Madam Hollywood’s Little Black Book of Sins

The infamous City of Angels, home to nearly four-million sinners who hide behind the facade of saints. A city so bright that the only stars available for weary eyes to witness are on the streets of Hollywood Blvd. Many come from all walks of life, all looking to obtain the American dream only to find those same desires to be polluted with the worries, fears, and self-depreciation manufactured by a city filled with more envy than hospitality. There are only two souls that survive and more or less thrive in this City of dreamers, and that is either a soul that has no ulterior motives to obtain money, power, and glory to fulfill their egos or compensate for their lack of intrinsic self-worth. This is because they are individuals that radiate true positivity wherever they go. This is the soul that can be seen on the beaches in Venice, basking in the warmth of the sun, appreciating and reflecting on all that the Earth continuously and generously gives its inhabitants, whereas, the other soul only seeks to take and gain. This darker soul will not be found in the same generalized image of a typical antagonist with a villainous smile or malevolent gaze; this is an individual who can look like a mother, father, or friend but has no intentions to be there in your time of need. Some say “not all hero’s wear capes” and in this sense, it is important to know that not all villains have horns. This soul, which you will encounter far more of in your travels to the city of angels, is consumed by greed and pride. They seek the satisfactions of fame, wealth, and obscene power to meet their every demand to feel even the slightest available sense of joy, and they will do anything to obtain it. Even if they have to sell a piece of their soul.

One unusually cold evening in the Autumn of Los Angeles, a young woman named Aria went to the rooftop of the skyscraper where she worked to release some of the stresses that come with working in such a busy city by smoking a cigarette and looking out at the lights while taking in the cold breeze. This night was different from her many breaks, she noticed another young woman around the age of thirty already on the roof standing near the edge. She watched vigilantly as she felt that there was something not quite right about this woman and saw her place her luxury bag on the floor, then continued to remove her shoes next. What she saw after will forever be ingrained in her mind… the woman turned around and she saw her face overcome by melancholy with tears dripping from her eyes, then the woman leaned back and fell from the 29th story building. Aria was horrified and felt tremendous guilt for not saying something before the woman proceeded to take her life, however, the sounds of people screaming from down below quickly interrupted her guilt and that’s when her history of theft persuaded her to take the woman’s bag and leave quickly. She rushed down the stairs into a nearby bathroom in the building trying to calm her shaking hands while looking through the woman’s bag. In the bag, she found her phone, wallet, keys, and a little black notebook. She found no cash in the wallet but noticed that her phone had the information to her home address in it and with the keys to a luxury car, so she decided to take an even larger risk and drive to the woman’s home to see if she had any belongings or cash worth taking. She used the phone’s GPS to guide her to the woman’s home and discovered that her name was Leto. As the navigation continued to get closer to Leto’s home she became mesmerized by inordinately large homes surrounding the area in which she found herself called Laurel Canyon.

Driving up to the large gates with the initials “M.H” inscribed on them, she noticed that the home looked practically deserted. It was late at night and there were no lights, people, or cars in sight. She then continued up the dark private driveway through the gates arriving at the home hidden behind the massive California trees, a remnant of what once was. She intended to look for any expensive belongings or cash then exit as soon as possible and she wasted no time getting to the safety box by utilizing her years of experience in committing small crimes to locate it, which she did in a matter of minutes. Surprisingly the safe was left unlocked in Leto’s closet, a sign that she had no more concerns for material things. Aria couldn’t believe her eyes, she found cash piled up, totaling twenty-thousand-dollars. Her worries seemed over and she could now walk away with a sum of cash, however, while looking at the magnificent surroundings she wondered, how could a woman so young and blessed with so much be so unfathomably miserable enough to leave this life? Aria’s curiosity overpowered every other emotion she had felt as she began to peruse through Leto’s home. Leto’s home was filled with all sorts of rare commodities and anyone could easily recognize that she had a distinguished admiration for beauty, art, and lavish items. In her hallways were photos of grand parties and exotic places she had traveled in her short life, but there were no family photos. How did she obtain all of this wealth at such a young age with seemingly no one to help her? Aria wondered. Entirely perplexed, Aria remembered the little black book that she found and disregarded in Leto’s bag and went back to take a look at it. Perhaps it was her diary, she thought. Interestingly enough, the book had no other information in it besides a list filled with the names of celebrities, athletes, and politicians. Along with these names were dates, locations, prices, and names of other girls. Emily, Samantha, Belinda, Jackie, and Lisa were the names of the other girls who were written up next to the names of these famous individuals, almost as if it was a work schedule for who was taking which shifts. Then as she continued to read another phone started to ring in Leto’s safe. Aria refused to answer it, so a voicemail came in from a man saying that his date with the girls went well and that he’s looking to hire them again for a party he’s throwing with his entourage of high-profiled Beverly Hills attorneys. Then at the end of the voicemail, his last words were, “I’ll refer the rest of my firm to you and your girls, Madam Hollywood” and suddenly all of the puzzle pieces started to connect, Leto was a Madam running an illegal escort ring of beautiful girls who are willing to go out with these wealthy men in exchange for thousands of dollars in cash. Aria realized that Leto was an individual who would metaphorically sell her soul to obtain wealth. Yet, material wealth did not grant her happiness nor provide a sense of fulfillment, rather, it took away from those very things till she felt empty enough to become a ghost while living. Leto had a mansion but no home, she had associates but no friends, she had luxury, yet she was still uncomfortable in her own skin. With no one to turn to and no family to belong to, she became consumed by her sadness and did not seek out the help that could have saved her life and allowed her to find the true joy that would fill the emptiness of her heart. In many ways, Aria related to Leto, except Aria knew what the outcome of getting consumed by the life of excess would be after witnessing Leto’s tragic end, yet she still longed for it like a fatal attraction. Instead of running away from the moral trap, she found herself in, she became prey to it and decided that if she could take on the business that Leto left, then she could adopt her role and continue to see her wealth grow. She had the list of clients, the girls, and ways to get in contact with them all through this secret phone that was sitting in her hand. It was in this moment that a piece of Aria’s soul was given to the devil himself, all by taking a step further down the road and committing to her plan.

She believed that if she were to walk away from it all, then she would never stumble upon such wealth or be able to obtain it on her own, so she followed through by taking the cash and that little black book. Life is a paradox that is convoluted by the many obstacles that come when you are willing to reach for the glimmering stars above. The same stars that you wish on with every atom of your existence, hoping to spend what is left of your death sentence called “life” in ways that inspire and motivate you to feel like you have truly lived. For many, life should be lived in excess, quite like a Hollywood film with an unlimited budget. For others, it is about taking the time to feel gratitude for life’s simple pleasures and to enjoy the comfort of family, friends, art, music and literature. Whatever your meaning for existantence may be, are you willing to put a price on your soul for it?