Esmeralda’s Point of View
I began looking around for a possible solution to my striking hunger but to my disappointment, no one seemed to be approachable. Considering that I am not African. I caressed my stomach, already grumbling and aching because of hunger. I didn’t expect this. Of course, no one would expect themselves to be deceived and flown to another foreign place but goodness, what did I do to deserve this?
‘Perhaps you did something evil and immoral in your sleep.’ Inserted a pathetic voice inside my head.
I almost slapped my face, ‘You are already in a very grave situation yet you’re still not taking it seriously.’ I scolded myself while trying so hard to rumble through every cranny of my luggage in the hope that those monsters who did this to me left something for me to hope for. But alas, my luggage is beyond empty.
“Lord, am I going to just die like this? After everything you put me through? Being a maid for a year? Being penniless for almost my childhood years? And every single challenge, that you sent to me, you are just going to end my life like this?”
Without my own knowledge, my tears had begun flowing down my cheeks. I probably look like a desperate insane woman who was left with nothing based on the looks and gazes of people around, but who cares right? I am going to die soon anyway.  I realized this wasn’t just a coincidence. I wasn’t just flown to this place for nothing. I was completely fooled from the start. Now that the effects of whatever was put in my food or drink, I could slowly remember that I was supposed to be fetched by two women sent by Aunt Amabel and I was indeed fetched by two women but they were nervous. Their bodily actions were like uncertain and they weren’t looking at me properly. As if having eye contact with me would kill them.
I scoffed at that but still evaluated the greater question. ‘Were they really sent by Aunt Amabel or not?’ My head was already screeching in pain of thinking whether those were the people that were sent by Aunt Amabel or not but then I suddenly remembered that she said before we hung up, ‘I will notify you dear when your fetch arrives there.’
Then I recalled that I hadn’t yet been notified when those two women were already at the entrance of our house. ‘Great, great brain Esmeralda. It really saved you.’
“Then who were those people? I don’t even remember meeting their faces before. I swear, I never argued with women so grave that they would send me off to another place as an act of revenge.”
But no matter the reason, I don’t think I did something so detrimental and harmful that I should ever deserve this punishment. I am just a mere woman who is trying hard to become successful, why should I have this?
I stopped questioning myself and whoever could hear me above when my stomach grumbled with so much ache. I had no choice but to bow down so the pain could at least be alleviated.
“Ma’am, what are you doing there?”
Instantly, hope hopped into me when someone finally noticed me. I raised my head slightly while massaging my aching stomach. “I am lost.” Was the only response my mouth could pronounce because of my striking hunger.
The woman was shocked. She is an African from the looks but with a mix of other races. She is in her mid-thirties, around my age, and she looks quite nice so I immediately trusted her. I don’t know if my mind is still working properly because no one could think straight with an empty stomach but I hope she is indeed nice. I have no other option to help me in this case.
“Oh my gosh, what do you mean? You got separated from your group or?”
“I” I tried so hard to mutter but I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Are you okay? What do you need?”
“Food.” I shamelessly responded as I looked at her pleadingly. Hoping she would pity me and give me just something to chew on. I really couldn’t take it anymore. This level of hungriness was not foreign to me because I once felt this when I was a child. Having no food on the table in the morning because mom couldn’t find anything to cook, I went to school with no breakfast and no lunch, as there was nothing to pack as well.
I cried. Who wouldn’t right? Being penniless was endurable for me because I already understood our situation before, but to have nothing to get my energy on, I can’t. So in the end, I was fed by my teachers. I felt no embarrassment because they didn’t make me feel it. Instead, they told me that I was always welcome to their meal whenever I wanted to. I never went but I always make sure to thank them until now.
But going back, the woman was indeed kind enough to sit with me and get some food in her bag. It was foreign of course, to me, but I ravenously ate it nevertheless. When you are at the point of grave hunger, you would take in everything that is in your hands. Even if that is not delicious or pleasing to the eyes.
“Gkk! Gkk!”
“Here, here, some water. Please be careful, I still have some if you want.”
Without looking at her, I immediately grabbed the other food she was offering and muttered a loud thank you before stuffing almost all of it in my mouth. Finally, I get to see, sense, and think properly.
The woman respected my situation and let me grumble over everything for a long moment before asking again. “So, what happened to you?”
“I was deceived.”
“Deceived? How?”
The woman was now looking at me curiously. To help my explanation, I opened my empty luggage for her to see. “I was supposed to be fetched as my company to my flight to Italy but to my greatest fear, the people who fetched me weren’t the ones who were sent. Perhaps they are people who have some grudge against me for whatever reason.”
“Oh my goodness, well then, how did you get here?”
“That’s what I don’t know as well. All I could remember was that I slept throughout the flight and when I woke up, I am now in a different plane. A plane that would only fly once a month.”
“So, they took all of your things?”
“Ye-“
Realization hit me. ‘They robbed me!’
We both look at each other already understanding the cause of my predicament. “But why me?!” I almost shouted in desperation.
“Perhaps they saw you have a lot to be robbed on?” The woman smilingly joked, perhaps trying to alleviate the situation.
I responded with a scoff. “I am not that rich.”
“Well, don’t be so cornered with that lady, you can still go back and sue them. Find them and make sure they rot in prison if you wish so.”
“That seems to be a great idea but I don’t think I will be able to last that long in here. The plane in here only travels once a month, which means the next flight would be next month. And who knows where will it fly to? What if its destination is in America? Or worse, Antarctica? It would be useless for me to even hop on that plane.”