Jus’ girls, like you,” she said softly, her eyes clouding. “You’re the prettiest he ever brough’ home.” Anisa blushed, closing her eyes again.

“Thank you,” she said softly, and Ruby laughed again sadly.

“You just betta watch yourself, and e’ery action you make ‘round that man. He like a bomb jus’ waitin’ to be explodin’.” Anisa frowned, opening her eyes and looking at Ruby.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, her brow furrowed. Ruby opened her mouth like she was about to tell her something, then closed it. Her eyes showed fear and sorrow, and she smiled again at Anisa.

“Nothin’, Lady Anisa,” she said, motioning for Anisa to turn over on her back. She did, and Ruby rubbed the smooth cloth across her back. “Nothin’. He’s a fine man.” Anisa smiled to herself as Ruby washed the rest of her body. She had finally found someone humane in this new country, and she was being treated well, as well as the other people he had taken from the horrid spot they had been in. She imagined that her brother and the other people lived in a large guesthouse, much like this one, and she smiled to herself. This was seemingly paradise to her.

Ruby began washing her dirty hair with a different type of soap, running it through her wet hair and made it foam up. Then, she rinsed it out in the faucet and put some scented oil in her hair. She then pulled the plug on the tub and rinsed Anisa’s hair out in the faucet once more. She smiled at Anisa as she dumped water on her, washing off all the soap on her body.

“Thanks again,” Anisa said to Ruby, and Ruby turned around to grab a towel for her. She smiled back at Anisa, handing her the towel and helping Anisa out of the tub.

“It’s not a problem, Lady Anisa,” she said, and Anisa tied the towel around her body. “Come wit me, I gotta few dresses tha might interest ya to wear to dinner tonigh’ with the man.” Anisa followed her out of the bathroom and into the warm bedroom. Ruby pulled up a stool by the fireplace and motioned for Anisa to sit on it. She did as she was told and Ruby walked over to the wardrobe that rested next to the four poster bed. She opened it and fingered through the dresses, picking out three and laying them on the bed. “B’fore you pick one ou’, ya gotta get laced up.” Anisa frowned, but stood up in front of the fireplace.

“Laced up?” Anisa asked, and Ruby smiled, taking a top with strings running through it out of the wardrobe.

“You’re skinny ‘nough, I think, but ta fit inta this dress, ya gotta put this on. It migh’ hurt a bit, but you’ll be a’right.” Anisa frowned as Ruby removed her towel and put the corset on. It was sleeveless and wrapped around her entire body. Ruby laced the string through and pulled the bottom tight, tightening around Anisa’s torso. Ruby strung the laces through the holes in the corset, and it hugged her body tighter and tighter. Anisa gasped for breath as she pulled it tighter, and Ruby let out a small laugh.

“Oh my goodness this is tight!” said Anisa, breathing in lightly. Her head began to spin and she took as deep a breath as she could. Ruby smiled, loosening the corset a little.

“It don’ need ta be that tight,” she said, and Anisa breathed in deeply. “All da ladies wear these wit their dresses, and the man want you to wear them too.” Anisa frowned as Ruby pulled the corset tighter, and it tightened around her upper torso, pushing her breasts out. “This is da style now, so ya gotta wear it if ya wanna fit in.” Anisa breathed a sigh of relief as Ruby tied the strings together at the top of the bodice, signaling she was done. “Now, you just gotta put on some stockins’ and do up ya hair and face, then ya can pick out your dress.” Ruby helped her into some thin stockings and brought her into the bathroom.

“Ruby,” she said as Ruby brought a comb through her hair and began to air it out.

“Yes, Lady Anisa,” she said.

“Will… Will Eric like the way I look?” Ruby laughed, pulling her hair back.

“Sweetheart, look in the mirra. You is beautiful, you can’t go thinkin’ he didn’t pick ya for a reason.” Anisa grinned and smiled at Ruby.

“Thanks, Ruby,” she said, and Ruby smiled sadly. “This is the first time in a while I’ve felt pretty.”

“No problem, Lady Anisa,” she said, and Anisa grinned as Ruby began pinning up her hair. “The man be wanting you pretty, so I make you pretty. An’, you was pretty b’fore you came here. I just brought it out.” Ruby bent down next to her and began smearing a powder a bit lighter than her skin over her face. As Anisa looked in the mirror, it made her look less tan and more like one of the women here. Though her skin was much lighter than Ruby’s, she was still obviously not a white woman.

Ruby began to spread a light red lipstick onto her lips, and extended her eyelashes. On her eyelids she brushed a dark brown shadow onto them, making her brown eyes stand out. Ruby then drew Anisa’s hair out of her pin-up and rolled curling rollers into her hair. When they were finished and Anisa’s eyes were drooping, Ruby led Anisa back to the fireplace and sat her down on the stool.

“Now, we jus’ gotta pick out your dress fo’ tonigh’, Lady Anisa,” she said, and Anisa’s head snapped up. Ruby held up three of the most beautiful dresses she had ever seen. “So, ya can pick the green one, the purple one, or the pink. Is’ your choice, Lady Anisa.” Anisa’s smile grew as she looked over the dresses. The green one was covered in lace, the pink one was heavy with ribbons and poofy sleeves. The purple was a light lilac color and looked weightless. Layers of the material spread around and Anisa grinned to herself.

“That one.”