When Love Runs Away

The Verdict

"Knock! Knock! Knock!"

Anna hastily wiped her tears and quickly brushed her hair whilst staring at the mirror. After the previous client that had left, Anna spent her time crying over Harold. She still couldn't believe that the man she loved so much had deserted her after he found out her occupation. Anna opened the door to see Samson standing there, panicked and sweating profusely.

"Samson? What's the matter?" Anna asked him, giving him a handkerchief.

"There are some police officers coming I believe, let me hide in your room and you go to the front counter and --- and convince them to leave somehow."

"Samson, stop being paranoid. No one is coming f--"

The door was being banged on aggressively, scaring Anna and Samson.

"Let me in, let me in. Run to the counter."

Anna vigorously shook her head and gave way so that Samson could hide in her room. She ran to the front counter and rang the bell, signalling to whoever was at the door to come in. Four burly police officers came in the brothel and on fear, Anna gulped.

"Good evening young woman." A police officer said before puffing out smoke from a cigarette.

"G-good evening officer, how may I help you?"

Lucille had just finished with a client and she walked out with him, having a hearty conversation. The police officer stopped the two in their tracks which confused the both of them.

"Which one of you here is the sex worker?" The police officer asked them.

The man pointed at Lucille without thinking twice.

"Ah! The woman, as if I'm surprised. Do you know where Mr DeLouilles is? We have been looking for him for three days and we couldn't find him."

"He's not here again. He had to run some errands in another city."

The police officer raised his eyebrows making Lucille believe that he didn't trust her answer.

"You think I'm lying?" Lucille asked him.

"I never said you were. It's just rather odd that every time I come here, he's nowhere to be seen but when we observe the brothel from afar, he's always there."

Anna and Lucille were both shaken at the response and made eye contact with each other in fear of what the officer could be implying.

"We'll come again in five days. If he's not here, then we are going to have to consider another plan."

The police officers  left the brothel, giving Lucille and Anna the freedom to run back to Anna's bedroom to confront Samson.

"Should I still pay you? Okay ..." The man that was with Lucille shouted out. He left the brothel after Lucille had shooed him away.

Slowly, the women opened the door to see Samson crouched up in a corner of the room, praying to himself.

"Samson, get up. The police aren't here."

"What?"

Samson stood up and walked out of the room to see if Lucille was lying. When it was confirmed she wasn't, he sighed a massive sigh of relief and sat down on a worn out couch. Lucille and Anna sat down on stools opposite Samson and they all just sat there in silence for a few minutes until Lucille spoke up.

"Whatever the reason is for your hiding, you can't just keep hiding forever," Lucille told Samson, "I mean, you are going to run out of spaces to hide and you'll expose yourself to the police officers."