The Red Ribbon

There was this guy and he fell in love with a beautiful woman.  On their first date she accented her outfit by wearing a saucy red ribbon around her neck.  Though it was the type of accessory that would earn one a black bar across the eyes in the back pages of Vogue, it came as no surprise to the man, since every time he had seen the woman she had been wearing the very same red ribbon.  It just must be her thing, he thought.  It is strange, but in no way does it detract from her beauty.

The woman wore the red ribbon around her neck on every subsequent date.  If it were not for her dazzling array of fashionable outfits, this crime of repetition may not have been forgivable.  Besides, the man was in love and that kept him somewhat blind to the ribbon.  It certainly did not stop him from asking the woman for her hand in marriage, which she gave joyously.

As the man had feared, the whiteness of the woman's wedding dress was indeed spoiled by that violent brushstroke of bright red that traversed the neck at the throat.  The ribbon had began to eat at the man.  She wore it all through the honeymoon, even during the act of love, which, the guy had to admit, was kind of hot.

When the couple had settled down into their new home the man, who could no longer suppress the urge to ask about the ribbon.  "Is it absolutely necessary to wear it all the time?" the man asked.

"Yes," the woman said, betraying an air of fear in her voice.  "Absolutely necessary."

"But why?"

"You see," said the woman.  "I went to this place called Personal Palette.  They informed me that I was a summer and that colors associated with summer would always be most flattering on me.  It is for that reason that I wear the red ribbon."

"Is there no other way to inject a splash of red into your wardrobe?  How about a shirt?  Or if you must wear something around your neck, how about a kerchief, or a foulard?  Or even a cravat.  I've seen some very nice cravats in the window of the shops downtown and I'm certain you could find one in red."

"Impossible," said the woman.  "It must be a red ribbon and only a red ribbon.  No other sort of neckwear will do."

"Then perhaps you could do me just one courtesy."

"What is that, my love?"

"Allow me to see you without the red ribbon, if only once."

 "No!" shrieked the woman.  "I can't allow you to do that."  Sobbing, she ran to the bedroom, the door of which she shut loudly behind her.  She did not emerge for hours.

That night as the couple lie in their bed, the man could not sleep.  He looked at his sleeping wife, peaceful and beautiful in the moonlight.  The red ribbon, tied in a bow at the back of the neck, beckoned him.  What harm could it do? the man thought.  What if I were to remove the ribbon, just once as she slept, so that I may gaze upon her beauty without it?  I will tie it back on while she sleeps and she will never be the wiser.

Gingerly the man reached over to his wife and took one end of the ribbon between his thumb and forefinger.  With a tug he untied the ribbon and her feet fell off!


Submitted by M. Night Shaymalan