A Passion Play in Prague - part 4.
The onlookers had finished taking pictures and videos, and were mostly standing, watching the actress. Even conversations fell silent for a moment, and only when the body of the tortured woman twisted in some particularly obscene way or the pain tore a loud scream from her throat, did the viewers respond with a snort of laughter or exchange comments on the subject. The girls were whispering something in each other's ears and giggling every now and then.
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Only the more devout parishioners listened attentively to the Stations of the Cross service itself, the prayers recited in the background, religious songs or meditations read out over the loudspeakers. Most of the viewers, however, were focused on the physical aspect of the crucifixion, which was thrust under their noses, and not on the nuances of the Messiah's spiritual suffering for the sins of humanity 2000 years ago. Showing them a juicy female body with lush shapes, despite the hopes of the organizers, turned out not to be conducive to spiritual reflection. Well, it wasn't hard to predict after all.
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The minutes passed slowly. For the actress in particular, time dragged on almost terrifyingly. Pain shot through her body with every slightest movement, but even when she tried to remain still, it would disappear for a moment only to explode spontaneously with double the force the next moment. It would have been easier for her to endure a steady, monotonous pain, but it was not steady, but alternately weakened every few seconds and then suddenly exploded with indescribable force, forcing her to arch her entire body in agony and make heart-rending cries of suffering that so amused the unaware audience.
The pain erupted in various places, sometimes in her pierced wrists, sometimes in her feet, in the muscles of her thighs and calves, in her tired knees, in her strained shoulder and elbow joints, in the scalp pierced with spikes, but also in places distant from the wounds: Milenka's stomach ached, her genitals ached as she was raped and her intestines as if she were having a painful period, her head ached, and even all her teeth. She couldn't swallow her saliva because of the tightness in her throat and she hardly could breathe. Her vision was blurry and she was unable to focus on any point. At this stage, hypersensitivity appeared in her entire body.
Weakened by the terrible suffering, she was completely exhausted and almost fainting after only eight or ten minutes of hanging, and it seemed to her that if she had really been sentenced to death on a cross, she would probably die soon. She could not imagine that she would be able to endure this immense torture for much longer, and she was very wrong about that. In reality, if she had been left on the cross, she would have certainly been dying until the next evening or even longer, and the amount of pain that seemed unbearable to her at that moment would have seemed a ridiculous trifle the next day, when it was joined by thirst, hunger, sunburn, muscle cramps, sprains and inflammations of the joints, sepsis and gangrene. She would probably have gone mad with pain, disgrace and despair long before her physical collapse and death.
Fortunately, the performance was to end in just a few minutes.
The service came to an end.
Now came the moment when the spectators had the right to approach the crucified woman and even touch her: the parishioners, who were accustomed to approaching the altar cross in procession during the adoration of the cross services and kissing the feet of the figure of Jesus hanging on it one by one, formed a long queue, approaching Milenka in the same way and kissing her legs just above the blood-stained feet.
The three girls standing in the first row and their friend on the right waited until the end and then decided to take the opportunity to take a few souvenir photos at the foot of the cross to commemorate the unusual event. The friends started with a simple selfie with the totally exhausted actress...
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...but then the unusualness of the situation went to their heads and, increasingly amused, they asked their friend to take a group photo, standing under the cross and affectionately hugging and stroking the thighs of Milenka, who was hanging limply with her legs spread apart, semi-conscious.
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This shameless position of the body amused them greatly: Eva impromptu imitated the crucified woman, taking the same position with her knees apart and her arms raised, tilting her head and assuming a gloomy expression on her face, but although she tried to keep a serious face, it was obvious that she was trying not to burst out laughing like her companions.
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Then they took a similar photo of the guy with the crucified "Messiah",...
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...and then, when it had completely gone to their heads, they came up with a crazy idea and they asked him for another photo. They lined up under the cross again, and as if on command, they pulled up their blouses, revealing their own breasts, standing right under the heavily hanging breasts of the crucified woman, who at that very moment once again tried to lift up her mutilated body and get the air. The surprised young man almost dropped the camera in amazement.
