Slave Of Destiny (20 page)

The three of them return
to the hospital the next day, but they weren’t allowed to see her all at once.
First her mother went in to visit her daughter, then her father and finally
Michael was allowed to see his wife. He thanked Sally’s parents for everything,
before they left the hospital.

“Juni and Boy will
come later with their sisters” Honesto mentioned as he walked away.

Michael made his
way slowly to the hospital ward. There were seven other women in the eight bed
ward, but he knew which bed she was in.

“Hello darling” he
whispered as he bent over to kiss her on the cheek.

“Hi” she mumbled;
her lips too swollen to say too much.

“Don’t talk. I’ll
just sit beside you for a while” he said.

Michael sat down
and held her hand, but she pulled it out of his grasp. She was frightened that
he wouldn’t want her any more.

“I’m sorry” she
whispered.

“It’s not your
fault all this has happened. It’s more my fault” Michael said.

“No” she replied.

“Hush. We’ll talk
about this another time. I love you darling” he whispered as he kissed her
cheek again.

Tears ran down her
cheeks as she sobbed, so Michael reached for her hand again and this time she
didn’t pull it away. Slowly she fell asleep again, so he stayed beside her.

She woke up two
hours later and saw Michael was dozing in the chair, still holding her hand.
She moved to try and make herself comfortable, but he woke up.

“Here let me help
you” Michael suggested.

He stood up and
rearranged her pillows and tugged up the blankets before he sat down again.

“I’m sorry” she
whispered again.

She took a deep
breath, before continuing. “I fought them. I fought them as hard as I could.”

“I know you did; I
saw the bodies of the dead soldiers” Michael said.

“They were too
strong and there were too many of them” she sobbed and tears ran unchecked down
her face. “They were going to kill me.

“It’s alright;
you’re safe now, love” he whispered.

“They hurt me.
Again and again they hurt me” she cried; unable to stem the flow of tears. “The
women even assisted the men. How could they help the men do those terrible
things to me? They all laughed about what they were doing. I was just a
receptacle to them; something to be used then thrown away.”

Michael stood up
and hugged her as best he could as reality had finally sunk in.

“I hated them, but
I pretended my spirit was broken. I took advantage when they lowered their
guard. How could they hurt me like that?” she asked.

“They were sick
people. Ones that have been banished from society” he suggested.

“I just can’t get
the sounds of their voices out of my head” she said.

“I’ll help you get over
it. We’ll do it together” he said as he kissed her cheek again.

Just then her brothers
and sisters arrived, so Michael said, “I need to use the toilet and get a
drink. I‘ll be back soon.”

The General
Hospital was actually located in San Fernando, so Michael decided to eat in the
first decent place he found.

Michael returned to
her bedside after he ate some lunch and drank a cup of coffee. Sally was
asleep, so he sat down with a book to read. It was probably more like a handbook
or a guide to Angeles City.
The main road into Angeles is McArthur Highway
and the night clubs are near the airbase; some of them were in Fields Avenue
and others were in Perimeter Road. Some clubs were large, well-built
structures, while others were nothing more than wooden shacks. The girls ply
their trade day and night and the bars number more than one hundred. Amongst
the bars other businesses survive; like clothing stores, hairdressers and
restaurants. Most of the larger establishments have a second floor that
contains ten to twenty hotel rooms. Half the population of the Philippines is
under sixteen years of age.
He shut the handbook when he heard Sally move
restlessly in her sleep.

“No, no, please
don’t. Ahh” she mumbled in her sleep.

“It’s ok, I’m here”
Michael whispered in her ear as he hugged her.

She settled down again
as the nightmare abated. Michael knew she would take a while to get over the horrors
she’s been through, but he knew they could work it out.

* * *

Sally was allowed
to leave the hospital three days later, but her mind seemed to be distant and
remote. They left the General Hospital at ten o’clock and slid into the back of
her father’s jeepney. Her sister, Den-den and her younger brother, boy joined
their father to them help go back to their unit. They stopped by her parent’s house
for lunch before continuing on.

“I’ll stay with
you” suggested Den-den when the two of us settled Sally in the bed after
changing her clothes.

“No, I’ll be
alright” Sally said quickly. “Michael’s here to help me.”

“Are you sure?” she
enquired.

“Yes, I will be ok”
she said. “I just want to rest.”

“Well the food is
in the fridge” she said. “All you need to do is heat the rice.”

“Thank you for
everything” Michael said as he escorted her out to the waiting jeepney.

Her father normally
used his jeep to earn money by picking up paying passengers, so he didn’t want
to keep Honesto waiting too long. Michael locked the door and returned to the
bedroom.

