Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
October 1999.
It was April or May, I think. I could tell from how the sun shined in from the tiny window and how birds were singing. It seemed like the littlest things in life that we take for granted, are in fact the things we soon to regret in life. “Wake up, Chile.” A voice appeared before the shadowy figure made his voice present. He began poking me with a sparking taser, invoking pain and screams from my lips.
“C’mon move presto. You got clients to see you.” His hands were underneath my waist, shoveling me forward into a semi dim-lit room. My eyes stared at all of them, businessmen from all walks of life and my nose had taken in the sweet tobacco blowing from their pipes. It didn’t make any sense to me that every man in the room wanted one thing: Me.
“Chile, turn around and let ‘em stare.” Salim, a native from Catacumba of Eastern Indian descent and the caretaker of every girl downstairs. However, “fucking” with them were his forte. As I spun around slowly in a clockwise position, at least two of them had already loosened their ties as well their pants, waiting to pounce on the innocent piece of ass standing in their faces.
“Es tiempo de bailar.” He stood me in the middle of the crowd and instructed me to move like the women back in his country. I took a big gulp of air, praying that I had practiced this dance long enough in order to get this right.
As the mezzo-fast beat played, I closed my eyes and blocked out every distraction, even the thought of my mother crying, watching me get inside of the truck. Her voice spoke “Nena, Tenga éxito en America.”
My eyes opened while my hips moved to the music and watching every man in the room reach out to touch as their hands threw out hundreds of dollars. I looked over at Salim and a smile appeared across his face, a sudden relief of no gruel tonight.
Meanwhile a woman dressed in black, with a big black hat and sunglasses stared at me, nodding her head. I wondered who was she and how did she become so glamorous. Was she a “working” like the rest of us?”
I don’t know, but all I can recollect is that she and Salim were talking when she pointed at me. It had seemed like they had gotten into an argument until he looked at me and stared for ten seconds. “Chile, stop dancing and go in the red room.” I stopped dancing and began walking towards the “Red Room”, hearing the men’s groaning and had become agitated.The black-dressed woman followed me inside, where she stood me against the wall.
“Morena, eh? “ She grinned as she puffed into the long cigarette. I stared as she touched my hair and turned towards Salim, winking at him. “She is a virgin. Keep her that way or you will be out of business.” I had a strange suspicion that she had been to this America and learned English. She was so beautiful with her diamond-encrusted pearls.
“Salim, does she understand me?” He looked at me, shaking his head in the process. “Not really. She knows basic things, but Spanish and Portuguese are her natives.” Then, both of them stared at me and a smile appeared across their faces. “Venga aquí Mamacita.”
I nodded, walking towards them, wondering what going to happen. “From this today forward, the world is yours, Chile.” She placed her pearls around my neck and began playing in my long dirty curls as the makeup was planted on my face.