Chapter 2. The Escape

"You're not learning anything! I told you not to put your legs together!" Ella shouted at Cybele for the third time that afternoon. She was trying to teach the young woman how to sit and look attractive to her customers, but Cybele showed no interest. Not even when Ella beat her violently.

Cybele didn't want to learn, and her pain was beyond anything her mother could inflict on her. She didn't want to leave school. She didn't want to leave Kevin.

After he lent her his notes, they began a real friendship. Within a few days, she was already looking forward to going to school to see and talk to him. She paid no attention to the accusing looks from her friends, who were still waiting for an answer from her. And the day before might not have seemed like much to the average person, but for her, it had devastating significance, because that was when she discovered that she was hopelessly in love with Kevin.

He left the classroom to go to the toilet and dropped his notebook. He saw it, but didn't come back to put it back.

Cybele, from her chair, reached for the notebook on the floor and began to leaf through it. When she opened to the last page, she felt her heart freeze. A few days ago, she had drawn the outline of her hand in his notebook, saying that it would be a reminder of her that he could carry with him. Inside the outline was the date she drew it and her words. She knew at that moment that she was important in his life. She closed her notebook and spent the day trying, unsuccessfully, to concentrate in class.

And now, three months later, she no longer wanted to say goodbye to him.

After Ella told her that in three days she would start seeing clients, Cybele realized that she had to hurry to say goodbye. She went to school and at break time, she decided it was the best time to talk to Kevin. They sat on the green grass enjoying the sun that didn't burn.

"Kevin... You're not going to see me again after today."

"Why are you saying that?"

Cybele took a deep breath.

"You know that Caitlyn loves you and is waiting for you, right?"

Kevin frowned.

"What did she tell you?"

Cybele noticed the concern in his voice.

"She said you're engaged... Or something like that. Your parents are forcing you to get married or..."

"No. Our tribe... They're our traditions."

"So you don't love her?"

Kevin looked seriously at Cybele.

"I do. But not as I should. Not as expected... Why did you say I won't see you again?"

Cybele ducked her head to avoid his eyes.

"I'm leaving."

"You're moving out of town?"

Cybele smiled sadly.

"I'm moving country, but I don't know where I'm going yet."

"Cybele, you're running away from home?"

She looked at Kevin in surprise, amazed at his insight.

"I think you must know my mother and also my motives." Cybele replied, certain that everyone there knew that her mother was a prostitute.

"I don't know what your motives are."

"My mother wants me to... Work in her profession."

Cybele saw Kevin's eyes harden.

"You don't have to run away. You have to report her. This is sexual exploitation. Have you..."

"No. Ella wants to teach me to be obedient and receptive to her clients first."

Kevin stood up and held out his hand to help Cybele do the same.

"Is she going to initiate you tonight?"

"No." Cybele said and accepted the hand he held out, pleased to realize that he was very tall. Just like his fiancée. "She told me it would be in three days."

The two started walking side by side back to the classroom. Kevin seemed absorbed in his thoughts, and Cybele didn't want to disturb him.

Kevin spent the last few lessons in silence.

Cybele went home sad because he didn't wait for her, nor did he say goodbye. She waited for her brothers to go to sleep, then grabbed her bag with the few clothes she had sorted and opened the bedroom window. She could hear her mother moaning, and without much thought, she jumped out and went in search of her freedom.

She had never stopped to think about Ella's words: "My clients have noticed your female body." But traveling from place to place, she understood. The men approached her with obvious desire in their eyes. They wanted to help her, but in exchange for sex. Cybele was on the streets, had no opportunities to work and was starving.

Everything around her made her wonder if it wouldn't have been better to have stayed and followed the destiny her mother had prepared for her.

Cybele found herself having to scavenge for food in the garbage cans of restaurants, and ended up making friends with one of the waiters. He surprised her one day when he came back to see if she had closed the garbage can. He then started sorting out the clean leftovers from the kitchen and bringing them back to her the next day.

That night he sat next to her. He was a black man, old enough to be her father. He had never revealed his name to her.

"Cybele, there's an opening for a waitress at the restaurant and I thought of you. If you're interested, I can talk to the manager about interviewing you..."

Cybele let her eyes sparkle with hope, but that sparkle soon faded.

"Do you think he's going to hire a sixteen-year-old, ragged, filthy woman?"

"No." He said, taking a deep breath. "But I talked about you with my wife. I've been talking to her all this year. She's allowed you to spend some time with us until you can rent a room... You're the same size and then... She's sorted out some clothes for you and you'll be able to shower and change for the interview..."

Cybele felt, for the first time, that tears were streaming uncontrollably down her face.

"Why are you doing this for me? You've known me for almost two years and you've never..."

He seemed to reflect.

"Out of cowardice. I ask you to forgive me for not reaching out to you sooner."

Cybele didn't reply and put down her lunchbox, letting her tears break free, at least that time, because she knew she wouldn't allow that to happen again in her life. The man remained silent, waiting patiently for her to calm down.

"I accept and I promise I won't let you down."

He smiled.

"You couldn't let me down, young lady, because I don't put expectations on other people. Every time I've done that, I've ended up getting hurt."

That night, Cybele slept clean and in a warm bed.

She got the job and worked hard to earn that opportunity, and it wasn't long before her efforts were recognized, and she became manager of that restaurant, which was just one of many across the country and the world. She had never seen the owner of the establishment, but it seemed that he was always watching her every move. He sent her orders.

The man who had put her in that job appeared there from time to time. Cybele rarely saw him or his wife at home either. They were always traveling. She found a room seven months later and rented it. Her encounters with the waiter who had helped her became rarer.

Soon, the restaurant owner started sending Cybele messages instructing her to go back to school, which she did.

When she turned eighteen and had her diploma, she threw it in a drawer and continued her work, which she loved. The owner of the restaurant, still a faceless person, encouraged her to go to college, but she had no interest in any course and liked the security that the restaurant provided. So she decided to ignore her boss's messages.

Unaware that her comfort, and her cocoon, was about to be broken that evening, she decided that she would serve herself to the table of senators who had reserved a seat for a meeting. One of the waitresses was ill and only told her later, when there was no time left, to find a replacement.

She noticed in surprise that the senators were not from that country. They were all brunettes with straight black hair like hers. Only the color of their eyes made them different: hers were gray and theirs were blue, but they remained silent when she introduced herself to them, as if they knew her.

Every time she approached to ask if they needed anything else, the conversation was interrupted and everyone looked at her curiously.

To her dismay, they started drinking the most expensive wine they had, and only left when it was two hours before dawn.

As soon as they left, Cybele went to dismiss the cooks and waiters and stayed last to close up.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she had finished clearing the table that the strange-accented senators had occupied. She put on her coat and went out into the cold night. She always parked in front of the restaurant, but that day, her car had broken down and Cybele had to walk, but she liked it, because it was cold and she didn't live far from there.

Cybele was driving towards the condominium where she lived when she stopped. She saw those senators from the restaurant standing in front of the building where she lived, and knew it couldn't be a coincidence. That place wasn't home to such important and wealthy guests.

She turned around, intending to go back to the restaurant and sleep in her office, when she saw that some more men, who must have been the senators' security guards, and who had the same physical features as them, were standing behind her. She looked back and the senators were approaching with abnormal speed. Cybele was surrounded. She had nowhere to run and was looking at the wall wondering if she could jump over it, when a handkerchief was placed over her nose, preventing her from screaming and causing her to lose consciousness within seconds.

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