Luisa knocked at the door of Karel's room and waited but no answer. She knocked again but no response so she thought Karel was not home, but when she walked away to return to the kitchen, the door of Karel's room opened.
"Luisa?" Karel was awakened from his depth sleep. "Your home."
"Yes!" short answer from Luisa.
"You wake me up, why?" Karel asked.
"Ah, go back to sleep, I want to talk to you but I do it later." Luisa said and went back to the kitchen and continue what she was doing. But then Karel came out from his room covered himself with robe and followed Luisa to the kitchen.
"May I ask where was you?" Karel asked Luisa.
"Looking foods for myself because I had none even a single centavo. You see that two black sacks, that are empty bottles." Luisa answered Karel. Karel looked at the two plastic bags and he saw indeed empty bottles.
"What will you do with that empty bottles? Where did it came from?" Karel asked.
"Garbage of other people. I can bring it back to the supermarket for the deposits so that I will have money to buy foods! I never had expected to collect empty bottles for food here in the Netherlands. Is that not painful? You know, my father died on the streets collecting empty plastic bottles in order for him to provide food for us." Luisa emphasized her sentence word for word. Karel kept quiet, he did not replied Luisa.
S I L E N C E
"How could you do it, taking all my money and my bank card?" Luisa said it firmly to Karel.
"Luisa, I am sorry, I apologize!" after a long pause, Karel answered Luisa.
"For almost two days I had not eaten but only coffee and water. What will happen to me now? I will give birth and I have no money?" Luisa was angry.
"Luisa, I am sorry, I had demeaned myself and violated your trust. Yes, I'd taken your money and also your money in the bank, I lost it all in gambling!" Karel accepted to Luisa that it was him indeed that taken her money.
Luisa don't know what to say. Karel lost to gambling all of her money, the money that Thelma had given to her and also the money that was left from the loan she had from Kees.
"I am sure you also had lost your twenty thousand guilders and it was not enough, you stole my money and lost it too. We have a deal, we have an appointment!" Luisa let Karel remembered about their deal.
"I know, Luisa, that's why I'd promised myself not to gamble anymore. I will better myself. I will change my lifestyle, I will stop all my vices!" Karel said to Luisa all the things he intended to do.
"What you did or will do, I don't mind. We don't have to mind each other, remember? Now, how will you return my money. I needed it."
"I still had my work and I will have a salary every month. You will made no costs anymore, even your food will be my responsibility, and I give you pocket money all the rest of the seven years until you will have your paper, I mean your citizenship." Karel was promising that he will support Luisa within the time of seven years of their contract.
Luisa kept quiet, she said no more words. She could jump up high it would not changed what Karel had done. He promised to support her until the end of the contract but could Karel fulfilled it? Ah, tomorrow will be another day, tomorrow will take care. At the moment, she could do nothing but believed Karel.
"The foods in the refrigerator are also for you." Karel said.
"Thank you!" Luisa answered Karel then suddenly she hold her tummy. She felt a sudden pain.
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...
