Chapter 64: Hamstrung
The wind from the sea made the ship sway from side to side as the deep waves made it rumble.
Cough! Cough!
It was Joya; she coughed out more water before her breath finally steadied. She slowly opened her eyes to small lights from between the wood of the ship. penetrated through, but everywhere was still dark.
She shut her eyes again and then fell unconscious. Some hours later she regained consciousness, her blurry vision becoming more lucid as she fluttered her eyes open.
For a while she remained still. She could hear the rushing wind from the sea and inconspicuous voices. She tilted her head and saw that she was in the bottom deck of the ship. She was wearing dry clothes, which looked like rags.
When she closed her eyes, she remembered she had walked into the sea as if pulled by a force. She wanted to end her life; who saved her?
She would have drowned herself to death, but here she was still breathing. Steadily she sat up, then looked around; there was foodstuff everywhere. She must be in the food storage deck. Only a small place by the lower window was spacious; that was where she was laid.
She waited for a while to see if anyone would come by, maybe to check up on her, but no one came.
Looking around, Joya found a stick. She dragged herself up, then took the stick, which was the broken part of a mop. She used the stick to hit the ceiling of the deck incessantly; after a while, she heard voices.
Then heavy footsteps came rushing, the ceiling of the lower deck opened, and the dust from the wood filled the air.
"Captain, she is awake!
The man who had opened the deck said before closing the deck. Joya was simply stunned; she waited for a while, but the door didn't open. Soon the light reflecting through the window became dim; Joya could tell it was evening.
She waited for hours before finally hearing the creak of the ceiling door opening.
The man threw something, and it landed on the floor of the desk. It was food wrapped with broad leaves.
"Eat and stay alive! The man simply said then and closed the ceiling door. Joya looked weak; there were eyebags under her eyes and dark circles. Her skin was pale as if blood was drained from it, and her hair was disheveled and moldy.
She crawled up to where the food was, and she unwrapped the leaf…it was rice with some fish sauce. She smelled the food first, then using her hand, she packed a portion of the food and placed it in her mouth before chewing on it gradually.
She even scraped the crumbs from the wooden floor and ate them; she was that hungry. After eating, she curled up by the window, the vast sea coming into view, the waves forming and intercepting.
She takes the stick and then hits the ceiling door again; no one answers.
She does it again, and this time repeatedly. The door opens, and a man with a torn plain dress comes into view.
"What do you want, girl?! He screamed.
"W…water, please. I need water." Joya's voice was hoarse, almost in a whisper.
"You're ordering me around, huh? Just wait until you get better." He says that and then jams the door closed loudly. After what seems like hours, the door opens, with a bucket of water tied to a rope being led into the deck.
The man was holding the rope, which was tied to the handle of the bucket. As he released the rope, the bucket of water steadily moved downward, as if he were trying to fetch water from a well.
The bucket of water finally gets to the floor, and Joya rushes towards it.
"Give me back the rope, fool! The man screams. Joya flinched, her hand quivered as she slowly untied the rope from the handle of the bucket, and then the man dragged it upwards.
"You better manage the water; you won't get any for the next three days. And don't mind the smell; my men here might have pissed inside." He says that and then locks the door; Joya could hear the sound of the padlock clicking after he jams the door.
Joya gazed at the water; immediately she smelled it, she felt like throwing up, but she held her peace. The last thing she wanted was to get everything messed up; how would she be able to bear the stench?
After drinking the water, she felt invigorated. She started walking around the cabin, looking for ways to escape. There was a ladder reaching up to the door ceiling, but she knew the door was locked.
Then her mind traced back to the window. She walked up to it and then pushed it slightly; it opened!
But then the ship rumbled and water splashed in, drenching. Joya felt frustrated; when she popped her head out the window, all she saw was water down and the sky up, nothing else.
They were in the middle of the sea; she couldn't escape, and she would definitely drown if she tried to jump out of the window.
Joya got tired; she slowly lay down by the corner and after a while drifted to sleep.
This went on for days, exactly the same routine.
THREE DAYS LATER
"Get up, girl!
A voice woke Joya up from her sleep. The sun was high up in the sky; Joya could see this through the window.
She rubbed her eyes and then shifted her gaze to the ceiling door.
"Get the ladder and climb up." The man said and then walked away. Joya was simply elated by his words; she was beginning to think this was how she would spend the rest of her life alone in this place.
She rises to her feet and then makes her way to a short wooden ladder reclined on the wall of the ship at the corner of the deck.
She dragged the wooden ladder and placed it on the edge of the ceiling door before slowly climbing out. The wind hits her face as she steps out of the last line of the ladder, her dark hair swaying.
She looked around and saw a man with his gaze focused ahead. He was the one sailing the ship; he had his hand on the wheel. There were other men seated aside, drinking from a wine bag and laughing at their own words.
The wooden floor of the upper deck of the ship creaked as Joya took each step.
"Eat!
A man was suddenly in front of her; he threw food wrapped with leaves at her, but it landed on the floor in front of her feet. Joya mused as she gazed at the food in front of her.
"Start eating before I smack your teeth down your throat." The man said, and Joya crouched down, then slowly sat on the floor before opening the food. She started eating while gazing at the vast sea.
Moments later a man walked over with a bucket of water in his hand and a brush. The bucket was the same bucket they had used to give her water three days ago.
The man drops the bucket and the brush in front of her.
"Start scrubbing; make sure the floor is so clean I can see my face on it." The man said that, then turned around and left. Joya gazed at the wooden bucket in front of her, then sighed. She picked up the brush and then got to work.
By the time she was done it was noon, and the sun was high up in the sky.
"This one is pretty; I will have her for the night." A man said, walking up to Joya, he yanked her head backward while clutching her hair.
Joya felt her hair pulling out of her scalp, but by the time the man finally let go, another walked up to her.
With a hat on his head, a brown leather belt hanging on his pants, a nose piercing, and a black one-eye patch hanging across the upper part of his face, this had to be the captain.
"Take her to the middle deck to the others." He commanded, and two men nodded, then gripped Joya at both sides of her arm.
"Wait…where are you taking me…?"
Slam!
One of the men slaps her across the face; Joya feels dizzy. Blood started trickling from the corner of her mouth, and her cheeks became red and swollen.
"Shut up, and you get to stay alive." The other man said.
Joya was dragged to another deck; this time she didn't struggle, she remained calm. The door to the middle deck was opened, and she was pushed inside, rolling down the short staircase and then landing with a thud on the cold wooden floor.
She lifted her gaze and then saw the man shutting the door, back to square one!
She slowly rose to her feet, dusting her knees; she wiped the corner of her lip, which was trickling blood, and then turned around….
What she saw simply stunned her.
Women, girls…a lot of them. Lined up bundles in chains. Then the realization slowly begins to hit Joya.
They were trafficking humans, taking them as captives in the ship and transporting them overseas.
Here she was having a hard time coping, but the real suffering was about to start.