The Courier
Copyright 2008 by EC
EC's Erotic Art & Fiction - http://www.ecgraphicarts.com/

(warnings: erotic discipline, sex between adults, medical fetish, 
forced public nudity, harsh police interrogation)


Chapter 6 – Nothing to be proud of


Cecilia was awake as soon as it started to get light outside. She 
started breakfast for the household, roused her nephew to force 
him to get ready for school, and finally laid out a pressed shirt 
and suit for Victor Dukov. Up until late April, most of those 
tasks had been handled by Mrs. Dukov. Cecilia took over the 
household responsibilities shortly after the cancer diagnosis and 
had been in complete charge of the house since May.
 
As Cecilia pulled a stack of dishes out of the cupboard and 
started distributing them around the dining room table, it 
suddenly occurred to her that Maria Elena, if she remained in 
Victor’s house, could take over most of the housework. The idea 
made sense, because it would automatically give the Colombian a 
place to live and right away make her a useful member of the 
household. More importantly, having Maria Elena take over the 
chores would free Cecilia to concentrate on her own 
responsibilities at the university. She felt that she owed it to 
the Dukovs to help out when Mrs. Dukov became sick, but she had 
no intention of taking care of the house more than a few weeks. 
Four months had gone by and there was no sign that Victor was 
ready to assume any of the household responsibilities, or any 
sign that anyone else was about to come in and relieve Cecilia. 
Now, possibly, she had stumbled across a solution to her problem.
 
Cecilia woke up Maria Elena and ordered her to join her in the 
kitchen. She continued to cook, but told the Colombian to start 
taking food to the dining room and to clean the pans. That freed 
up Cecilia to push her nephew to get ready for school and to 
check his homework. She then checked on Victor, who was close to 
being ready to go downstairs. Ordinarily Cecilia would have 
started making his bed, but she realized that she could have 
Maria Elena do that. Yes, she thought to herself, Prisoner # 
101025 is gonna earn her keep from day one.
 
Once the table was set, the Colombian stood quietly, not sure 
whether to sit down or not. Cecilia made sure that Victor, as the 
head of the household, was properly seated before Pedro could sit 
down. Then she addressed Maria Elena:
 
“Kneel. Once Victor gives you permission to join us, you’ll need 
to thank him and you can take a seat.”
 
Once Maria Elena and Cecilia sat down and started eating, Cecilia 
explained:
 
“You’ll have to kneel before each meal, ‘cause you’re a criminal. 
It’s not just you; Jason has to do the same thing when he comes 
over. It’s not so bad, because Victor is at least letting you sit 
at his table, which is a favor in this country. In a lot of 
households criminals have to eat in the kitchen because of the 
shame they’ve brought upon everyone else. There’s a lot of 
parents who won’t even allow their kid to sit on any of their 
furniture if he’s collared. He has to eat standing up and kneel 
if he’s talking to anyone. Victor won’t make you do that unless 
he’s pissed at you.”
 
Cecilia briefly talked to Victor in Danubian to present her idea 
of having the detainee permanently stay at the house in exchange 
for helping out with the chores. He was much more receptive to 
the proposal than Cecilia had anticipated, which meant that the 
only person she still had to convince was Kim. If the Spokeswoman 
agreed, then Cecilia would simply tell Maria Elena about the 
arrangement and she would be expected to comply. 
 
However, as she considered the prisoner’s situation, she decided 
that she did at least owe her an explanation. She asked Victor to 
take Pedro to the school bus stop while she and the prisoner 
would remain behind to clean up from breakfast. Once the kitchen 
was clean, she ordered Maria Elena to sit down in the living room 
so she could braid her hair. Since properly braiding her 
companion’s hair would take about 30 minutes, Cecilia used that 
opportunity to explain the plan of having her live with Victor 
Dukov permanently.
 
“There’s a couple of things I’m worried about. First of all, I’ve 
got my classes, my fiance, my nephew, and 60 exchange students to 
deal with, and I’m not doing any of that very well because I’m 
having to take care of Victor. I owe him a lot, but I also have 
my other responsibilities and I need some help. Also, because of 
your language problem, you’d have to stay here for a couple of 
months anyway, so I figure we can make that permanent from the 
outset. That way you won’t have to worry about where you’re gonna 
live, because that’ll be taken care of. So, we’ve got a solution 
to several problems. Does that make sense?”
 
“Yes, Cecilia.”
 
“Now, you’re not here to relax. You’re here to help me and 
Victor, and you’re here to do what I tell you. Eventually you’ll 
know what needs to be done, and I’ll expect you to do it 
automatically. Victor’s OK with the idea, so the only person I 
need to talk to is your Spokeswoman. I don’t know if she has any 
other ideas about where you should live, but if I have my way, 
you’re staying here.”
 
