The Woman Behind the Red Curtains

People in the neighborhood were fascinated with the house on the corner, which had been unoccupied for three years. The property, with its strange past and lingering questions, had neighbors speculating as to what really happened to the couple who once lived there.
Rumor had it that Mr. and Mrs. Awa were celebrating their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary on a hot summer night. One hundred guests attended the gala, and one of the invitees was an alluring young woman. Her stunning features captivated most of the men at the party, and Mr. Awa had fallen for the enticement.
She was twenty-three; he was fifty. They started to talk, and before anyone knew it, the two snuck off to the basement and went at it like a heifer and a bull in heated passion. She had such a grip on him that the lovemaking lasted for almost two hours.
He never experienced this type of fulfillment, not even with his wife, who never missed him because she was busy attending to their guests.
Being in a state of erotic bliss, he was ready to leave his spouse and live merrily ever after with the young female. Almost losing track of time, the husband rushed back to his wife and company.
Ten minutes later, the young woman followed like a silkworm coming out of her cocoon. When the party was over, the husband announced to his wife that he no longer loved her, wanted a divorce and was gone the next day.
One week later, his wife vanished. It was a mystery as to where the couple went. Many surmised that the wife might have done away with her husband, or he might have run off with his young lover. Since the couple only lived in the house for five years and kept to themselves, neighbors never got to know them. The duo would never speak to anyone and would spend weekends at Martha’s Vineyard, where most of their friends lived.
The Awas were a strange match in heaven, to say the least. People would refer to them as the creepy crawler twosome, because they would sneak out of their house to avoid running into the neighbors.

The one hundred year old Victorian style single-family house was located in Central Brooklyn, New York, a thriving village made up of professionals, artists, retirees and business owners.
Built in 1901, the 4,090 square feet three-story property had 9 furnished bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2 total full baths, 1 total half bath, and a finished basement. There were carpet, marble, and linoleum floors, a spacious kitchen with a refrigerator and stove, an open dining area, and an airy living room where an imported crystal chandelier hanged.
What made the home even more distinctive were its hardwood floors, decorative stairs, multi-colored walls, patterned ceilings and its steep roofing.
Throughout the house were Victorian and modern furnishings, African and Native-American paintings, and exquisitely handcrafted treasures from every corner of the world.
It was never quite clear who owned the house. The neighbors assumed the couple was the rightful title-holders, but when they disappeared, several people showed an interest in buying the property, but when individuals did a title search, there were too many roadblocks. Therefore, interested parties never proceeded with the purchase.
In 2003, the house was valued at $500K. Three years later, the asking price would probably be close to $700K. Nevertheless, as time went by, folks lost interest in the house and the odd couple, but soon that would all change.
A storm was about to pass through, and if the community was lacking in new chitchat, they were about to be hit with the biggest scandal that would make a soap opera look like child’s play.

It was now 2006, and spring was in full swing. Flowers were blooming, and trees were thriving.
High school seniors were preparing for their final exams, prom night, and graduation. Couples were looking forward to their impending June weddings.
The community was scheduling events for the coming months. There were planned street festivals, concerts and block parties.
People were going about their daily lives. No one noticed that someone had moved into the old Victorian house. What captured their attention were the red curtains in all the windows.
“At last, someone bought the house,” many thought.
Most neighbors were surprised, because they had no idea the house was back on the market. Even the block association was clueless. Yet, everyone was delighted that the property was no longer vacant, which could have been an inducement for squatters.
It was Sunday morning, and people were going about their business or to their houses of worship. Suddenly, a limousine pulled up in front of the Victorian home. A stunning and tall woman, sporting designer sunglasses, stepped out of the limo.
She was carrying a posh black leather handbag and wearing a green silk scarf around her head, a tight-fitting burgundy dress, and red high heel shoes. To say she was not fashionable would have been false. She definitely turned heads.
Because the house was on the main highway, cars were slowing down to steal a look at her. Men were gawking and drooling like roosters watching over the hen house, and women were downright appalled.
Her dress was so short that everyone saw what she had for breakfast, lunch and dinner. If she were a camera, she would have snapped everyone’s picture. The limo driver escorted her to the door and left. She smiled and entered the house.
The women in the community were already showing their distain for her. However, it did not matter, because she was without a doubt in harmony with the male species, so much so, that one of them would end up losing the shirt off his back.
The talk started to travel about the new woman on the block. Many would pass the house and see her behind the red curtains. Neighbors started to wonder what her game was. She had lived in the house for almost three months, and no one saw her leave the premises.
At night, prying eyes would see her nude silhouette behind the shear curtains. The men found her to be a gulp of fresh air, but the women saw her as a conniving harlot on the prowl. Many wondered if she was single or married.
Because she appeared to be in her early twenties, some started to question where she got the money to afford such an expensive home. People never saw her go to work. A few guessed she operated a home-based business, but others thought she was a kept woman.
Since many never really got a good look at her face, they all wanted to know, “What did she really look like? Who was this woman? Where did she come from, and what was her name?”
The answers to those questions would come sooner than later.

