Upon knowing that Luisa has a relationship with two men at the same time, Carla was upset. She scolded Luisa that she put herself in danger, not only herself but all of them.
"I think you are right Carla; she was almost caught one time!" Lorna started to tell what happened the other week.
"Henry was here when Nicolas come!" Lorna continued while Luisa at the same time just laughing.
"You let the men here inside our apartment? When did it happened?" Carla was surprised and could almost not believe that Luisa brought men inside their apartment.
"Last week when you and Thelma went for groceries!" Lorna answered Carla. "She and Henry were... you know what I meant, when Nicolas come."
"And, what happened?"
"She quickly hidden Henry inside the closet! "Lorna continued.
"Henry agreed to be hidden in the closet?" Thelma asked.
"I told him that Nicolas is the owner of the apartment and that he must not be seen!" laughingly Luisa said. Seemed she had enjoyed what had happened.
"You brought men here in our apartment! I do not like it Luisa. You must stop it!" Carla was bit angry. "Do not do it again!"
"Okay, I only cannot say no to Nicolas because he was bringing me a gift. Look my necklace with a pendant. It is 22k pure gold!" Luisa showed to the other girls the necklace she received from Nicolas. "And it is heavy! I think more than 15 grams! Also yesterday I sent money to my parents, 500 pounds! I told Nicolas that my father was sick and needed money for the hospital!"
"Do not be so confident about yourself Luisa. As I said, it is dangerous what you are doing." Carla reminded Luisa again.
"Don't worry. I know already how to play men in my fingers! And besides, two months more to go, we are not here anymore." Luisa assured her group that there's nothing to be worry about.
The girls managed to have the money they need. They did their best, so that their next destination would be Europe. They heard from the other girls, about Filipinas brought to Africa. To Lagos, Nigeria; and to many places they never heard before, Cotonou in Benin; Dakar in Senegal; Monrovia in Liberia; and many more. To them, Europe sounded more stable and alluring than Africa; Kings and Queens against tribes, civilization against the wild jungle.
When the plane that will bring them to Switzerland take off from Lanarca. the girls looked outside the window of the plane, until the sight of the island country fully disappeared. The place, where for only a year a lot of things happened to them and made changed their personalities if not their souls, where they lost their innocence to the bitter reality of life, they hope that they will never to come back again in this country, to fully forgot what had happened. They take everything that had happened as a nightmare, and hope to wake up in Europe and that still they could fulfil their dreams.
Their thoughts were also to Grace and Luz. When they leaved the Philippines they were six and now they were only four. Could they see Grace again? What would be the life of Grace in Cyprus with her man Dimitri? About Luz, if Luz was not really in the Philippines, where was she?
Chapter 4 - The Switzerland Adventure
LOCARNO,SWITZERLAND August 1986
After long hours flight, the plane they boarded in Cyprus landed in Genève, Switzerland. The place looked different compared to Cyprus. Now, the saw many white people.
From Genève, they must board or take a train to Locarno as instructed to them. A Filipina will pick them up at the train station.
They boarded the train and arrived at the train station in Locarno.
They noticed that the language spoken was different from the sound of language they heard in Genève. They were right. In Genève, mostly the people spoke German and in Locarno, the language used was Italian.
For a while waiting for the Filipina that will pick them up, the girls started to worry. They scrutinized good every people in the station.
"I see no Filipina." Luisa said.
"They instructed us to just wait until someone will pick us up. "Carla started also to worry. They were already waiting for almost half an hour.
Six hours, the girls were still sitting by the train station. The Filipina that will pick them up did not showed yet and they were really worried.
"Still nobody!" Lorna said.
"What will we do if nobody will pick us up?" Thelma asked the other girls.
"Maybe something happened!" Luisa said, also in a worried voice.
"Like what?" Lorna asked Luisa.
"The person that will pick us up have an accident on the way and then nobody will come." Luisa answered Lorna.
"Sometimes you had a strange thought, Luisa! Do not wish something bad to others!" Carla said to Luisa. She is the one who always corrected Luisa with so many doings and words that sometimes fitted to nonsense.
"It could happen! I am not wishing bad to nobody." Luisa answered Carla.
"I am asking, what will we do if nobody will pick us up?" Thelma repeated her question.
"Then we have to come back to Cyprus!" Luisa answered Thelma.
"How can you comeback to Cyprus? Our flight ticket was only one way. We don't have money and even if we have the money, do you have a visa to Cyprus?" Carla answered Luisa. Luisa did not answered, she just shrugged her shoulder.
"I am hungry!" Lorna said to change the topic. "We have to eat something!"
"What will we eat? I am hungry too and thirsty!" Thelma agreed.
"Good evening!" someone greeted them, and they saw a woman that looked Asian. "Are you the Filipinas from Cyprus? Kababayan?"
Upon hearing the kababayan word, the four girls know, they were safe. The person that will pick them up arrived.
"Thanks GOD, our eyes were already white before you came!" another idiom from Luisa and Carla sternly looked at her as to say, 'shut up your mouth'.
"Sorry, something happened that is why I am late. I am Paula!" and the woman introduced herself as Paula, and she shook hands with them.
"We are hungry, where can we buy foods?" Carla asked Paula.
"First I will bring you all to your apartment, and then I will take care for food. Tomorrow, I will show where you can buy groceries and the place where you have to perform!"
Paula drove her own car. She was a residence of Locarno, married to a Switzer with an Italian descent. Paula has two children, and she was just helping her husband with their business, Impresario Asiatico. Their business specialized in promoting and contracting Asians performers from Asia.
The apartment suited best to the taste of the four girls. They liked it very much. It has two bedrooms, a big living room and a big modern kitchen with all the gadgets of time.
"Our apartment is okay!" Luisa was very delighted.
"It's very okay! But how much we have to pay monthly?" Carla was worried that the beautiful apartment will costs them what amount of money.
The next day, they learned from Paula that the furnished apartment was for free. Their salaries were according to their contract, three hundred dollars per month and from the company Impresario Asiatico they will receive an extra of 100 Swiss Franc for their foods.
"No men allowed in the apartment! Take good care the things inside the apartment because if something will be damaged you have to pay, and I warned you it's not cheap!" Paula told to the girls the rules as imposed by the company. "Your visa is for one year and your contract to our company is also for one year. After that you really must come out Switzerland. I hope you are really dancers!"
"We are cultural dancers!" Carla said, she was the one who answered Paula.
"But in Cyprus we have to do more than dancing!" Luisa said.
"I do not want to know about what happened and what you all did in Cyprus, so you must not tell me!" Paula answered Luisa.
"We could not understand it. Our agent is in the Philippines. In Cyprus, the Greeks were the one handling and here you are the one who will manage us! You are just one group?" words from Thelma.
"No, we or our company is not connected to any group. We have a direct contract from your agent in the Philippines." Paula answered Thelma.
They girls for a while were silent. They realized, they already had a fast contract to come to Switzerland, but why in Cyprus the people there let them believe they cannot come to Europe if they will not pay? They were swindled of their money which they have earned hard, money that included the value of their honour and dignity. ****to be continued****Remedios Dorio