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The merrymaking was interrupted by the "executioners" and paramedics with a stretcher, who at that moment approached the cross to remove the actress and take her to the hospital for a check-up. The group obediently stepped back behind the designated line and from there watched as the workers, having tied the unconscious woman's hips to the pole so that the center of gravity would not shift suddenly when the entire structure was lowered, placed the cross on the ground, first supporting it with the tip of their right arm and then turning it on its back.
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The paramedics rinsed and disinfected the wounds, and when the "executioners" skillfully pulled out the nails, they stopped the bleeding and bandaged the wounds. They also dressed the forehead with plasters and then, having placed the unconscious woman on a stretcher under a blanket, they headed for the ambulance.
Before the ambulance disappeared around the corner, the last spectators went home. Only four friends from the first row remained in the square for a while.
"I wonder what it's like to hang on a cross like that?", said Agatka, Ewa's neighbor, lost in thought. "The thought alone gives me the creeps!"
"Come on, get it out of your head!", Eva scolded her. "You'd have nightmares about it for the rest of your life. If such wounds ever heal without a trace and without harm to your health!"
"No, nails are too much," agreed Agatka, "but..."
"I hope you're not as stupid as that cow they just took away!"
Agatka didn't say anything, but judging by the expression on her face, the thought was still nagging at her.
"And I wonder what it would be like if I tried to lie down on that cross right here and now!" she suddenly exclaimed.
"You won't get your skirt and shirt dirty? The cross was rinsed, but not that thoroughly, and besides, it's still wet," their older friend Anna grimaced doubtfully, searching for something in her bag.
"Well, I'll just lie down without my skirt and shirt," Ewa grinned. "The square is completely empty, and I hope that no one will come out from one of the streets at the moment, and even if they do, they won't have time to come here. It will only take a few seconds," she called out, quickly taking off her clothes and shoes. "Eva, Anna, Vaclav: take as many photos as you can, quickly! You have ten seconds!" she added, lying down on a wooden pole and spreading her arms so that her wrists fell out more or less where the nail holes were. She arched her body and tilted her head back, imitating Milenka.
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Two minutes later the girls said goodbye to one another and went their separate ways: Eva to her aunt for afternoon tea, Anna to her fiancé, and Agatka to her home.
"Can I walk you a bit?" Vaclav asked Agatka. "I'll send you my photos via Bluetooth to your phone right now."
"Oh, great idea!" the girl exclaimed. "I live at Vaclavske Namesti, we can go this way, through the park."
"And why exactly did you take off your panties when you were lying on the cross?" Vaclav asked suddenly, when they had walked about two hundred meters, and Agatka stopped in her tracks, surprised.
"Oh my, really... I just did it instinctively... I only wanted to take off my shoes, skirt and top but somehow in my rush I took everything off... And besides, Milenka was naked too, so I did too... I got carried away. Sorry, sorry, I shouldn't have done that in front of a strange guy. After all, we only know each other from primary school, and not even from the same class. How stupid I feel!"
Vaclav smiled.
"So I can consider myself lucky that you went too far. I've never been so close to a naked girl, who, on top of that, asked me to take her picture!"
"And such a beautiful and brave girl at that," he added after a moment with full conviction.
"Brave...? I hope you didn't found me stupid as a cow like Eva did!"
"Why would it be stupid to boldly admit your desires and face challenges!?" the boy objected hotly. "You were simply wonderful! No woman ever impressed me so much like you!"
Agatka, red-faced, glanced at Vaclav to see if he was joking, but he was completely serious and his face was also flushed.
"So maybe... you could come over for a coffee?", the girl suggested, brushing her hair back. "We could look at the rest of our pictures."
Vaclav took a deep breath.
"Really? And what does your boyfriend think about this? What was his name, Marek?"
"Marek? I haven't been dating him for a year... I don't have a boyfriend at the moment. But I wouldn't mind having a-", she stopped suddenly, blushing even more.
Vaclav gently took her hand.
"Then I accept your invitation," he said with a smile.
"Cool!", Agatka said, squeezing his hand tighter.
"And about the photos, I'd like to ask you," Vaclav began as they continued their journey, "have you heard anything about CruxForums...?"
[The End]
