Reuben Young is the 18-year-old protagonist of the story. Reuben hails from Colorado, but studies in a university in Tokyo. He is of average height (5’8), has copper-colored hair and beautiful brown eyes. Though Reuben is Caucasian, he has 1/8 of Japanese blood in him, which gives his face a soft, feminine quality.
Reuben goes away to Nepal after he finds the pollution levels in Delhi unbearable. He gets drunk, dresses as a woman and dances in a bar. A video clip of this is made, and Reuben is subsequently blackmailed by opportunists. He is subsequently deprived of his purse, passport and smartphone. Reuben is thrown into a situation where he is forcibly feminized and coerced to work in a dance bar.
Characters:
Reuben Young/Ruby: the heart stealer: is the 18-year-old protagonist of the story. Reuben hails from Colorado, but studies in a university in Tokyo. He is of average height (5’8), has copper-colored hair and beautiful brown eyes. Though Reuben is Caucasian, he has a bit of Japanese blood in him, which gives his face a soft, feminine quality. Reuben goes away to Nepal after he finds the pollution levels in Delhi unbearable. He gets drunk, dresses as a woman and dances in a bar. A video clip of this is made, and Reuben is subsequently blackmailed by opportunists. He is subsequently deprived of his purse, passport and smartphone. Reuben is thrown into a situation where he is forcibly feminized and coerced to work in a dance bar.
Tika Chhetri: is the 58-year-old manager of the hotel Reuben stays in. Tika is a bald little man with a flat nose. He has spectacles perpetually poised on his nose. Using a video clip to blackmail him, Tika forces Reuben to dress like a woman. He tricks the latter into surrendering his purse, smartphone and passport to him. Tika puts Reuben in a situation, in which the latter is forced to agree to be feminized. Tika coerces Reuben to work in the housekeeping department of the hotel and subsequently in a dance bar.
Vikas Tamang: is the 21-year-old receptionist at the hotel. Vikas is tall, well-built, dusky and has a broad, trusting smile. He is chivalrous and helpful. Vikas becomes a good friend of Reuben’s on the first day of the latter’s stay in Nepal. The two get drunk along with the driver of the cab in which they go site-seeing.
After the incident, Vikas is shifted to another branch of the hotel. He assumes Reuben has returned to Tokyo. Vikas is later shocked to find the truth of his friend’s feminization and subsequently embarks on a quest to find Reuben.
Deepak: is the driver who drives Reuben and Vikas to Nagarkot. He is 38 years old, portly and pot-bellied. After returning from Nagarkot, Deepak takes the boys to a bar in Thamel. He forces a drunken Reuben to dress in women’s clothes and makes a video clip of him dancing provocatively. Deepak (in association with Tika) later threatens to upload the video clip to Youtube unless Reuben does what he and Tika order him to.
Sanchita Lama: is the female receptionist who replaces Vikas Tamang. She is a 23 years old, petite, bespectacled young woman. Sanchita seems bereft of emotions and is an efficient worker. She comes across as an uncurious person and doesn’t show any inquisitiveness regarding Reuben’s gender identity. She is also indifferent to his problems and is only focused on doing her work diligently. Sanchita follows Tika’s orders without questioning them however weird they might seem. She monitors and measure’s Ruby’s breast development at every stage of feminization. Sanchita’s manner is so business-like that Ruby often wonders if the receptionist is a young woman or a robot.
Jyoti: is a plump, cheerful woman who works in the housekeeping department of the hotel. She is a simple soul who keeps herself happy by singing songs and joking around with her colleagues. Jyoti doesn’t understand much English and is, therefore, able to extend only a limited amount of help to Ruby. However, as Ruby’s breasts begin to grow, Jyoti lends Ruby her old bras. She also loosens Ruby’s blouses to accommodate the latter’s growing breasts. Later in the story, Jyoti informs Vikas that Ruby works in a dance bar in Thamel.
Sita: is another colleague of Ruby’s. Sita is a slim and taciturn woman. The simple life she leads touches Ruby.
Nirmala: is yet another colleague of Ruby’s. Nirmala is a middle-aged, maternal woman who leads an uncomplicated life.
Manisha and Pratibha: are Ruby’s colleagues at the dance bar. They are slim and svelte young women in their 20s. Though stylishly dressed, they are simple village girls at heart. Manisha and Prathibha teach Ruby how to dance. They aren’t in the least resentful when Ruby becomes a more popular dancer than them. The girls often offer emotional support to Ruby. They teach her to develop a no-nonsense personality so that men don’t take undue advantage of her.
Sunil Thapa: is the middle-aged, traditionally dressed owner of the dance bar. He is generally an ethical man who treats his employees fairly. Thapa is clear on the fact that his is only a dance bar and not a prostitution den. Sunil Thapa gives Ruby ample time to reimburse him for the jewelry that she has “lost.”
Later, Thapa employs Ruby as a dancer in his bar. She is treated with respect by Thapa until Tika brainwashes him to auction Ruby off in order to raise money for his daughter’s wedding.
Clive Anderson: is an elderly man from Cornwall who runs a charity in Nepal. Clive is tall, pleasantly plump and in his 70s. He “buys” Ruby at the auction, with no intention of setting her free. He pays for her sex reassignment surgery. Clive keeps Ruby a prisoner in his palatial house and prevents her from contacting her friends.
Grace Anderson: is Clive Anderson’s deceased wife whom he has still not ceased to love.
Ram Gurung: is a Kathmandu-based doctor, with a medical degree from the UK. He performs the SRS surgery on Ruby, thereby feminizing her fully.
Dinesh: The security guard who is appointed by Tika to guard the back gate of the hotel to prevent Ruby from escaping. When Ruby tries to sneak away, Tika orders Dinesh to beat her with his baton. Ruby is battered as mercilessly by Dinesh when she tries to explain her plight to a few of the hotel guests.
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