The Grand Mistress

"Take a good look at her," The man turned to Simione who pretended to be occupied with her make up, although her ears were on the two people conversing. "I still don't trust that one. If you felt like she's going to break lose, take precautions,"

"I know what to do," Gina told him but that was what Simione last heard. The two left the room still talking and she can't follow them. So her mind just lingering what precautions can they be talking about.

"They are talking about drugging you if you show any sign of resistance during the bidding day?" The lady beside her explained and Simione turned to her side confused. 

"That's the precautions they are talking about," She added when she saw that Simione was lost on what she was saying, "You don't look like you belong here so I'm sure you don't understand what they meant. When they send girls to the bidding arena, she should not cause much of a ruckus or the clients will be displeased. So if she resist, they drugged her so she could nothing more but stand dizilly while clients bid on her,"

"Does it make any difference at all?" Simione asked and dragged her face back to the mirror to finish her makeup. "I mean if you are drugged or not,  you would still end up in the same bed,"

"True. However if you are drugged you lose your chance of taking control of the situation. You might not please your client and he'll end up ditching you the next day. You don't want that,"

"What happens when you are ditched off?"

"They gave you to their men. Who knows what comes after next, they might sell you off again in another prostitution house and since you aren't virgin this time, you might not have the same benefits as you have now," The lady explained and Simione held a deep sigh at it. Of course she feared that she might end up on the path the lady just said. "Although with the kind of beauty you have, I don't think the client will ditch you the next day. You might be good for him for a couple of days. You are lucky with that face you know,"

"I'm feeling like it's a curse," Simione meant what she said but no expression went on her face at that. All these times she managed to train herself to hide her emotion because Gina told them it would be very beneficial in this kind of profession to only act according to what your client likes. Right then she hid her fears.

"If I'm only half as beautiful as you, I wouldn't have problems taking a client in control," The lady continued. "But you are right. Your beauty can be cursed because I don't think a client would ever get you out of their sight once they laid eyes on you. There might be no freedom for you,"

"You also dream about it?" Simione paused this time. "Of freedom?"

"Everybody here does. It's not bad to hope you know," 

"How did you end up here?" Simione right now was curious.

"I came here willingly in exchange for my boyfriend's debt," She revealed. "But just after a day, he went off with another woman. That jerk..I should have not sacrificed for him but that time, I was in love and this is where that love brought me,"

Simione's eyes went big at that. The woman beside her noticed that and so she turned to her and just gave her a shrug.

"We take wrong choices sometimes in the name of love," The lady laughed it off as if it was some kind of a joke but Simione knew very well she was only putting off a happy mask to hide her sorrows, "Now I'm here, taking my chances, as if I have a choice. But they say many of the girls here end up living a comfortable life being side women of their bidders, some even became their wives, so perhaps I might end up in the same fate. Who knows,"

"Doesn't it bother you? I mean being just a side women or…."

"Being a prostitute does it bother me?" She continued the things Simione couldn't say. "Rather than begging on the streets and being taken advantage of lousy drinks there, I'll rather be ruined in a luxurious way. Money can't buy happiness for the rich, but for us the poor, money can buy everything,"

"Perhaps you are right," Simione replied, thinking it through. This place, the prostitution house unexpectedly was giving the girl too much of realization in life. Funny because although she knew this place is the last place any woman would want to end with, it was the place which gave her so much learning and gave her so much awakening. Here she learned that there were many people who were more unfortunate than her. This was where she learned that as long as you knew how to hope, you can always look forward to tomorrow. That life is a matter of survival and only those who fight can make it through. Most of all, this was where she learned that, even at the dirtiest place on earth, there are still things that can be considered valuable, like her.

Funny because she had never felt her importance until she landed in the prositution house. However, it taught her that if you are important, people would always take extra care on you like how all the staff in the prostitution house took care of her. Even when her importance there was founded on her being a valuable property being a beautiful virgin, it still gave her a very important lesson—that if you are very important to someone, they would take extra care not to hurt you.

See that Sisi? If you are somehow important to those people you expect to care for you, they should have at least never hurt you.