“They stood in the courtyards behind the buildings, pushing stones over the ribs of their washboards and sighing over the men they’d lost. Elbow to elbow they put their wash on the lines that stretched like cat’s cradles over that dark, narrow space.”
“In the centre of the room was the new attraction Mr. Dink had brought us to see, a life-size figure of a naked woman lying on a bed of pink satin. The top half of her body was whole and beautiful, her eyes open just a glimmer, seeming to beg anyone who came near to take her home. Below her belly she’d been opened up to reveal her wormy insides and the mysteries of the female anatomy.”
“Little girl, little girl, don’t lie to me…tell me where did you sleep last night?”
“It was amazing to see how well she got around, lifting the heavy skirts of her doctor’s dress with ease, and using abandoned crates and boxes as steps to get over the edge of one roof to another.”
“A corset brings the body into a desirable shape, taking a girl’s breath away, causing her to dream of whirling around a dance floor or riding a galloping horse - her only chances to fly.”
“Little oysters are the sweetest and in every way better,” she replied.
hard times come again no more
It was my father who gave me my name. Mama said it came to him at a place called Pear Tree Corner - “whispered by a tree so old it knew all the secrets of New York.”
prologue
“I am Moth…”
| Moth: | Where's my papa? |
|---|---|
| Mama: | Wouldn't I like to know? |
| Moth: | Why isn't he here? |
| Mama: | Maybe you should go talk to the tree... |
| Moth: | What if I get lost? |
| Mama: | Well if you do, be sure not to cry about it. There's wild hogs that run through the city at night and they'd like nothing better than to eat a scared little girl like you. |
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