From my latest endeavor, “Shadows Across the Pond,” which might be done by this summer, cross my fingers and hope . . .
Sarah and I made our way down to Capitol Lake and did the circuit twice. Mothers and strollers, lovers and business acquaintances, dog-walkers and shuffling retirees kept us company as we found our rhythm. She’s a good running partner, comfortable with not talking, at peace in her own mind. I suspect she uses running as therapy, like I do, pushing memories of sexual abuse aside, allowing good vibes to enter, endorphins working their magic on her bruised and battered psyche. I found her on a similar run, six months earlier, being beaten by her pimp. I offered her a way out of the nightmare she was trapped in. She reluctantly took that offer, learned to trust Liz and I, and soon became part of our family. Her pimp did not survive that encounter, a sad statistic in a sad business.
Her auburn hair hung damp on her shoulders as we slowed to a walk at the end of five miles. She was two weeks shy of twenty-one, but she had seen two full lifetimes of ugliness in that short span of time. Her parents had died when she was fifteen. The foster system dropped her into the lap of depravity. She ran away from that and entered a life of hooking at sixteen. I found her, offered her a hand up, and she is now an irreplaceable member of our family.
It’s one thing to read about depravity in a police report. In that form it is antiseptic and white-washed. It is quite another to actually see the dark shroud of depravity fall over a victim and forever stain them. Sarah survived her brush with the chimera. There are thousands who do not. The billion dollar business of trafficking thrives because of supply and demand, and ethics be damned in a society which likes to believe it is advanced. Your next-door neighbor Sam, your boys’ Little League coach, may very well be paying one-hundred per month on adult porn films starring twelve-year old girls snatched from the streets of Topeka and held against their will with veins flowing GHB. Your pastor may very well visit the House of the Rising Sun after his sermons, and his bed partners aren’t old enough to have a driver’s license. This shit is happening and it is happening in your little corner of the world despite your denials.
Where does the darkness come from, Bill, I asked myself in a moment of self-reflection, but I had no answer other than the fact that I am an observer of life. Everyone is shocked by the Jeffrey Eptstein story and the Harvey Weinstein story and the Bill Cosby story, but are they really shocked? Can you really say that it all surprises you? Child porn has been around for hundreds of years. People have made fortunes filming snuff films, for God’s sake. The human species has a dark side, end of story. Always has and always will! You can’t pretend the Boogie Man away. You can’t hide under the covers in a gated community and hope the ugliness disappears.
And so I write about it, in hopes of raising awareness about it, in hopes of somehow bringing about change for the better. It should never be acceptable for children to be exploited. Never!
So sayeth one writer in Olympia, Washington!
COACHING
I’ve still got two spots open for coaching. I make this statement with complete confidence: I can make you a better writer! Drop me an email at holland1145@yahoo.com and let’s get started.
Bill
“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”
Billybuc
Bill, you said a mouthful here and just couldn’t agree more that pornography has been around for the ages. So, writing about it more than makes sense. Thanks for sharing and happy Tuesday. 😉
Thanks a bunch, Janine! Keep those girls of yours safe. I want them to grow up happy and immune from the ugliness I write about.
“You can’t pretend the Boogie Man away.” Powerful statement, Bill. Yet, how many of us are oblivious to what goes on in our own backyards? I’ll admit, it always comes as a shock when I hear of child pornography and human trafficking happening in Orlando. I think I live with my head in the sand quite often. What I don’t know doesn’t hurt me mentality. But so many people are hurting. Their families are hurting. Our society is hurting.
Writing about it is a good way to spread awareness, Bill. It helps us get our heads out of the sand.
It’s a billion dollar business, Sha, and growing. I’m not sure we will ever see the day when trafficking is not profitable, which is a sad statement to make.
Your story was said in poet’s form by someone of conscience a few nights ago. The crowd fell silent. It is sad but perhaps necessary that the gruesome can be so tragic. Excellent piece!
Manatita, sadly, as long as there is obscene wealth, there will be people who feel they can buy anything, including humans. Such is our nature, I’m afraid.
Every time a mother sends her daughter or son to school or a music class or ballet class, she is anxious and hopes that her child will return unscathed. As you said, there is a supply only because there is a demand. A harsh reality, but true…
Being the mother of a young girl in today’s society would scare me to death, Nightlake….sad but true, my friend.
Some dark aspects of our society been told of in a significant way. I am speechless on this. Humans are another kind of critters who disguise very well. But still, there are some decent people remain on Earth who keep our faith revived, you are one of those, Bill.
Best of luck for your Novel, my friend.
Happy New Year to you!
Happy New Year, Nikki, and thanks for stopping by. I have to believe the good on Earth far outnumbers the evil.
Reading your excerpt here Bill sounds like the book will show two sides of the same coin…
Recently here in the UK a huge ring of people sex trafficking the young and vulnerable has been exposed.. Yet no one is ever brought to justice.. These involved young girls and boys in Care Homes, just like the girl you described.. They were supposed to be placed there for their safety and yet they were systematically taken out of the homes, raped and abused. And when they told the police they were not believed… One young girl aged 15 committed suicide , her grandmother repeatedly kept telling the authorities what was happening and she too was ignored… Pushed under the carpet…
Shocking… So yes these darker episodes are a reality in life.. And we can not push them under the carpet as if they do not exist..
Awareness needs spreading,
When you see the stories behind many of the young homeless.. These were often in care and young children who have had horrendous childhoods, and then at 18 they are booted out into the big wide world with no thought…
Having supported several people in my days as a support worker.. Looking after Adults with learning difficulties.. Some of these were brain damaged from young children, being beaten and raped by their fathers.. Boys as well as girls… The deep wounds they carried is beyond description when you read up on some of their case histories…
And you then began to understand why they didn’t trust and lashed out in certain situations..
So wishing you well Bill… You don’t need it.. because you skill at writing and telling a story is wonderful and this taster I am sure will want many to buy the finished book..
Have a great week ahead Bill… ❤
Sue, it comes as no surprise to me that you are knowledgeable about this topic and that you understand why it needs exposure. This is a travesty, a sin against humanity, and people need to be outraged about it.
Thank you for sharing your experience….it is so important that people understand and become active in their community.
Thank you dear friend!
You are welcome Bill, it’s long past time for exposure, thank YOU.
Yikes, Bill! It gave me a shock for a moment, seeing my name there in your post. I feel very blessed not to have suffered the abuse your fictional character, Sarah, has suffered, but in the past I worked helping mend a few people who have been psychologically broken like her. I say “mend” but it is very hard to totally do so. More like helping them find coping strategies to get them through the days in one piece. You are so good writing about the dark side of human nature, and yet you are such a gentle and caring person yourself.
Hugs and best wishes from across the Pond, blustery as it is here today, with winds of up to 85 mph and driving rain.. Fortunately, I walked the dog early, when the wind was a comparitively gentle 54 mph without rain!
Good on you, Sarah, for helping people to cope with those sorts of tragedies. It speaks volumes about you as a person.
Me and the dark side…..I do have a weird connection to it, and I’m not sure how I feel about that. 🙂
My goodness, stay safe and warm, my friend. We are having a rare sunny day, allowing the flood waters to recede. It’s been a wild 2020 so far.
Hugs from your dark friend across the Pond