“Stay with me,
please” she begged. “Lie down beside me, darling.”

He lay down under
the sheet and cuddled her.

“I’ll stay with you
as long as you want me to, love.” he whispered as he pecked her on the cheek.

Her bruises had
changed from a dark gray to a yellowish brown.

“I want to explain
what happened.” She sobbed.

“You don’t have to
say any more.” he whispered.

“No, I want to; I
have to. I need to. When we arrive at camp, I understood what was going to
happen. The soldiers were speaking Pampangan. They were going to ransom you.
They were going to try and get money – from the government, your family. They
were going to use me then kill me; the bastards. When they knock you down, I
thought you were dead. The men held me and the women, the bitches, cut off my
clothes. The soldiers laughed at what they were going to do, so I resisted.
They punched and slapped me into submission; I thought you were dead. They
entered me violently, roughly. After the second man uses me he joked, as he
dressed, that I liked it and they all agreed. Their rifles were not in their
hands; just holstered or slung on their shoulders. My mind cleared and I saw
their guard was lowered. When the third man fucks me, I steal his pistol and I
shoot him in the stomach. Then I quickly shoot as many as I could, before a
soldier shoots me in my side. I kill him then someone shoots me in the leg so I
shoot him; I think he was Colonel Dacquel. – I’m not sure because it happened
so quickly. The two women run away so I shoot them. I couldn’t walk so I crawl
over to you. I was so weak and I couldn’t stay awake anymore.” She sobbed.

“It’s alright
darling, it’s all over now” Michael whispered as he kissed her full on her
lips.

“Do you still want
me to be your wife?”

“I love you more
than ever; of course I still want you.”

“Thank you. Please
just stay with me.”

Michael cuddled her
until she fell asleep, then he fell asleep.

* * *

Sally tried to
move, but a sharp stab of pain knifed through her making her wince.

“Ah” she cried.

“Are you all
right?” Michael asked groggily.

It was at the crack
of dawn and he had slept all night holding her.

“I’m not sure” she
whispered with tears in her eyes. “What did the doctor say? I can’t remember
what he said.”

Michael knew the
doctor had explained everything to her, but she probably hadn’t really listened
due to the shock she was in.

“You have a bullet
wound in your leg and another one in your side. You’re going to be fine” he
said; not wanting to mention the gang rape.

Michael felt her
shake as the news finally sank in. He knew she was re-living every moment,
because she began to shake violently.

“It’s alright,
Love; I’m here to help you” he whispered as he held her again. “You’re going to
be all right.

A nurse came to
their unit twice a day to check on Sally and change her bandages. Her family
and friends arrived mid-morning every day and some even stayed until night
fall. Their food was always supplied and Sally seemed to recover quickly with
her family around her. She became accustomed to using the crutches, and after a
week she no-longer needed them, but she still refused to face the outside
world.

“We’ll go to the
clubs tonight; you, me and Juni” Henesto said to me. “Corazon will stay with
Sally.”

Michael glanced
shyly at his wife who just nodded her head and said “Go for it. I trust my
father to look after you.”

* * *

They left the
family jeepney at the unit and caught a passing one to Field’s Avenue. The
jeepney we were in was one of hundreds, intricately painted and decorated modes
of transport. Every few yards the vehicle seemed to stop to let off passengers and
collect new ones. The driver pounded his horn every few seconds as the traffic
increased. Because it was a Saturday evening, the street was already packed
with tourists, military personnel and, of course, beautiful girls. The three of
them started at the top of the street and began their leisurely stroll; the
blare of rock music echoed out of each bar they passed and the smell of the
charcoal barbeques added to the excitement. Most Filipinos were speaking
Tagalog, the main dialect of the Philippines. Juni and Honesto chattered between
themselves in Pampangan, but Michael didn’t mind one little bit. It was a muggy
night so the three of them went inside a fairly moderate establishment. The
smell of cigarette smoke, stale beer, sweaty bodies and cheap perfume filled
the air, but they wandered up to three vacant bar stools and ordered three
beers. The black light made the colours on the girls bikinis glow as they
wriggled to the beat of the music. The dance floor was packed with writhing
bodies of American military personnel and bar girls. A pretty girl came up to
Michael and asked “Buy me a drink, Joe? I be your girl if you want.”

“He’s already got a
girl; my sister” Juni piped up quickly; hoping to send the girl off to look for
someone else.

“You cheat with me
tonight and forget about her” she whispered sexily as she wriggled on Michael’s
lap and slung her arm around his neck

“No. She’s my wife”
Michael mentioned, eyeing her slender body and firm breasts.

