locked. The door was locked. Night came and Maria hid under the covers again.
On the third day, the man told her she could stop cleaning, but he had other things for her to do. Lots of other things. And she wasn’t going home any time soon because he’d paid two hundred dollars for her to stay.
“Do you know why?” he asked. He smiled again, as if they were playing some exciting guessing game. Maria shook her head no. She didn’t want to know.
“ You’re mine now,” he said. “To cook, to clean, to pleasure me in any way.”
Maria shook and shook. She shook so hard, trying to wipe away this moment from her brain and erase it from being possible. The man was still talking, telling her that if she tried to contact her family, he would kill her or them.
This is not happening. This cannot be real . Maria shook her head faster and faster.
The man explained that he was a brujo and everyone in the town knew it. He promised he could read Maria’s mind and make her worst nightmares come true. Nobody would stop him, either. Even the priests in the temple next door knew he was a witch who practiced black magic, and they were terrified of him.
Then, just to prove his point, the old man tore off all Maria’s clothes. Maria shrieked and tried to grab them back. As she reached for them, he punched Maria in the face, and he kept punching until everything went dark.
When she came to, she was lying on the ground with her clothes next to her. At this point she was painfully aware of two things: One, that she had been raped, and two, that no matter how much she screamed or cried, there was nobody there to help her.
“Sometimes when I think about it and I wonder, it was because of my brown skin? It was because we’re not on the high class? It was because I didn’t speak any English? You know what I mean? How can they assume I was okay?”
~ Maria Suarez
Doing What She’s Told
Whether he was a witch or not, the old man definitely had a hold on Maria. He told her every day how he would kill her family if she tried to escape. He was very convincing, too. He barely moved his face when he spoke, except to give her that same creepy smile.
It was as if the whole town was under his spell. Maria saw people through the curtains, walking in and out of the doctor’s office and the temple. But they all seemed to walk around the old man’s house, being careful not even to touch his lawn with the edge of a shoe. At one point, the old man forced Maria to work in a factory nearby to bring him more money. When Maria tried to hide in the bathroom until everyone left, her boss pulled her out and sent her back to the old man for an even more vicious beating.
Lying on the ground, bruised and weak, Maria started thinking, Either he’s going to kill me or I’m going to die . And dying didn’t sound all that bad anymore.
The old man continued to beat and molest Maria regularly. She was in a constant haze of fear and disbelief. She kept working and doing what she was told because she couldn’t see any alternatives.
The only place Maria didn’t work was in the small guesthouse in the old man’s backyard. He rented it to a young couple, and though Maria never went in she was pretty sure that the old man visited the guesthouse to pursue the wife, too. Maria didn’t know if they’d been lured here by the same woman who had promised Maria a job. She just knew they were all caught in this man’s grip and there was no way out.
One day, Maria heard shrieks coming from the backyard followed by a loud whacking sound. Maria wanted to pretend she couldn’t hear anything, but then she thought of all those neighbors walking by, ignoring her screams, and she knew she couldn’t do the same.
The first thing she saw was blood inching through the grass.
Then she saw a plank of wood, soaked a deep red.
She saw the wife’s mouth open, screaming, and her husband stroking her hair.
Maria saw it all, but her brain could not process any
On the third day, the man told her she could stop cleaning, but he had other things for her to do. Lots of other things. And she wasn’t going home any time soon because he’d paid two hundred dollars for her to stay.
“Do you know why?” he asked. He smiled again, as if they were playing some exciting guessing game. Maria shook her head no. She didn’t want to know.
“ You’re mine now,” he said. “To cook, to clean, to pleasure me in any way.”
Maria shook and shook. She shook so hard, trying to wipe away this moment from her brain and erase it from being possible. The man was still talking, telling her that if she tried to contact her family, he would kill her or them.
This is not happening. This cannot be real . Maria shook her head faster and faster.
The man explained that he was a brujo and everyone in the town knew it. He promised he could read Maria’s mind and make her worst nightmares come true. Nobody would stop him, either. Even the priests in the temple next door knew he was a witch who practiced black magic, and they were terrified of him.
Then, just to prove his point, the old man tore off all Maria’s clothes. Maria shrieked and tried to grab them back. As she reached for them, he punched Maria in the face, and he kept punching until everything went dark.
When she came to, she was lying on the ground with her clothes next to her. At this point she was painfully aware of two things: One, that she had been raped, and two, that no matter how much she screamed or cried, there was nobody there to help her.
“Sometimes when I think about it and I wonder, it was because of my brown skin? It was because we’re not on the high class? It was because I didn’t speak any English? You know what I mean? How can they assume I was okay?”
~ Maria Suarez
Doing What She’s Told
Whether he was a witch or not, the old man definitely had a hold on Maria. He told her every day how he would kill her family if she tried to escape. He was very convincing, too. He barely moved his face when he spoke, except to give her that same creepy smile.
It was as if the whole town was under his spell. Maria saw people through the curtains, walking in and out of the doctor’s office and the temple. But they all seemed to walk around the old man’s house, being careful not even to touch his lawn with the edge of a shoe. At one point, the old man forced Maria to work in a factory nearby to bring him more money. When Maria tried to hide in the bathroom until everyone left, her boss pulled her out and sent her back to the old man for an even more vicious beating.
Lying on the ground, bruised and weak, Maria started thinking, Either he’s going to kill me or I’m going to die . And dying didn’t sound all that bad anymore.
The old man continued to beat and molest Maria regularly. She was in a constant haze of fear and disbelief. She kept working and doing what she was told because she couldn’t see any alternatives.
The only place Maria didn’t work was in the small guesthouse in the old man’s backyard. He rented it to a young couple, and though Maria never went in she was pretty sure that the old man visited the guesthouse to pursue the wife, too. Maria didn’t know if they’d been lured here by the same woman who had promised Maria a job. She just knew they were all caught in this man’s grip and there was no way out.
One day, Maria heard shrieks coming from the backyard followed by a loud whacking sound. Maria wanted to pretend she couldn’t hear anything, but then she thought of all those neighbors walking by, ignoring her screams, and she knew she couldn’t do the same.
The first thing she saw was blood inching through the grass.
Then she saw a plank of wood, soaked a deep red.
She saw the wife’s mouth open, screaming, and her husband stroking her hair.
Maria saw it all, but her brain could not process any
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