VULNERABLE CREATURES

Muna and Izzy once believed that suffering had an ending. Growing up in poverty, they spent most nights dreaming about a better future far away from hunger, unpaid bills, and hopeless streets. Europe sounded like heaven in every story they heard. Girls who traveled abroad returned with expensive clothes, phones, and smiling faces. Nobody ever talked about the darkness hidden behind those smiles.

Then Lady Maya entered their lives.

She looked powerful, elegant, and successful. Gold jewelry sparkled on her body while her expensive perfume filled the room whenever she walked past. She promised the girls jobs in Europe — cleaning work, restaurants, salons, and enough money to transform their families’ lives forever. To Muna and Izzy, she looked like a savior sent to rescue them from poverty.

Without understanding the danger ahead, they followed her.

The journey across Africa began with hope. Inside overcrowded buses and broken pickup trucks, the girls laughed together and imagined the beautiful lives waiting for them overseas. At night they stared at the stars in the desert and promised never to abandon each other no matter what happened.

But the desert was not a road to freedom.

It was a road into hell.

Days became unbearable under the burning sun. Water was scarce, food almost nonexistent, and the smugglers treated the migrants like animals instead of human beings. People collapsed from exhaustion and were left behind without mercy. Fear slowly replaced hope inside the girls’ hearts.

Then came the night that destroyed them forever.

Armed men stormed the camp deep inside the desert. The girls were dragged away screaming while others remained silent in terror, too afraid to help. Muna and Izzy were violently assaulted repeatedly through the night by men who showed no trace of humanity. Their cries disappeared into the darkness of the endless desert.

When morning came, neither girl spoke.

Something inside them had died.

But the nightmare was only beginning.

After months of suffering, they finally arrived in Europe believing the pain was over. Instead, Lady Maya revealed her true intentions. Their passports were taken away immediately. They were locked inside a crowded apartment with other frightened girls who looked emotionally broken. That was the moment Muna and Izzy realized they had been sold into prostitution.

There was no escape.

Every night strange men arrived endlessly. Young men. Old men. Violent men. Drunk men. Some treated the girls with cruelty while others acted as if the girls were objects without feelings or souls. Muna and Izzy were forced to sleep with countless men daily while Lady Maya collected every cent they earned.

Refusing customers meant beatings, starvation, or death threats.

The girls stopped counting days because every day felt exactly the same. Endless pain. Endless humiliation. Endless fear.

Muna’s body slowly became weaker. She often felt dizzy and sick, but Lady Maya forced her to continue working no matter how much pain she felt. Every night she hid her tears behind fake smiles while men used her body for money she would never touch.

Izzy noticed the changes first.

“Muna, something is wrong,” she whispered one evening.

But Muna ignored it. In a life filled with suffering, pain had become normal.

One rainy afternoon, Muna suddenly collapsed inside the apartment. Lady Maya angrily took her to a hidden underground clinic, furious that her “business” was being interrupted. After the examination, the nurse looked shocked.

“She is pregnant,” the nurse said quietly.

The room fell silent.

“How many months?” Lady Maya demanded impatiently.

“Almost six months.”

Muna’s heart nearly stopped.

Her hands trembled uncontrollably as horrifying memories returned to her mind — the desert, the screams, the armed men, the violence she and Izzy endured during the journey. One of those terrible nights had left her pregnant, and she never realized it because her body had been pushed beyond exhaustion for months.

Izzy burst into tears immediately after hearing the news. Despite the horror surrounding them, the unborn child suddenly felt like the only innocent thing left in their shattered lives.

But Lady Maya saw the pregnancy as a threat to her business.

“You will remove it,” she said coldly.

Muna stared at her in disbelief. “Six months? The doctor said I could die…”

Lady Maya slapped her violently across the face.

“You are not here to become a mother,” she hissed. “You are here to make money.”

Fear consumed Muna completely. She knew the abortion could kill her, yet she also knew refusing Lady Maya could bring even worse consequences. The apartment suddenly felt smaller, darker, and more terrifying than ever before

That night, while loud music and men’s laughter echoed downstairs, Muna sat quietly on the floor holding her stomach. Tears rolled endlessly down her cheeks as Izzy held her hand tightly beside her.

For the first time, Muna truly understood the cruel world.