The four girls, Carla, Thelma, Lorna, and Luisa could not find any solution to the problem of Grace. They decided then to sleep it over.
The thoughts of Grace were in chaos. One reason contradicts the other that she really does not know what to do.
She thought, she will return the money to Dimitri and go to the police. But can she be sure that the police will help her? And if she returns the money, then the chance of financial gains that could help her parents will be gone! If about honour and dignity, where will it be when he will return the money? The reality was there, she was raped, and worst maybe she could be pregnant. She will marry Dimitri, and if she does, she can have the financial gains and whatever opinions people will have, her honour and dignity would be intact, that is the way or the perception of society especially in the Philippines but how about Carlos? Her boyfriend in the Philippines waiting for her coming back. It's hurt and she started to regret why she had to go abroad, why she had forced her parents one way or another to borrowed money, to finance a dream, a dream that now stumbled and will continue to deteriorate if she made a wrong decision. The reality was also that he hated Dimitri, at least his appearance, but what is appearance if a person really loves you? But if even Dimitri really loved her, how about her, was it honest to marry Dimitri without loving him. She did not love Dimitri; it is a fact! She loved Carlos; it is the fact! But there is also the reality, would Carlos still love her if he knew that she was raped and have the possibility of becoming pregnant? And if Carlos, if he really loved her would not mind that she was raped, but Carlos's love was only for her joy, how about her parents, her siblings? Also the question, maybe, she was selling herself to Dimitri? A whirlwind in Grace's mind.
The girls were preparing to work but Grace did not.
"You will not work?" Carla asked Grace.
"No, I decided already what will I do, I will marry Dimitri!" Grace told the girls about her decision to marry Dimitri.
For a moment, the four girls said nothing, they were surprised.
"Are you sure?" Luisa later said.
"I thought about why I am here abroad. The reason was to help my parents that our family would raise up from poverty. Blessings sometimes came unexpectedly in a rare way, and we called it blessing in disguise. My grandfather once told me, that when chance come to your life you have to grab it because when it has gone it will never comeback. I knew, if I sacrificed myself, it would benefit many people I loved and who knew maybe also me. Carlos will be hurt but maybe we were not destined to each other. Yes, I will marry Dimitri. He is maybe a blessing in disguise, who knew, if not, the life what I expected with him could be a hell, then I will consider it my destiny! Yes, I am very sure! I will marry Dimitri!"
The four girls looked at each other. Right or wrong, Grace decided, and they must respect it.
"Grace, I wish you good luck then. Maybe you are right, what happened, what Dimitri had done to you was a harsh blessing in disguise, but nobody knew about the future! I will pray for your happiness in the future!" Carla said.
"And when will be the wedding?" Luisa asked.
Dimitri was happy to learn that Grace decided to be married with him. Dimitri paid the syndicate, he bought the contract of Grace, so Grace need not to work anymore. And because she is not working anymore, Grace decided to stay with Dimitri in his house. Dimitri was living together with her mother who was a widow. The old woman was happy about Grace and especially for her son who was already a middle-aged man that never was married before.
The house of Dimitri was built on a hill, between a vineyard and an orange plantation, all owned by Dimitri. The property of Dimitri as seen, could described him and her mother having a well-to-do existence, not surprising that Dimitri could gave an amount to Grace and could paid the syndicate buying Grace's contract.
The four girls were invited one Sunday for a lunch. The four girls were aghast upon seeing Dimitri's property.
"Dimitri, you are rich!" Luisa said to Dimitri. "I like it here!"
"I am not rich!" laughing Dimitri answered Luisa.
"Very beautiful place, so many grapes and oranges." Lorna also voiced her admiration of the place.
"The grapes are almost ripe, so you girls if you like can harvest self some to take to your apartment." Dimitri said that really enjoyed the company of the Filipinas.
"Really? I will do it, I am excited!" Thelma and Carla said it almost simultaneously together.
The girls really enjoyed harvesting grapes for them to take home to their apartment. For a while they forgot all the problems and worries. For them, the place was like a paradise. Never in their life they saw a vineyard so full of delicious grapes.
The launch was rich. The mother of Dimitri cooked traditional Cypriot foods that include afella, shaftalia and stifado.
The first time in their three months stay in Cyprus that the girls ate a good meal.
While sitting in the terrace of Dimitri's house, Grace let seen to the girls an envelope that contained flight tickets to the Philippines.
"Flight tickets? To the Philippines?" Carla and the other girls could not believe what they saw.
"Yes, about two weeks from now, Dimitri, her mother and me will go to the Philippines. We will get married there!" Grace was excited.
"Holy Ghost!' Luisa exclaimed.
"I am jealous!" Lorna said and so Thelma, indeed the girls were jealous that within three months Grace already will return to the Philippines.
"I am sad, we cannot attend to your wedding!" Carla said.
"We already sent money to my parents, to pay back the debt and for the preparation for the wedding." Grace said.
"You made a good choice Grace. Dimitri and her mother were good people!" Thelma said to Grace.
"He is good to me. He treated me like a queen. I began to like him." Grace answered Thelma.
"It's really a pity we could not come to your wedding, but maybe Luz. She's already in the Philippines." Carla suggested to Grace the possibility of inviting Luz to the wedding.
"I don't know if she's interesting, our place is in Cotabato and she's from Cavite. It's too far but I will send her an invitation, only I don't know her full address!" Grace answered Carla.
"What she's doing now in the Philippines? She did not write a letter to us." Thelma wondered about Luz's life in the Philippines.
"I forgot, there was a letter from the Philippines! It's for Luz!" Lorna exclaimed.
"A letter for Luz? When?"
"A mailman gave it to me the other day, I put it on my bag, and I forgot it." Lorna said.
"A letter for Luz? How come, Luz was already more than two months back to the Philippines?" Carla asked.
"I don't know, I did not open the letter. On the envelope it's a letter for Luz!" Lorna answered.
When the four girls came back to their apartment, Lorna quickly take the letter that she received few days ago. Carla read the stamped when did the letter was from the Philippines and she saw it was about three weeks ago.
"Three weeks ago? How come, Luz was already there?" Thelma asked.
"Who sent the letter?" Luisa asked.
"The sender had the same family name of Luz and the address was Cavite, I think it's from her parents." Carla said.
"Strange!" Thelma exclaimed.
The four girls were looking at to each other. They do not know what to think.
"What will we do with that letter? Why I did not let it be returned to sender!" Lorna regretted why she accepted the letter and did not let it be returned to sender.
"We open the letter and read it!" Luisa said.
"And why we will read it? The letter was for Luz and not for us! Luz is the only one who can open it, other people have no right." Thelma said.
"But Luz was not here anymore. She was more than two months in the Philippines. The letter has the stamp of three weeks ago. Why?" Lorna reasoned out.
"No one here can answer that question! Not me, not Thelma, not Luisa, nor you Lorna!" Carla said.
"Only that letter for Luz can answer! If we open and read it then." Luisa said.
"Yes, may the letter could tell us if Luz was there in the Philippines or not." Lorna said.
"If she was not in the Philippines, where she is then? She went back to the Philippines almost three months ago!" Thelma said.
"Okay, will open the letter, but this must be within us four. Nobody must know that we did opened it because all of you knew that it is not allowed to open a letter that is for another person. Promise, no one of us will tell it?" Carla said to the other girls that only nodded.
And the girls opened the letter. ****to be continued****Remedios Dorio