“She lucky” she
said before she kissed him on the cheek and walked away.

Michael
knew that when you go to one of these places a girl will have a seat with you
and within a few minutes of conversation will ask for a ladies drink. Most of
the ladies drinks usually run from 2-3 dollars. They are either soft drinks or
juice and the girl usually gets half of the price as take home pay.
 
If the girl likes you and you like
her then it is fairly easy to come to an agreement as to how much it will cost
to pay the bar to get her to leave work early for the night. Technically it is
considered prostitution but this is a way for the bar to recoup any loss that
might be incurred as a result of the lady no longer dancing for the customers.
Most Bar Fines run from $10 to $25 dollars a night

The three of them
finished their beers and slipped out to go to another bar. The night air had an
overlying reek of diesel, but the three of them stood quietly for a while observing
the scene. A Filipino came up to Michael and offered “I take you to good bar;
lots of pretty girls; big tits. Won’t cost much.”

“He’s with us”
Honesto piped up.

The man walked away
to offer his services to another foreigner. A rowdy bunch of ten drunken
marines from Olongapo Naval Base passed them; looking for another bar to pass
the time.

“We’ll go to Golden
Nile bar now” he suggested. “Then maybe Mirrors club.”

The three of them
continued to bar hop along Fields Avenue and Perimeter Road; drinking one or
two beers in each one. Michael lost count of the beautiful girls he met, the
number of bars they visited and, by 1am, he was ready to go home. The bars and
their names kept flashing over and over in Michael’s mind; Golden Nile,
Mirrors, Atlantis, Crystal Palace, Roxy’s, Doll House, Blue Nile, Misty’s,
Rhapsody, Illusion’s, Maverick, Paradise, Genesis, Blueberry Hill and Bunny
Ranch bar.

“Did you have a
good time, darling?” asked Sally when we walked inside our flat.

“It was different!”
he said; slurring his words as he kissed her. “But I would rather be home with
you.”

“We go back to
Manila in two days, but we hire a jeepney this time” Honesto said.

“Nooo” Sally cried.

“We have to begin
the paperwork so that you can immigrate to Australia” he said.

“Nooo, I don’t want
to go anywhere” she cried; tears running down her face.

“We have to begin
everything then, because we’re running out of time. You are ok to walk now, so
we go on Tuesday. Let’s go, Corazon” he suggested.

“I’ll see you
tomorrow” Michael said as they walked out the door.

* * *

“Darling, Denden
and Taktak are here to take you to church, so you need to get ready” Michael
mentioned as he woke her up the next morning.

“No, I don’t want
to go anywhere!” she said.

“I’ll come with you
if you like” he offered.

“No, I’ll just stay
here” she whispered.

Michael left her in
bed and walked out to the lounge to talk to her sisters.

“She has to
overcome her fear of going outside. Can you try and persuade her to go with
you? She cannot stay inside for the rest of her life and I’ve already offered
to go to church with her” he pleaded.

The two girls
ventured into the bedroom to talk to their stubborn sister.

Thirty minutes
later the four of them were climbing out of a jeepney to the sounds of the
church bells. Sally was extremely nervous and kept searching the faces of the
hordes of people climbing the steps to the church.

“Let’s go inside”
suggested Den-den.

“No” she whispered
as she frantically searched for any attackers.

Just then an old
lady, stooped with age, came up to her and held her hand. She had the
appearance of an elderly farm worker, which, aside from her dark complexion,
had a flat nose and cleft lips.

“You are safe from
harm and God is with you. I saved you and your husband that day, because you
are both good people. You have your life ahead of you, so go now and pray to
God and he will cleanse your soul” she whispered in her ear, before wandering
away.

“Mariang Sinukuan”
she whispered.

Michael turned
around to look for the old lady, but she already disappeared into the sea of
people surrounding the church.

“What did you say?”
asked Tak-Tak, unsure if she heard the words correctly.

“It’s nothing,
nothing at all. Let’s go inside” she explained, brightening up.

Michael heard Sally
mention the enchanted lady’s name, but the woman that was here today was
elderly. Honesto had explained the legend of Mount Arayat in detail and how
Mariang Sinukuan was difficult to recognize, because of the different disguises
she could transform herself into. Michael didn’t think any more about the
event, because his wife appeared to be back to normal; just part of their
customs and beliefs.

The dark-grey
cloud, which was low on the horizon when they entered the church, was now
overhead. As the four of them walked down the steps a light drizzle of rain
made the girls pop up their umbrellas. They signaled for a jeepney to stop, so
they piled on board. The four of them were going to the dry markets to shop for
the rest of the morning.

