Carla, Thelma and Lorna didn't knew what to say upon hearing from Grace that Dimitri raped her.
"Now, why you are all silent? Grace said she was raped by Dimitri!" it was Luisa who tried to broke the silence.
"When did this happened?" later on Carla asked Grace.
"Just this night!" Grace answered them.
"This night? Where? Why did you not shout for help?" Thelma asked.
"I don't know. He invited me to come to the Van to help him of something, and it happened there!" Grace told the girls with tears in her eyes.
"Then what now? What will we do? If Dimitri did it to you, you have to report to the police!" Lorna said.
"We cannot come to the police!" Grace answered Lorna.
"Why not? People here can do what they like to us! It's all wrong!" Carla asked.
"Because... because he gave me money and I accepted it!" Grace told the girls that she received money from Dimitri.
"What?" Carla, Thelma and Lorna simultaneously exclaimed.
"And I am very ashamed of myself! I sold my body to him!"
"I cannot follow you. Did Dimitri really raped you or you did it with consent because he gave money to you?" Carla wanted to understand what really happened.
"Grace, you talk war language. You said you was raped, you said you take money from Dimitri! It's not better first you rest, we all rest and tomorrow when we all wake up, we talked about what had happened to you?" Thelma suggested.
"How could I sleep? I wanted to hear what you all think about what happened to me! What will I do?" Grace answered Thelma.
"Yes, how could Grace sleep when she had this problem?" Luisa agreed with what Grace said.
"Okay, then tried to talk straight and clear!" Lorna said.
And Grace told the girls what really happened. She and Dimitri were talking to each other inside the Van. Dimitri asked her about in what part of the Philippines she came from, what was her education, the status of her family and many things.
She told she came out Cotabato from the island of Mindanao, that her family was poor, that she have siblings she wanted to help, that in order to go abroad, the farmland of her father was used as collateral of money borrowed.
Then suddenly Dimitri hugged her, kiss her in the mouth with words that he will help her with all her money problems. Then it happened, Dimitri did it and after when Dimitri realized she was still a virgin untouched by no man, Dimitri take out a bundle of money and gave it to her, and she accepted it.
"Then it's not a rape!" Thelma said.
"It's a rape!" from Lorna.
When Carla said no words, Luisa asked Carla about her thoughts.
"It's a rape and at the same time, not a rape! You accepted his money! The money was a bribe for you not to complain or to do something against him. Don't be angry but you prostituted yourself to Dimitri!" Carla said what's in her mind.
"That's why I am very ashamed of myself!" Grace cried.
"If you return the money, then it will be purely rape!" Thelma said.
"Yes, and then we can go to the police to report." Lorna agreed to what Thelma said that Grace have to return the money so that they can come to the police, to report Dimitri.
"Why return the money, If I am Grace, I will not return the money!" Luisa protested. "May we know how much Dimitri gave to you?"
"I did not counted it, it's there inside my handbag!" Grace said.
YOU ARE READING
One Road, Six Ways
General FictionSix Filipinas not knowing they would became victims of human trafficking were glad that they went abroad as cultural dancers as what promised to them, little they knew the dangers that awaited for them in another countries, first in Cyprus, and lat...
