Victim

She got away, eventually. Another child who was old enough now to be sexually exploited by the wealthy men from the north, living the future of the little girl in the shadows who I fell instantly in love with in the barrios of Monterrey. This little girl was from Guatemala, and, like so many children in impoverished countries, she was taken from her home. Just taken. Men came with guns and her mother had no choice. The girl was seven or so. I can’t remember her exact age, and such details don’t matter. The fact that she was taken is enough.

A little boy was taken, too. He wasn’t her brother but was soon to become so. For three years, they clung to each other in fear and in mutual protection. As they were transported across the Guatemala/Mexico border, they became all each other had.

After she got away, she sought the safety of Mexico City. Funny that. People always think Mexico City is so dangerous. Yes, it is, but ironically, it’s the safest place in Mexico. I often joke that if the cartels moved drugs through Mexico City, they would get stuck in a traffic jam. A friend told me that the cartels don’t shit where they eat. The shitting goes on in the countryside. After she got away, she went straight to the safe haven of Mexico City and told her story.

She and the little boy were together for two or three years. She was raped right away. The beginning of the seasoning that, like ‘the doll’ in Cambodia, she would never succumb to. The little boy worked. And he comforted the girl and helped her to clean herself after the daily assaults. They slept together at night until this became a problem. This is the part I remember the most—the beatings and the raping and the locking in dark rooms is not as horrifying as this part that almost happened.

They decided that the girl was more valuable than the boy. She would bring in more money. She was already a sought-after item by the men who came looking for a child to destroy.

They decided that the girl and the boy were too attached. They decided it was dangerous to have any humanity going on, that the girl had an ally in the boy, that they took care of each other, that there was love. Love threatens torture. Love impedes the process of beating down someone’s emotions until they are but a robot made of flesh. Somebody had to go, and somebody had to be disciplined. Somebody had to be physically exterminated, and the other had to be emotionally destroyed to become a fully compliant slave.

They took them to the country. They tied him to a tree. They made her hold the gun. They commanded her to shoot him. Her only friend. Her little brother.

They took them to the country. They tied him to a tree. They made her hold the gun. They commanded her to shoot him. Her only friend. Her little brother.

They took them to the country. They tied him to a tree. They made her hold the gun. They commanded her to shoot him. Her only friend. Her little brother.