“I love you” Sally
said simply as she leaned against him. What a wonderful day.”

It was a warm,
humid and breezeless day, but Sally didn’t seem to notice the stench of rain on
hot bitumen mixed with diesel fumes.

“I love you too,
darling” he admitted.

Michael tried to
analyze the smells filtering through the open jeepney windows. Sweat, urine
were the first two odours that came to mind, mixed with diesel fumes, hot wet
bitumen and cooking food. Abruptly the rain began to fall again; not a slight
drizzle, but a tropical deluge. When they reached the markets, Michael ran for
the nearest shelter, while the women popped their umbrellas and strolled in to
join him. Fascinated, he watched the hive of activity; busy even on a day like
this. He glanced at his Seiko watch and noted the time; 11:10. Plenty of time
before lunch, but his stomach was rumbling due to the lack of a substantial breakfast.
As if Sally had read his mind, she wandered over to the nearest food stall and
bought eight cooked spring rolls.

“Just what I
wanted” he mentioned hungrily as she passed him one to eat.

Suddenly an
attractive woman came up to them, talked to Sally, before kissing her on the
cheek and smiling. She seemed to notice Michael for the first time when she
glanced in his direction. She was quite beautiful and her face appeared to be
blemish free. Her skin tone was slightly darker than Sally and she had on red
lipstick, which enhanced her perfectly trimmed eyebrows and almond shaped eyes.

Her long black hair
was unusually tinted with streaks of auburn. She was conservatively dressed
with expensive clothes, but she did appear to be much older than my wife.

“This is Magdella,
my Godmother” said Sally, introducing us. “Magdella, this is my husband,
Michael.”

“How do you do,
Michael?” she said; her clear voice soft and reassuring.

“Nice to meet you
too” he replied sincerely.

“Magdella Robinson
is married to a Canadian American and she has only just arrived in Angeles
City, this week. Her husband is a geologist and they live in New Guinea, near
Mount Fubilan.” she explained.

Michael remembered
reading about a company recently, which was exploratory drilling in the area.
The
Kennecott Copper Corporation
believed Mount Fubilan was a
copper mountain with a gold cap.

“The two of us are
going out to lunch together tomorrow, so I’m going to leave you alone in the
flat for a few hours, darling” she said.

Michael just nodded
his head to what Sally had just said, but he was absently appraised her
Godmother again. She was slim, about a size 6, but her shapely body belied her
true age. Her dark brown eyes glanced at him again from behind her long, thick
lashes. A blush crept onto her cheeks and her lips curved into the cutest
little embarrassed smile. Her long dark black hair hung loose, long and
straight over her shoulders and down her back. Michael heard her say goodbye to
them before she walked away. His eyes looked at the skirt she was wearing that
went a few inches above her knees. The navy blue skirt was half of a
professional business suit, complemented with a light blue blouse; she was all
class.

They continued
their shopping and then headed over to her parent’s place for lunch. The
afternoon flashed by and soon Sally and Michael were back in their flat. He
began to pack away the vegetables, rice, meat and other foodstuffs, while Sally
placed the clothes she bought in the bedroom. Michael walked into the bedroom after
placing everything away; he wanted to talk to her about the event this morning.
Suddenly Sally stripped herself naked and stood in front of him.

“What the fuck?” he
mumbled under his breath.

Michael felt her
touch on his neck as her hands found the buttons on his shirt; goose bumps
erupted down his arms, because they hadn’t had sex for more than two weeks. She
continued to undress him, without speaking. Every time Michael tried to say
something, she placed a finger against his lips forcing his silence. After her
silent task was completed she moved forward and embraced him. He felt the
fullness of her lips on his. The sensation of her hard nipples against his
chest made his legs weak with anticipation. She seemed to awake from her trance
to find his hand on her bare breast. She massaged her other hard nipple with
her warm hand. Blood continued to rush into her nipples and they ached to be
touched. Her fingers squeezed and tugged it forcibly; urging him to copy her.
Shivers of pleasure ran down her spine and she gasped at the feeling; sensing
the building wetness between her legs. Feelings of desire overcame her suddenly
and she slowly moved her right hand down between her legs. Not all the way
down, but just to the soft downy hair around her groin.

Waves of delight
engulfed her body. Sally could feel the pressure inside her groin building. Her
left hand moved in circles around the one nipple while her right hand moved
lower down in slow rhythmic strokes, until she felt her release overcome her.
She thought, during that moment, that she wanted nothing more than to feel he
husband inside her, feeling his manliness and his body against hers.