Villain Is Vanessa

Vanessa's words echoed with a raw honesty, revealing the inner turmoil she grappled with as a prostitute.

—  "I really was depressed that time. Neither I know what to do and where to go. But then I realised perhaps nobody wasn't with me anymore, though my identity was the same as it was before; I am a prostitute. That day, I really lost every purpose for being a prostitute."

Her voice carried the weight of her experiences, each syllable laden with emotion. As she recounted her struggle, it was evident that she had reached a breaking point, questioning her very identity and purpose.

— "I didn't want to continue the job as a prostitute. I wanted to run away from reality, from the brothel, from everybody. Although sometimes even in our own life, we don't have any control on ourselves and decision."

Vanessa paused for a moment, taking a sip from her water bottle, before continuing.

— "I didn't go to the brothel that night but tomorrow some pimps came to me and I struggled very much to not go with them, but my unfortunate fate brought me up again in the brothel. In my own desire, I go to the brothel against my own desire. They forced me to go there, I was okay. Yes, everything, even I was okay until at the gate, I saw Ivelle and Madam."

Pausing to collect her thoughts, Vanessa took a moment to quench her thirst, the simple act of drinking water serving as a brief respite from the intensity of her narrative.

For the first time, Vanessa's speech is interrupted in front of Vincent. Though Vincent was completely oblivious of Vanessa's expression because of the partition, he couldn't help but wonder why he was having doubts that maybe she was growing depressed.

He merely sat there, wondering how much struggled Vanessa had to go through. She should have a far better life than this as a young child.

— "I was disoriented when all of a sudden, everyone around me changed. Suddenly, everything in my life became much worse than it was. Even yet, I had completely lost the will and strength to advocate for any justice for myself. because I was still a teenage girl.

Vanessa spat.

— "I entered the brothel, I had no idea that it would be my last visit ever and that it would be a place I would never leave. Even that evening, Madam beat me up for not entering the brothel. That night, they had a premium customer who specifically wanted me. I'm not sure why, but that evening I felt as though I had lost my memory and couldn't talk. My body, my intellect, and my heart all disappear somewhere that even I was unaware of. That customer came in the very following day and beat me. I was getting banged up by customers all the time. Some people..."

Vanessa's voice became stopped midsentence, but she managed to regain her composure and resume speaking while managing her emotions.

Naturally, no one had ever listened to her in her entire life. Vanessa held her breath to say as she peered outdoors. Vanessa's voice wavered as she continued,

— "Some people used to beat me with their own frustrations, their outrage for something unrelated. It was pretty normal for a prostitute to be beaten by a customer, even without reason. Before becoming a prostitute, I never thought that we also had to bear physical abuse in every way-be it from beatings or forced intimacy."

Vincent's gaze drifted outside, the ambient music slowing, signaling the fleeting minutes they had left together-only 22 minutes until they would part ways, possibly forever. Vanessa sighed, her voice tinged with resignation.

— "That's how my life started going. Life goes on in its own way, and I slowly lost interest in everything. I stopped arguing or saying anything because I knew it was meaningless to try to protect myself. Even if I managed to escape from the brothel, my life would be worse than it already was. I had no choice. I rarely went anywhere except the brothel. That's how my life passed. I didn't even talk to Ivelle after that. Not because she didn't protect me that day, but because I knew she was right. Her warnings were becoming true with each passing day."

Vanessa looked up at the sky, the morning light reflecting the dawn of new possibilities, twists, and turns.

She struggled to hold back her tears, determined to continue sharing her story. Vanessa's voice trembled as she continued,

— "I got to know then that everything Ivelle had warned me about before I became a prostitute was absolutely correct. Prostitution isn't an easy job. If it starts choking my throat, I will never be able to get rid of it. After 14 years working in that brothel, I became the best prostitute."

She smiled after saying that, but it was a bitter smile, filled with self-mockery. The irony of her situation was not lost on her, and it was painfully clear to Vincent.

— "Then our Madam died of some disease. And I became the Madam of the brothel. Me, who was against prostitution and prostitutes, ended up doing the same as my Madam did. I forced girls into prostitution. I inflicted the same pain on others that had been inflicted on me. I became the very image of the woman I abhorred the most. In life's unusual twists and turns, I lost myself. I forgot my own voice, my own face, my own body, my own thoughts. Now, I'm afraid to talk to myself as I have become the ultimate Madam of the brothel. I did everything in my life but not of my own desire. I buried everything. There was nothing left of me that wouldn't draw complaints."

Vanessa couldn't hold back any longer. A single tear escaped from her right eye, tracing a path down her cheek. Her voice shook as she spoke.

— "I did wrong to everyone, and I didn't even spare myself."

Vincent's heart ached as he listened. He could see the immense pain and regret that Vanessa carried, and he wished he could take it all away.

He wanted to comfort her, to offer some semblance of hope amidst her despair.

Vincent listened to Vanessa's every word with rapt attention. He couldn't fathom the depth of her suffering, how her life had been one long series of choices made by others, leaving her without any semblance of control or dignity.

— "From my birth, I now understand how much sin I did in my life and am still doing the same. It's strange that now I neither care for anyone nor for myself. I've lost everything positive, everything good in life. The earth and my destiny played the worst tricks on me. I don't even know how to stand up with pride."

Vanessa looked down, her hands clenched in her lap. Her red maroon dress was damp with tears that streamed down her face, each drop a testament to years of silent suffering.

Her eyes, once hardened by life's cruelties, now looked weary and defeated, the bravado and apathy faded away.

She resembled the young girl who once had to bear the weight of her family's responsibilities.

— "Today, I met a girl who was just like me in the past, but braver. In the dark world where I was running from myself, she forced me to face myself again. I was scared to meet myself, scared to talk to myself. I just want to tell you, Vincent, please don't do anything that will make you unable to face yourself in the mirror. Don't become scared to confront your own reflection like I am. It's horrible. I don't want anyone to feel this. All the worst things I've felt, I pray no one else has to endure. I wonder if God will accept my prayer, but at least I can try."

Vanessa's voice trembled as she continued. She was releasing years of pent-up emotions, a storm of thoughts and feelings she had kept bottled up for more than two decades.

— "I lived in a nightmare, Vincent. Every day was a battle just to keep a fragment of my humanity. I saw girls come and go, their spirits broken, their hopes crushed. And I did the same to them, became the monster I once feared. I don't know if there's any redemption for me. Maybe there isn't. But I have to hope that there is a way to break this cycle, to give someone else a chance to escape the hell that became my life."

Vanessa's voice trembled as she spoke, her words heavy with regret and sorrow.

— "But in all the ways of my life, I never experienced anything effortlessly good. I've wasted my whole life. Every decision I made was wrong, nothing was good in my life. But still, somehow I survived and am still trying."

She paused, her gaze distant as if reliving her painful past. Then, with a deep breath, she continued.

— "That is my story. I apologize if I made you feel bored."

Before she could say more, Vincent interrupted her. His voice was gentle and kind, like a soothing balm to her wounds.

— "No, Vanessa. Don't say this. You are like a hero in many people's lives, but somehow nobody saw it in you. They didn't have the eyes to see your love and effort."

Vanessa shook her head, her expression one of resigned acceptance.

— "Then you didn't hear my story well."

— "Huh?"

Vincent's voice was puzzled, reflecting his confusion and concern. Vanessa's eyes met his, filled with a mix of sadness and determination.

— "Now, at the end of the story, I realize that all along I was the main villain. Neither a victim nor a hero, the ultimate villain I am!"