Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Day 171 - Fiona

 Fiona
 Matthew Ryan Fischer

 
Fiona came to Jakarta inside a shipping container. They were all immigrants from around the Pacific Rim, but none of them were legal and none were free. Some would obviously become laborers. There were those that she couldn’t identify, perhaps too poor to get to a new life any other way, but not so poor they were being sold into slavery. Fiona was one of two dozen women; they all knew what they were headed for.
That had been nearly two years ago
Fiona was still unadjusted to this life. She had learned to fake it. Violence was a fast teacher. Terror and fear worked as well. It was lonely and rotten and she lived in an old hotel room with four other women. None were friends, but at the end of a long night, they could all count on the others to share a sad glance and a moment of understanding. Sometimes they partied together. Sometimes separate. When someone came back with a new bruise or something broken, they all shared the pain.
Vik was her driver tonight. He never took advantage of any of the girls. That counted for something. He wouldn’t talk to her, but Fiona could respect him a little. He would watch her in the rearview mirror, sometimes with pity, sometimes a long stare like he was trying to understand something about her. Fiona figured he would open up sooner or later and then perhaps she could use that to her advantage. If was a kind soul, she might be able to find a way out of this life.
Tonight, her normal routine had changed. She and several others had been working out of Club B. But the club had been raided a few weeks ago and business still hadn’t returned. Tonight, she was working at a private party in a high-rise down town. Maybe they’d have alcohol or drugs there and she could blackout fast enough to not remember much of the night.

No comments:

Post a Comment