While neighbors were whispering about the strange woman behind the red curtains, one of the male members of the block association decided to reach out and welcome her to the neighborhood. His name was Enoff. He was forty years old, never married and moved into the area two years ago.
His house was around the corner from hers. He owned a company that renovated and restored historic homes. The business was grossing over one million dollars a year.
Five years ago, he met a woman on an Internet dating site. Two months later, he asked her to marry him, but on the day of the wedding, she was a no-show. It turned out that she was never legally divorced and decided to reconcile with her then unemployed husband, who won the two million dollar jackpot at a casino in Atlantic City.
For Enoff, it was the ultimate humiliation. He made a promise to get to know a woman first, before jumping the gun and becoming romantically involved.
His father once said, “When you become rich, there will be sharks coming out of the water to get their teeth into your money.”
Enoff was lucky, because on the day of the wedding, his business was losing money. Two years later, the company became profitable, because there was a growing trend in buying and restoring old homes.
Enoff’s father started the home restoration business over forty years ago. When Enoff was three years old, his parents divorced. Twelve years later, his mother remarried and relocated to North Carolina. Enoff decided to come live with his father and learned firsthand how to refurbish and repair period homes.
He studied at a well-known institute and received his Master’s Degree in Urban and Interior Design. After his father died, Enoff took over the company.
A year after he moved into the community, he joined the block association and was responsible for bringing back over twenty-five homes to their original style and was hoping to make the Victorian house his next project.
You could say Enoff was an average looking man. He was communicative, personable and lonely. He had a few female friends, but they came without benefits. His business was very demanding, which left him very little time for dating or developing a serious romantic relationship, but he was still eager to find someone.
Although he frequently attended church, meeting the right woman was a challenge. Most of the females he encountered were calculating or looking to see how much money and material goods they could get from a man.
A few of his male employees would always complain about American women and had chosen to marry women from abroad, because they had strong family values. A man’s looks, age or income was never important. Instead, these women wanted very much to be good wives, homemakers and mothers. The men always came first in their relationships.
This is not to say that Enoff wanted a meek mate, but he certainly did not want a money-hungry dominatrix in his life. He thought, maybe going outside the box could be the answer and considered going in that direction if all else failed.
It was Saturday, and Enoff went to meet with the new owner of the Victorian house. He rang the doorbell, but there was no answer. As he started to leave, the door opened and a voice said, “Hello.” When he turned around, a bee could have stung him, and he would have pleaded with the insect to nip him again. Her smile and beauty were so irresistible that he became aroused.
Breaking out in a cold sweat, he said, “Good afternoon. My name is Enoff. I am a member of the block association and wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood.”
“Thank you, my name is Precious. It is a pleasure to meet you,” said the woman, who invited him into her parlor.
“Enoff, please make yourself at home. Being so busy, I have not had the time to meet my neighbors, but plan to have an open house soon.”
She gave him a tour of the house, which was structurally sound and only needed a few minor repairs. One could say the place was well maintained, but by whom? He could not remember seeing anyone going in or out of the house for two years. It was as though the property took care of itself.
He definitely saw the house as an excuse to see her again and made a bid to work on its interior.
She accepted his offer with delight.
While Precious and Enoff were talking, he heard a French accent in her voice and asked if she was born in France. With crocodile tears streaming down her face, she started to talk about her long and painful journey to America.
“I was born in The Republic of Seychelles in 1980, was abandoned by my parents and grew up in an orphanage. At age eighteen, I left the institution and made my living selling costume jewelry but was barely getting by. One day, a man came to my booth and purchased all of my ornaments. It was love at first sight, and six months later, we were married. My ordeal began soon after my husband of one year started to cheat and then left me for another woman. He was a very wealthy man but was able to hide his assets in an offshore account. I ended up penniless, left everything behind and decided to come to America. Before I got married, I corresponded with an American man whom I met on-line. In his e-mails, he would always invite me to visit him. After getting married and out of respect for my husband, I ceased communicating with my friend. However, all of that changed when my spouse betrayed me. I decided to contact my pal to explain my dilemma. He invited me to come to the United States, sponsored and moved me into a studio apartment. That was three years ago. I then found a lawyer who specialized in divorce and international law. After two years of fighting for what was rightfully mine, my attorney won me a five million dollar divorce settlement; then, I heard about this house, which came with many problems, and had him check into it. Even though there were some snags with the deed, I was able to buy this house. It took almost a year to straighten out the mess. It has been an agonizing journey for me, but it all ended well. My next step is to settle into my new home.”

