saturday evening – dance training all day – i'm all hot and sweaty and i need a shower
but first a beer in the brown jug
i walk round the corner and i stop...
she looks just like me
but she has black hair
she wears a white tutu
just like me
she is a dancer
she is not a little girl
she is a young woman
just like me
she stares at me
she walks into me
she puts one arm around me and uses the other to force my face into hers
a bunch of flowers fresh from the garden
a bowl of mixed pasta at the restaurant on the corner
this is going to be a long kiss...
but no
she pulls back
this is wrong
i put my hand behind her head and pull her face slowly back into mine
the kiss continues
the kiss is important
kiss until the kiss ends
i could have drunk two litres of beer in the time
but the kiss is much more important
we go to her place
we drink wine
we wash one another
the little girl is mine and i am hers
i did not know her before
i know her now
sunday – we go to the tree club
i have not been here before
the little girl is teaching children to dance
for the big contest i suppose
i must help the little girl
i want to
some of the teenagers have sycamore leaf tattoos on their arms
a week later – i'm still helping the little girl teach dancing
she has been taught to teach dancing
she uses more method than i do
we spend every night together
i have decided to call the little girl liggle
i realise that i must help the tree club
not just by dancing
i must root out the nasty and the evil in the tree club
yes, they are there
and don't i know it
there is a reason why the tree club has no dancing master
i killed him two years ago
i saw him with the little children and i broke his neck
day out – we drive in the headman's car to another big town
a big dance competition
later liggle and me will have the stage to ourselves
we do our thing
it's great
it's great with liggle
nothing rehearsed
we just do our thing
everybody bangs their hands together
great
we leave and cross the bridge
it happens
another mugger
he picks me up and holds a knife under my neck
i don't like this
i don't like him
i don't like the nasty and evil
i put my hand up to his hand and crush it
he does not like that
i throw him over the edge into the river
he'll drown quickly
big problem
liggle is upset
i can't help it
i am what i am
she needs lots of tender loving care
and a mug of chocky-coffee perhaps
sissie and me wrap ourselves around her
she needs lots of tender loving care
dancing with liggle is wonderful
being with liggle is wonderful
sissie puts liggle on her lap and moves her lips
this is probably good
i do my exercises and some weightlifting
sissie makes double-sided sandwiches
and puts them in a bag with a bottle of water
double-sided sandwiches
yes
a double-sided sandwich is a sandwich that can be eaten by two people at the same time
liggle and me walk to the top of the high hill
there is a good view all the way round
we sit on a bench and have a good cuddle
first the sardine, the tomato and capers and lastly the banana and cinnamon
the sky goes dark green
a strong wind blows
we are hit with big drops of water
A BIG FLASH OF LIGHT
we are wet through and through
big problem
liggle is upset
i grab her hand and we walk quickly down the hill to home
sissie pulls off our clothes and dries us with a large white towel
monday – liggle must do things in a big house in the middle of town
the tree club headman has arranged a meeting
i sit on his lap
he has a plan to test all the pogs in the tree club
are they pure of heart?
are they fit to be parts of the good?
everybody is happy with his idea
i dance on the table
it's a lot of work
there are hundreds of pogs
it is eleven hours and eleven minutes
there are over a hundred waiting pogs
i sit on the organiser's lap
he organises the dance competitions
he is good man
the first pog comes to the table
she holds a book and does something with her lips
i do not understand this
but i don't have to understand
she is busy with the book
i slip into her mind and carefully rummage through all i can find
after a minute or so i show one of three cards to the organiser
the card with a tick means a person pure of heart
the card with a cross means a person not fit to be a pog
two crosses means i have to kill him
the organiser makes squiggles in his book
after two weeks of testing only two persons were thrown out
one other guy had a disgusting mind
it made me sick
he was a friend of the late dancing master
he was very nasty and very evil
i killed him
last week in december – we're almost ready
we have a program
the standard dances and special routines and the solos
all we have to do is to practise and make perfect
i'm sitting on a bench taking a break
two sad‑men come to me
one holds up a photo of a man and stares at me and moves his lips
i understand slowly
i find things in his mind
question
man
you
kill
i nod my head
another sad-man runs towards them
i recognise him
all three run away
the big day is here
the tree club wins the most prizes
liggle and me win the last prize
the special headmen's prize
we have to dance and dance we do
until we collapse in a heap of liggle and me
sissie is the best
liggle is wonderful
we are sisters in arms