One of the attics was uninteresting with piles of clothes lying on the floor. I told her that this must have been where the pirates discarded their old clothes, but the other attic would be the source of the treasures and our newly found wealth. ‘We are going to be rich,’ I told her with her cheeky smile.
We tackled the many garbage bags that were piled up on the floor with our ‘cutlass swords’ made from branches of the plum tree in our garden. ‘En guarde,’ I warned her before we engaged in a duel. We jumped around and bounced on the puffed-up bags like pirates jumping off the planks.
‘Booty!’ we yelled with joy. We pierced the sacks with vigour one by one as if they were filled with antique coins, precious stones and gold nuggets.
The garbage bags filled to the brim were like magnets. I discovered old cartoon editions of Old Tintin, Blake and Mortimer, Spirou and Fantasio, Lucky Luke and Gaston, all Belgian cartoons, as well as outmoded clothes, sports goods, magazines, old coins, notes and jewellery. It was paradise for a 13-year-old looking for an escape. I opened one of the boxes while my music was still thumping, forgetting all about what was happening downstairs. I swapped my sport’s hat for a discovery hat Indiana Jones style. I was in heaven, ready to repossess anything I saw and liked to then transport it into my bedroom that was adjacent to one of the attics.
As we moved through the bags, we found lots of boring stuff. I am sure she thought it was a waste of time. Maybe she was right, but then, bonanza! We discovered something fascinating but far from what we expected.
The A4-sized box was stacked with porn magazines. It was obvious our parents’ sex life was sadly over and they had gotten rid of their porn collection like they had given up on any chances of saving their marriage. ‘What the hell is this?’ I gasped when I saw the front cover of the top magazine. I was not sure if we should cease our hunt and put these things back where they came from, but my curiosity claimed victory. We giggled awkwardly. We had just opened Pandora’s box without realising.
There were at least twenty of them and my sister and I frantically laughed until we cried. We needed this sort of stress release and we nearly peed our pants from laughter. Our discovery did not make us rich with wealth but enriched us with a quick and unexpected sex education session.
We wondered how could those giant penises fit into what seemed tiny lady parts? The women had beautiful bodies that looked like carved Greek statues. I had never seen a naked woman before and I felt a mix of embarrassment, intrigue and excitement. My eyes embraced every curve; my heart pounded in my chest and released a tingle I felt through my entire body. I blushed while looking at my sister who was having an intense learning experience. ‘Is this how you make babies?’ she asked, which added to my embarrassment.
