I’ve been working on a series of stories based on my latest trip to Santo Domingo. May is short story month so I figured I’d give you a peek at the raw & unedited version of a tiny piece of it:
We stopped to take pictures on our way back to the airport, even though I had advised against it. That sounds lawyerly, doesn’t it? “I advised against it.” It’s funny the things that stay with you, the things you hold on to, so you won’t go mad. After about two weeks of being locked in that room with Maggie and all those other women, I began reciting case law in my head. People vs. Martini. People vs. Sandoval. People vs. Llewellyn. All of the cases I had been studying during the trip were still fresh in my head and I told myself that if I could remember all of the details I’d still be okay. I wouldn’t crumble and my kidnappers wouldn’t win.
Maggie wanted to stop so that I could take her picture in the middle of the empty road, framed by the trees that were forming a protective cocoon around us. I didn’t feel comfortable there; the sun was already setting and we were two women travelling on the dusty, southern roads of the Dominican Republic. “Let’s wait until we reach the next town before we stop,” I suggested. But Maggie wanted her picture with the trees.
“Ay por favor, si yo soy de aqui! Nada malo va’pasar!” Normally I admired her bravery, but at that moment I had prayed for the strength to get her to really hear me and get back in the car.
“Maggie, let’s go, please.”
“No one’s even on the road! Don’t be such a pussy!”
She made me so angry I could barely hold the camera straight, an old Nikon I’d bought off of the internet. I remember thinking I didn’t even want to come to this stupid place. I have exams to study for. I hate this island! But Maggie was oblivious to everything I was feeling as she posed up in front of the car with her arms raised triumphantly in the air.
I can’t wait for you all to read the final piece!
xoxo,
Raquel Ivelisse