Rebel Girl Mclean

It's a short story about a conversation between a man and a woman on a taxi.

      On Monday afternoon, a middle-aged man named Zaire went downtown to buy goldfish for his aquarium. He bought two goldfish from a vendor on King Street, and then he headed for the taxi stand on West Street. When he reached the taxi stand, he saw a large group of people including schoolchildren standing there waiting for Maxfield taxis. At that moment, no taxi was there loading. He thought to himself that he would not get the chance to get on a taxi because the crowd would rush into any taxi that arrived there. Consequently, he decided to walk to a place called Fish Ground near the intersection of Spanish Town Road and Pechon Street to meet any Maxfield taxi that would come in from that direction.

      A few minutes later Zaire arrived at Fish Ground with his goldfish in a transparent plastic bag of water. He had to wait a longer time than he had expected to get a taxi. This made him wonder what was happening to the taxis. He asked a female vendor who was selling yam, okra, cabbage, and green bananas if the Maxfield taxis were running, and she said, “I don’t know, but they should be running.” Zaire felt that the vendor was uneasy with him because of the way she was acting.

      While he was waiting there and becoming impatient, he saw a young woman of African descent whom he had known since she was a child standing nearby. For some reason, he did not want her to see him, so he pretended not to see her. Even though he was trying to conceal himself from her, she saw him, but she did not wave to him. Something was bothering Zaire’s conscience. He glanced at her a few times, and she glanced back at him.

      Two fat women suddenly came to the location to get a Maxfield taxi. They were carrying bags full of food that they bought in the market. The women were so lucky to get the first taxi that was passing. This angered Zaire, and he said to himself, “I’ve been here for a long time waiting on a taxi, and those ugly women just came here and got a taxi before I did.” He began to pace up and down the spot. “I don’t like to go downtown at this time of the day.” He muttered.

    Shortly after that another Maxfield taxi was passing. Zaire stopped the car and got on it. To his surprise, the women whom he knew also got on the same taxi and sat in the back seat beside him. He looked at her and she looked at him, and then she touched him on his thigh and asked, “Do you remember me?” And he replied, “Yes.” Obviously, that did not satisfy her, so she said, “Do you remember Mclean?” Zaire replied, “Yes.” After that she said, “I’m Rebel Girl Mclean.”

      Zaire thought it was strange that she referred to herself as ‘Rebel Girl Mclean.’ He later found out the reason. The woman’s first name was Suzan. Her parents were Christians, and thus she was brought up in Christianity. Zaire was also a member of the same denomination. A conversation developed between Zaire and Suzan before the taxi left downtown. He was trying to avoid this, but unfortunately, it happened.

      The driver of the taxi was a Rastafarian man. When the taxi reached the taxi stand, a schoolgirl got on, and she sat in the back seat with Zaire and Suzan. Another woman was sitting in the front seat of the car. Five people in all were in the taxi. The schoolgirl was overhearing the conversation between Zaire and Suzan, and she said, “Did I say good evening when I got on the car?” Zaire replied, “I don’t recall, but I’m saying good evening to you now.” Suzan did not clearly hear what she said, so she asked, “What did you say?” The schoolgirl repeated what she said, and Suzan said, “Okay, good evening.”

      In the initial part of the conversation between Zaire and Suzan, she mentioned his long hair. She asked him, “Do the Christian brothers and sisters say anything to you about your hair.” And he replied, “No, but I don’t know if they talk about it behind my back.” She said, “Aren’t you going to style your hair with dreadlocks?” He replied, “No, I like to wear loose hair?” She was overly interested in his hair. She asked, “So what does your wife say about it?” He said, “She doesn’t like it, but I don’t see anything wrong with it.” Furthermore, he said, “This is what God gave me. I wouldn’t worship God if I didn’t accept the hair that He gave me?” After that she asked, “Does your wife comb your hair for you?” He replied, “No, I comb it myself.”

      Suzan changed the subject, and Zaire was glad that she did because he felt uncomfortable discussing his hair. She asked, “Do you still attend the meetings?” He replied, “Yes, but I only attend meetings on Zoom. I haven’t been to a face-to-face meeting since the start of Covid-19.” And she said, “Oh, I didn’t know that they were still having meetings on Zoom.” He sensed that she was surprised to hear this, so he responded immediately, “Some congregations still have online meetings.”

      Suzan told Zaire that she left the religious organization five years ago because she had some issues concerning the doctrine. Furthermore, she said that the Christian brothers and sisters were not as loving as they claimed to be. “My mother treats me as an outcast,” she said. “She cursed me and told me that she regretted the day she gave birth to me,” she added. Zaire listened to her attentively, but he said nothing. She went on to explain her feelings. She said, “When I was growing up, I shed many tears because I wasn’t interested in that religion. My parents were forcing me to attend the meetings.” Zaire wondered why she did not tell him what her father said about her decision to leave the organization, but he did not ask her.

      The driver and the other passengers did not get involved in the conversation. Suzan kept speaking. She said, “Now I feel like a new person. I’ve learned many things that I didn’t previously know.” It saddened Name when she said, “I’m participating in worldly activities. I even smoke marijuana every now and again.” That was when Zaire knew why she called herself ‘Rebel Girl Mclean.’ She said that she had found a new spirituality, and that she had her own theory about God. Zaire did not get the feeling that she was seeking sympathy, for she seemed to be happy.

      Zaire stated, “I believe that a much greater being than man exists, but I don’t know what or who it is.” He also said, “I have a problem with people telling him about God.” Rebel Girl Mclean asked, “What do you mean by that?” And he replied, “Whatever they say about God is pure speculation because they don’t know anything about Him.” He made a good observation. “Look at what the people who invented Christianity are doing in the world. They are warmongers and murderers,” he said. “Why should anybody take their religion seriously?” he asked rhetorically. Suzan agreed with everything he said.

      When the taxi reached Maxfield Avenue, Name asked Suzan, “Where do live now?” She replied, “Richmond Park.” And he said, “I live on Rousseau Road.” This surprised her, and she said, “Oh, you’re still living on Rousseau Road.” Zaire asked for a stop about a minute after that. While he was getting off the taxi, he bade Suzan farewell, and she said, “You take care of yourself.” The whole night he just could not stop thinking about the things that Rebel Girl Mclean told him.

 

The End

Author's Note

Enjoy the reading.