Rex was sitting in the olive damask chair

He was reading

I see the King has passed away at last

I thought he was dead

No he died yesterday

His most gracious Majesty King George 111 expired on Saturday evening at 35 minutes past 8 o’clock

Thus ended a course of personal suffering long and affectionately deplored by every Englishman

The disease of the Royal Patient was some years ago pronounced to be incurable as it was in its terrible nature and his escape from the prison-house of his soul is to be celebrated

Christina was crying quietly

She was sitting in a black damask chair

Do not be sad sister

I am not crying for the King

Then why do you weep?

I am weeping for Bonnie Parker

Bonnie Parker?

Yes Bonnie Parker of Bonnie and Clyde fame

But she was a killer

I cried because I saw her dead on the slab surrounded by leering lawmen

She was their prize

Shot to pieces in an ambush

Is that what moved you a simple girl who took the wrong route in life being ripped apart by hundreds of bullets

No that was incredibly sad but the reason I cried was that this photograph shows her on the death slab with her breasts clearly exposed

Why did they do that?

There was no necessity

I would imagine that they exposed her like that to satisfy their masculinity

She was dead meat to them and they recorded themselves next to her exposed breasts to prove what strong men they were

They were cunts

Agreed

All men are cunts

Am I a cunt?

Yes you are a cunt and you are totally aware of that fact

Whether I am a cunt or not do come to the bathroom and I will freshen your face

 

The two damask chairs faced each other

Even our colours are trendy

Olive and black

Yes olive and black

Rex and Christina are so trendy

Just look at the walls

Lines of poetry written in biro

The poetry of the Greek poets

How trendy

 

Rex and Christina were standing in front of the illuminated mirror he was brushing his sisters tears from her face

Do you confess a poverty of spirit when a King dies dear brother?

I do but I have lost so many

How many have you lost?

17

 

Christina was wiping the Greek poems from the main wall to create a rough rectangle

Will this be enough?

You may have to rid some more lines of Xenophon I fear

His sister continued increasing the size of the rectangle

I think we have enough space now

Rex wheeled a projector into the room

What are we to witness this time around?

The films of Lucy Avon

Lucy Avon?

Yes she was a filmmaker who lived many years ago

She is mainly known for the films that she made about Liverpool but at the age of thirty after an unhappy love affair moved to Vietnam where she spent many years

Is she still with us?

Not to my knowledge she appears to have vanished in 1954 at about the time of the Viet Minh victory at Dien Bien Phu

Did you ever meet her?

Yes on many occasions we were lovers

Did she give you the reels of film that we are about to see?

Yes all three

 

Christina arranged the two damask chairs so that they faced the clearing on the wall

I do wish that she would wash her hands before moving us

Yes even soap is harmful to our fabric let alone bleach based agents

 

The ancient projector sprung into life and the opening shots of Lucy Avon’s film were general in nature of the magnificent colonial villas and of a river heavy in flow

Three women dressed in thin white dresses were also shown walking beside the river they were all carrying light parasols

The smallest of the women picked up a stone and threw it into the river

What is the name of the river?

The Mekong

Do you suppose the stone is still there?

It was the last time I looked

Who are the women?

There were sisters

Were they French?

Anglo-French their father was from Paris and their mother from Liverpool

What were their names?

Bea Ethel and Floss

Why were they in Vietnam?

Because their father had lost money when trading at the Bourse and had decided to retire to his rice fields in Vietnam

The three women were shown paddling in the shallows of the great river and playfully splashing each other

For a second a naked women was seen running and diving into the waters much to the sisters amusement

Was there a 4th sister?

No that was Lucy Avon

Then who was filming?

I am not aware of that fact

The film then began to concentrate on the social activities of the local families with various parties and celebrations observed in loving detail

The sisters from Liverpool were shown at the centre of these activities but Lucy Avon did not appear again in her film

Are the sisters still alive?

Yes they all live together in Liverpool

Do you still see them?

Yes quite frequently

Are they very old now?

Not that you would know

They were quite plain sisters

But their manners were exquisite

Was Lucy Avon beautiful?

She shared the same beauty as you

 

In a battered cardboard box behind the damask chairs was a rusty can of film

When are you going to play the other reel of film?

I do not want you to see it

Why?

I have my reasons

Then enlighten me

No

 

The chairs speculated as to the reason why Rex would not show his sister the film

Too many memories do you think?

Maybe they are painful memories

Maybe they are happy memories he does not want to share

I think he is playing games to fuck his sister off

I agree

 

Do tell me

Well as long as you do cry or get angry

I promise

Well it is very simple really the can contains a short pornographic movie shot over 80 years ago

I have watched pornographic movies before you know

It all started with the failed harvests during the1920s the family experienced crop failure for three consecutive years and this left them all but destitute

But why did they not return to Europe?

As I said they were destitute and maybe their pride stopped them

I thought the French were quite wealthy

No that was not the case like everything colonialism was a good idea the natives benefited as well as the colonialists but it soon fucked up

Corruption was rife and soon there was a deep chasm between the have and the have not’s

Continue

It started like a cancer quietly the sisters were considered attractive and soon began to be used by people with money

An invite to a dance maybe a hidden kiss and then it began to become more serious soon they were expected to sleep with the fat and wealthy

In return for financial favours that would keep the family afloat

Were their father and mother aware of what they were doing?

Yes but both parents had vanished into the bottle soon after their problems began

The sisters were forced to fend for themselves

The ultimate goal was a rich husband but these were few and far between  

What happened?

As I said it was like a cancer it crept up upon them silently soon they were not much better than the local whores used and abused behind a curtain of dignity  

They were going nowhere when the Chinese arrived

The Chinese?

Yes during that era a large number of Chinese came to Vietnam sensing an opportunity to make fast money

It did not take long for the sisters to become involved with them

So they became whores for the Chinese as well?

Maybe

But that does not explain the can of film  

The son of a wealthy Chinese farmer purchased their farm and leased it back to them

The annual rent was very small

But there were catches?

Of course

Yes in short he financed films that graphically showed the sisters fucking and sucking and sold copies of the films onwards throughout Vietnam and beyond  

The Orientals loved this the European oppressors no longer holding the upper hand and their wives and daughters being humiliated  

It was sweet revenge

Who made these films?

Lucy Avon

Why did she make these films she was betraying the sisters

She had to live and eat you know and she was generously paid at the time

Christina picked up the can of film

How do you know that the film in the can is pornographic have you watched it?

No

Then how do you know?

I know that the film in the can is a pornographic film featuring the sisters from Liverpool  

You cannot be sure it might just be another film about the French

I am

Why are you so sure?

Became I was the cameraman