Possession Read Online Free PDF

She was no one's best friend—not even anyone's second, third, or fourth best friend. It didn't matter; it hadn't mattered for a long time.
    Male voices called to her as she was swept past the gambling booths, seducing her with their voices to come and win with the toss of one dime. She smiled at them, shook her head, and was carried on to the next coaxing pitch.
    She stayed a long time in front of the freak show, wondering what it must be like for the creatures who stood on the rickety stage to be stared at. A bearded lady with hair on her chest, but with what seemed to be real breasts. A dwarf with a head bigger than any she'd ever seen, shuffling strangely on two tiny legs. A fat lady, sitting on a chair that looked like a throne. The fat lady had short curly hair and her eyes were almost hidden in a face whose red cheeks melted into her neck and her neck into her breasts, cascading flesh falling away from the polka dot, ruffled baby dress she wore. Her huge legs were planted like barrels beneath the baby dress, fat ankles pouring over little baby shoes with red bows.
    It made Lureen feel suffocated to see the rolls and rolls of 23

    flesh, and she touched her own waist lightly to be sure she could still feel her ribs there. The fat lady lifted a hand slowly and seemed to be beckoning to her with the perfect, star-shaped appendage, the red nails flashing. Lureen turned away and fled into the crowd.

    She heard Elvis singing and she followed the faint thread of his voice, coming finally to a platform at the far end of the carnival grounds.
    "Heartbreak Hotel" played continuously as four women gyrated slowly before a gathering cluster of men. Lureen stopped, entranced, as they danced in a blue spotlight. They looked beautiful, although when she pushed in a little closer, she could see that they had on an awful lot of make-up.

    "What you see here, gentlemen, is only a small sample of what those little ladies will show you inside. Every one of these dancers has been selected for her ... er ... particular dancing ability. This is not a family show; so we don't urge you to bring the little woman in. I'm not exaggerating when I promise you that you will never regret the price of one ticket. We're going to be full up inside; so I suggest you get in line now and get your ticket for the kind of show that you've never seen before."

    Lureen studied the barker. He was slim, and he had brown hair with sideburns like Elvis. She thought he was kind of handsome, and he moved like he was full of energy or electricity. His white shirt was open at the neck and wet with sweat in his armpits. She liked his voice, and she liked the way he winked at the crowd. She thought it must be exciting to work in a carnival.

    The dancing girls all wore satin brassieres and little skirts with gold fringe around the bottom. Their legs were encased in black net stockings with sequins that flashed when the light hit them.

    "Now, Lila is going to give you just a short demonstration of what I'm telling you about, gentlemen. Show 'em what I mean, Lila." The barker smiled at the woman at the end of the line. She was older than the rest, and Lureen saw she had a soft layer of fat that was marked with a red line where the fringed skirt circled her waist. She stepped to the front

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    of the stage and began to move her midsection so that you could see the muscles beneath her skin bunch and ripple up and down. It didn't seem quite right to Lureen to have Elvis singing for a dance like this one, but she did think the woman was pretty talented, even though she never smiled and chewed gum all the while she performed. The men crowding against the platform didn't seem to mind; they weren't watching the dancer's face.
    There was a scratching sound that made Lureen wince as Elvis's voice stopped, and "The Steel Guitar Rag" blared out. Now Lila put her hands behind her head and with elbows akimbo began to thrust her pelvis forward violently to the twanging music. The