Carla, Thelma, and Lorna did not know what to say upon hearing from Grace that Dimitri raped her.
"Now, why you are all silent? Grace said she was raped by Dimitri!" it was Luisa who tried to break the silence.
"When did this happened?" later Carla asked Grace.
"Just this night!" Grace answered them.
"This night? Where? Why did you not shout for help?" Thelma asked.
"I don't know. He invited me to come to the Van to help him of something, and it happened there!" Grace told the girls with tears in her eyes.
"Then what now? What will we do? If Dimitri did it to you, you have to report to the police!" Lorna said.
"We cannot come to the police!" Grace answered Lorna.
"Why not? People here can do what they like to us! It's all wrong!" Carla asked.
"Because... because he gave me money and I accepted it!" Grace told the girls that she received money from Dimitri.
"What?" Carla, Thelma, and Lorna simultaneously exclaimed.
"And I am very ashamed of myself! I sold my body to him!"
"I cannot follow you. Did Dimitri really rape you or you did it with consent because he gave money to you?" Carla wanted to understand what really happened.
"Grace, you talk war language. You said you was raped, you said you take money from Dimitri! It's not better first you rest, we all rest and tomorrow when we all wake up, we talked about what had happened to you?" Thelma suggested.
"How could I sleep? I wanted to hear what you all think about what happened to me! What will I do?" Grace answered Thelma.
"Yes, how could Grace sleep when she had this problem?" Luisa agreed with what Grace said.
"Okay, then tried to talk straight and clear!" Lorna said.
And Grace told the girls what really happened. She and Dimitri were talking to each other inside the Van. Dimitri asked her about in what part of the Philippines she came from, what was her education, the status of her family and many things.
She told she came out Cotabato from the island of Mindanao, that her family was poor, that she has siblings she wanted to help, that to go abroad, the farmland of her father was used as collateral of money borrowed.
Then suddenly Dimitri hugged her, kiss her in the mouth with words that he will help her with all her money problems. Then it happened, Dimitri did it and after when Dimitri realized she was still a virgin untouched by no man, Dimitri take out a bundle of money and gave it to her, and she accepted it.
"Then it's not a rape!" Thelma said.
"It's a rape!" from Lorna.
When Carla said no words, Luisa asked Carla about her thoughts.
"It's a rape and at the same time, not a rape! You accepted his money! The money was a bribe for you not to complain or to do something against him. Don't be angry but you prostituted yourself to Dimitri!" Carla said what is in her mind.
"That's why I am very ashamed of myself!" Grace cried.
"If you return the money, then it will be purely rape!" Thelma said.
"Yes, and then we can go to the police to report." Lorna agreed to what Thelma said that Grace must return the money so that they can come to the police, to report Dimitri.
"Why return the money, If I am Grace, I will not return the money!" Luisa protested. "May we know how much Dimitri gave to you?"
"I did not count it, it's there inside my handbag!" Grace said.
"If you like, we will count it!" Luisa was very eager. Grace opened her bag and take out the bundle of money.
"US Dollars!" Luisa exclaimed. The wrapped denoted the bundle was ten thousand US dollars.
"Ten thousand US dollars, Grace it's a lot of money! But why he gave you dollars? The money here is Pound, Cyprus Pounds!" Lorna also exclaimed.
"And you advise Grace to return it? No, Grace do not return the money!" Luisa said.
"You all just disturbed Grace thoughts, how could she decide what to do?" Carla said. "Grace you must decide for yourself. Give back to Dimitri the money and go to police, or don't go to the police and kept the money."
"Dimitri said to me that I can send the money to my parents, to pay back all the debts so that my father can have back our farmland."
"The way I looked at Dimitri, you never can tell that he is rich!" Luisa said.
"Also he wanted to pay the syndicate so that I don't have to work anymore." Grace continued.
"And why he will do it?" Thelma asked.
"He wanted to marry me!"
The four girls were shocked. Dimitri wanted to marry Grace?
"And?" Luisa asked Grace. "You will marry him?"
"That's why I am asking you all. If I will marry Dimitri or not?" Grace answered.
The four girls were silent. They did not know what to answer Grace. By themselves, they knew that they cannot decide for Grace, Grace must decide by herself.
"The money that Dimitri gave to me of which he said I can send it to the Philippines to my parents was already a blessing for me. My father can pay back the money he borrowed, and he will have back his farmland. The money was more than enough, my brothers can go to school."
"Of course, ten thousand US dollars is a lot of money. How much is our salary, 300 dollars, if you count it that is already three years working for us!" Luisa said.
"But Dimitri raped her!" Thelma said.
"It happened already! Whatever Grace will decide, she cannot turn back the time. The reality was there, she was raped by Dimitri. Now, she accepted the money of Dimitri, we all can argue but his gesture was clear as day, he is buying Grace!" Carla said.
"What will happen if you do not marry Dimitri, he will take back the money he gave to you?" Lorna asked.
S I L E N C E, no one of the girls answered Lorna.
"I think if you do not marry him, Dimitri will take back that money!" Lorna answered her own question.
"Then, you send it to the Philippines. Dimitri said that you can send that money to the Philippines than send it quickly!" Luisa suggested that the money must be sent to the Philippines immediately.
"Break!" Carla said. "Why are we talking about money? Why seemed concerned about the money? We are talking here about Grace; we must not be concerned about money but about Grace. Grace was fighting between her honour and dignity against material things!"
"Where is honour and dignity if a man raped you? The case of Grace, she was raped, it happened already, was her honour and dignity gone?" Luisa asked.
"What kind of question is that?" Thelma asked Luisa.
"Because, what Carla said was that Grace must preserve her honour and dignity by returning the money to Dimitri. She was raped already, either she takes the money or not, her honour and dignity was already damage!" Luisa explained.
"I did not say or meant that by returning the money, Grace honour and dignity will be preserved! And I also did not say that Grace must return the money. " Carla depended on herself.
"Honour and dignity, I think Grace have to asked herself how she understood it. It's Grace perception how she defined it to her life." Thelma said.
"Well, you knew all, that way back to the Philippines, when you were raped and then worst got pregnant, people saw you a disgraced woman that had lost honour and dignity!" Lorna said.
"Yes, and you only can have your honour back if a man marries you! Only a man can save your honour. " Luisa said.
"If you asked me, all of you must ignore the opinions of other people! People talked, they always talked. About, that if a man marries a disgraced woman, the woman honour would be restored, for me an old fashion belief. At this time, there were many women survived as a single mother!" Carla said.
"Okay." Lorna agreed. "But in the case of Grace, there's only one solution."
"And that is.."
"Keep the money and marry Dimitri!"
"She cannot marry Dimitri!" Luisa exclaimed.
"And why not?" Lorna asked.
"Because Grace hated Dimitri!" Luisa answered Lorna.
The four girls looked at Grace.
"Grace you hated Dimitri! You always said when he makes passes on you that he smells, he's ugly and dirty with his long beard and that he is fat!" Luisa continued describing Dimitri.
"Luisa, the way you talked really you had no bones in your tongue." Carla said. "What if Dimitri heard you?"
Luisa did not answered Carla but only to her mind, she mimicked what Carla said. "tongue really have no bones."
"It's not only my problem." after a while Grace talked. The girls said no words, they were waiting for Grace to tell them about her another problem.
"I am thinking about Carlos!" Grace continued.
"Who is Carlos?" Carla asked.
"My boyfriend in the Philippines. He's waiting for my coming back and I promised we will be married, when I come back after three years!"
"Honour and dignity, Money, Family and Love! Grace you made your problem complicated!" Thelma said. ****to be continued****Remedios Dorio