After listening to her story, one could say this woman deserved a standing ovation for her Oscar winning performance, because Enoff wanted to take her into his arms and make passionate love to her. She hooked and pulled him like a rod drawing in a defenseless fish. To him, she was the Phoenix who rose from the ashes.
This woman was going to be his wife. It was a self-fulfilling forecast, because he was thinking about going abroad to find a mate, but Precious came into his life naturally. He saw similarities between them. They both fell in love too quickly and were victims of deceitfulness. Unfortunately for him, history was about to repeat itself.

For the next several weeks, Enoff was in and out of Precious’s home. He was doing minor repairs in the living room and dining area. There were times when he could not concentrate on his work. When he was alone, she was like a fierce asp and would tease and turn him on by wearing shear dresses or walking around the house topless.
When there were workers with him, she was all business and Miss. Prim and Proper. However, one warm summer evening that all changed.
While he was getting ready to leave, she approached him in the nude, carrying a tray of refreshments. No man with a sound mind would have walked away from that sight. He stood there as if he did not know what to do next. She put the tray down, undressed him and steered him like a pro showing a wet behind the ears man how to get it on.
They ran around the house, slid down the banisters, played hide-and-go-seek, and catch me if you can, ended up in bed and made non-stop love. He could not get enough of her. When he pleaded for more, she accommodated him with her erotic force. In many ways, they balanced each other. She was yin, and he was yang.
She now had him under her control and was ready to put her diabolical plan into action.

During the summer months, Enoff and Precious were having romantic trysts every other night. He could not remember being so happy and knew she was the one.
He had it all worked out. He had finished the repairs in her house and had two more to restore. After completing those projects, he would take some time off from the business, take her on an extended vacation and believed Paris was the ideal place to propose.
One night, while she was sleeping, he measured her finger. The next day, he went to a high-end jeweler and ordered a blue sapphire gem set in a platinum band with four encircled diamonds. The cost was $50,000.00. In one week, the ring would be ready.
After leaving the jeweler, Enoff went straight home. In his mailbox was a delivery notice for a registered letter.
The next day, he went to the post office to pick up the mail, which was from a company located in London. When Enoff got home, he opened the envelope, removed the letter and started to read:
Dear Mr. Enoff:
My name is Len Trick, Barrister for Corporate Fiduciary Ltd. My client was a successful and an accomplished man, who made a large fortune before his sudden death. Since then, I have made several inquiries through your U.S.A. Embassy to locate any of my client’s extended relatives, but this exercise has proven ineffective. After several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to trace his lineage on the Internet and came across your name.
To my greatest astonishment, I discovered that you bear the same surname as my late client who was born in the U.S.A. and immigrated to the UK in 1946. Convinced that my late client is a relative of yours, I decided to contact you with these facts before me.
My late client was an influential and a wealthy businessperson in the oil sector and lived in London for most of his life. He left behind a deposit of fifteen million pounds in his account at a commercial bank in London.
After the death of my client, his bankers contacted me, and as his attorney, I had to find his next of kin to inherit his funds.
The board of directors of his bank adopted a resolution to provide his next of kin the payment of this money within thirty working days or forfeit the funds to the bank as abandoned property. The bankers had planned to invoke the abandoned property decree of 1996 to confiscate the funds after the expiration period given to me.
By virtue of my closeness to the deceased, I am very much aware of my client’s financial standing and the bank account he managed. I feel it would be legally proper to present you as the next of kin of my deceased client, so that you can receive the funds left in his bank account.
Therefore, I seek your consent to present you as the next of kin to the deceased since you bear the same surname and birthplace. As I mentioned, the proceeds of his bank account are worth fifteen million pounds. I shall assemble all the necessary legal documents that will back up the claim.
All we require is your honest cooperation to enable us to see this deal completed. I guarantee that all claims are legitimate and will protect you from any breach of law.
Please respond by e-mail or fax. We appreciate your immediate attention to this matter.
Mr. Len Trick, Barrister
Corporate Fiduciary Ltd.
E-mail: xyz@abc.com
Fax: +00 000 000 0000