TRAFFICKED SIX

TRAFFICKED- BLACK BEFORE BLUE

She held on tight. She felt like she was going to die. She wondered why she had survived the death of her sister only to be killed by a white gigantic bird. And that was when Isaac held her hands. 

“It is just some slight turbulence. You will be fine once we get in the air.” Isaac reassured her.

She snatched her hands from beneath his and clutched her knees. The seatbelt did not permit her to curl into the ball that she wanted to curl into. And as she clutched her knees she felt her chest tighten. 

This must be what death feels like.

He rubbed her back as the plane took off till all was quiet and calm.

“I told you you’ll be fine.” Isaac tried to clasp her face with one hand as he unbuckled her seat belt.

She slapped his hands away from her face. He smiled, grabbed her hands by force and kissed it.

“I know you are angry because of what happened earlier. But it was necessary. I did not want you getting any ideas, dear.” Isaac cooed.

“Don’t worry. I got the idea that you wanted to pass along. I do what you want, my mother gets money and goodies. I do not do what you want, you kill her.” Amina could not disguise her sadness, anger, and resignation. 

My destiny is set in stone. 

When she saw the police men and other uniformed men at the airport, she wanted to go to them, run to them and scream out that she was being held against her will. But her legs kept putting one foot in front of the other. Fear told her to take the path of least resistance, the consequence otherwise would be devastating. So she did.

“Yes. And once you are at it, you can throw in being nice. Trust me, dear, you do not want to see the other side of Ike.” After he said so, he threw himself into his seat, trying to relax and get more room for his legs at the same time. He later succumbed to the fact that his legs were not going to get any more room.

Before long Amina’s more than willing eyes were shut close. Sleep had already clawed its way into her hyperactive mind. The last thought that she carried into her sleep was the smile on her mother’s face. 

Amina had seen on Ike’s phone how her mother had carried her new phone like some priced possession to one of their neighbors to read the message that had appeared on it. Her mother had screamed with joy when her neighbors daughter, one of Amina’s classmates and closest friend, informed her that she had received a sum of thousand cedis in her mobile money account. 

“How come I can see her like this?” Amina had asked through tears.

“We put a rat in her phone.” Isaac said.

“A what?!” Amina blew up in rage.

How dare he mock me?

“We know things, Amina. And not only do we know things we do things with what we know. We do some very bad things dear.” Isaac finally said, “So when we get to the airport, don’t listen to that voice that will tell you to talk to the police. Just don’t”

So she didn’t. Instead she is now sleeping tight right by the side of the snake who is threatening her mother’s life. 

She immediately woke with a start. She looked to her left to find Isaac staring at her.

“Wow! You must have some serious trust issues if you can sleep for only 30 minutes when you have not had any sleep all night. But you can trust me, Amina. I don’t bite… hard.” He laughed softly then added, “Eat something will you.” He pointed at a meal that was in front of her.

“I am not hungry.” She yawned and tried to fight of the sleep that was crawling its way back into her system.

“I said eat.” He said with less zest this time.

Amina opened her platter to find rice and stew with some fried chicken. She smelled it first. She hoped rather uselessly that she would smell some poisonous substance but all she could smell was the amazing aroma that caused her stomach to growl in response. It took her five minutes to wipe the bowl clean.

“Good! You will need it.” Isaac said. She wondered what he meant.

Upon disembarking the plane, they were whisked away from the airport by two  men in black suits that looked like bodyguards. They left in a lexus for the mall where Amina was poked and prodded until they were able to tease out every last essence of beauty, as defined by most in today’s society, and maturity from her young face and body.

Isaac bought a red revealing yet classy dress for her, which she was made to wear in the car. Knowing she could not handle heels, he bought her some sandals. Her natural hair was relaxed then braided into corn rolls. When they put a wig atop her hair and brought her a mirror she had a hard time resigning herself to her new look.

Isaac helped her get in the dress.It took a bit of shuffling at the back of the car to get it done. He was finally able to zip her up. After he did, he allowed a finger to lightly brush the hair at her back. She immediately gasped. She had not expected to react so unexpectedly again to her unexpected assault. She had honestly believed that it was all out of her system.

And when his soft lips joined his assault on her back, she moaned treacherously before she was able to tear away from his sexual hold. Turning her back to the door, she looked him squarely in his eyes.

“I love it when your body disobeys your will.” Isaac mocked.

“You…" Isaac snatched her hand and drew her close.

“I put you in those clothes and I can easily take you out of them. And as I can easily do that I can just as easily rip your disrespectful tongue out of your mouth.” He whispered into her ears. “Let this be your last.” He threw her into the door.

Then the car suddenly stopped. Amina started to panic.

“Get out,” Isaac said, “We are here.”

When Amina got out of the car she was stunned by the lights and sheer size of the building that towered over her. 

Moving Places Hotel. She read the name of the hotel in her head.

Before she could get over the size of the hotel she was lead away rather threateningly without them saying a word. She knew that one wrong word from her could lead to devastating consequences, even her imagination could not fathom.

They entered the kitchen through a back entrance. Then they entered directly into a dark room by taking one door on their left. She had no idea where she was going but with one step in front of the other, she ended up hitting her head into something metallic.

One of the guards sidestepped her and unlocked something. When he pushed back the metal, bright lights blinded her, and loud music pulsed through the room, deafening her. They immediately stuck a needle delicately into her neck. 

Before long a feeling of euphoria rushed through her entire being.They threw her into a room surrounded by glass and locked her up. The room was empty except for a queen sized bed and some wardrobe. Ike later came in and he also locked in with her.

He was gentle at first. And at his touch all the nerves in her body fired up. Then he became rougher and rougher with her. That was when she realized that there was a crowd surrounding the glass she was locked in, men and women wearing strange masks.

Amina saw some men shot up their placards. After doing so Amina saw that they stepped forward towards another man who had no mask on. He was in an all white jumpsuit. He collected their placards with the shiny gold and black cards they removed from their pockets. Each of them said some thing to the guy who simply nodded and handed them masks with the different colors of the rainbow. The one to come up last got a white mask.

The guy in the jumpsuit opened the door to the glass enclosure and eight men stepped in. The one with an all white mask approached her first. He threw a slap across her face with such force that it threw her unto the bed.

He jumped on her and tore her clothes open. A cheer exploded from the crowd.

“Cowards! Cowards!!” Amina screamed. That immediately silenced them. Then the man in the white mask started to laugh. 

“Show your faces if you are not just some scared cowards. Hiding behind masks to perpetrate such atrocities! Bloody cowa…” She continued. 

Blow after blow rained down her face till it stopped abruptly. The man behind the white mask took down his mask. Then the others in the glass room followed and so did those in the crowd. Then they all stripped.

Amina screamed. She did not want to imagine it, but the single thought rang loud and clear in her mind.

They are going to rape me.

Two men held her at a time as they plundered her. She screamed till her voice could not express her pain any longer. As the men pushed themselves into any hole they could find or make with her body only one thought rose above the myriad of thoughts that plagued her, and it was the last on her mind right before she blacked out.

I WILL SURVIVE.





FOOTNOTE
1. What a Ghanaian dish of rice and stew might look like.

stolen from http://www.empowerplaygrounds.org/blog/2011/6/4/im-done-im-done-im-done.html ;)