With that Cecilia told Maria Elena to stand up and look at 
herself in the mirror. The prisoner looked very different with 
her hair tightly braided. She did not like her appearance at all. 
Cecilia picked up on her disapproving expression:
 
“You’re in Danubia. This is they way women keep their hair. A lot 
of those strange looks you got yesterday had nothing to do with 
the fact that you were naked or collared, it was because of your 
hair. Women just don’t have loose hair in this country. That’s 
something that actually they’ve gotten stricter about over the 
last couple of years, I think because they don’t like the foreign 
tourists coming in with their hair flying all around.”
 
Cecilia grabbed two large sacks of books and student papers to 
take to the university. She handed the heavier one to Maria Elena 
and the two women exited the house. They walked several blocks 
along tree-lined streets before entering the main campus of the 
National University. Because classes had not yet started, the 
university was largely empty, with the exception of grounds-
keepers and several groups of students who were exercising. 
 
The prisoner was shocked to see that the majority of the people 
on campus were naked. Cecilia explained that exercise was 
normally done in the nude, since swimwear and most athletic 
clothing were prohibited by law. The students who were running 
wore shoes and nothing else. As for the grounds-keepers, most of 
the older employees were dressed wearing nothing but knee-pads, 
aprons, and wide-brim hats, while several collared criminals 
working under their direction were as naked as Maria Elena. This 
was one weird country: they made such a big deal about braided 
hair, but no one cared about public nudity.
 
Cecilia noticed the gardeners and commented: “This might not be a 
bad job for you, working in the garden at the university. It’s 
right next to where you live, it would fulfill the work 
requirements of you being out in the open, and wouldn’t require 
much language. I don’t think your Spokeswoman thought about this 
as an option. I’ll suggest it when we see her.”
 
Maria Elena said nothing, but inwardly cringed. Digging in the 
dirt with her hands? Certainly that was beneath her; she wasn’t a 
peasant, after-all.
 
Cecilia led her companion to the exchange program office to drop 
off the books. She then told Maria Elena to follow her to a 
professor’s office to introduce her and request that she be added 
to the exchange program’s Danubian language training group. 
Cecilia ordered the prisoner to kneel during the introduction, 
but then told her to stand up. The professor and the program 
coordinator talked briefly before she turned to Maria Elena:
 
“OK, you’re in luck. The professor’s gonna add you to the 
program. To make sure you’re not totally lost in class this 
afternoon, right now he’s gonna give you the basics of Danubian 
and teach you the alphabet. I need to meet with some of my 
students anyway, so I’ll just leave you here.”
 
For the next two hours Maria Elena received a very intense class 
in Danubian language training. The professor grilled her on the 
alphabet and taught her some fundamental phrases and questions 
that she needed to know for simple survival. She learned numbers 
and how to say her legal name in Danubian, she learned how to ask 
for permission for basic needs such as going to the bathroom, and 
she learned greetings appropriate for a criminal. Finally the 
instructor gave her a study guide from the class and ordered her 
to review it until Cecilia returned.
 
Twenty-four hours had passed since Maria Elena had been arrested, 
but already her new life was beginning to take shape. She had a 
place to live, she knew what her legal situation would be, and 
she had learned a few words and phrases needed to exist in the 
country that held her captive. She understood that there would be 
no transition for her. She already was considered a criminal and 
as such, had her established place in Danubian society. No one 
considered her as Maria Elena Rodriguez-Torres, the Colombian 
detainee. To the Danubians she was Prisoner # 101025, property of 
the Danubian Republic. The people around her would assist her as 
much as they could, but only to help her understand and assume 
her duties as a criminal. No one was interested in helping her 
regain her freedom or return to her old life.
 
----------

Three hours after she departed, Cecilia Sanchez returned to pick 
up her prisoner and escort her downtown to the Central Police 
Station. Cecilia explained that within a few days Maria Elena 
would be expected to make the trip by herself, pointing out which 
trolley routes she needed to know to travel downtown and to 
return to the university:
 
“Downtown’s pretty hard to miss. It’s got a huge wall around it 
and if you get lost; just look for the cathedral.”
 
Maria Elena noticed that with her hair properly braided, she did 
indeed draw less attention than she did the previous day. Of 
course, most of the men at least noticed her, but their glances 
were not much more than she got in Pereira when she wore her 
favorite mini-skirt. On interesting difference was that the men 
who looked at her were much better behaved than many of the 
younger men in her home country. There were no remarks, whistles, 
or cat-calls, because the Danubians considered such behavior 
dishonorable. The men were free to look, but whatever thoughts 
they had about the naked prisoner they kept to themselves.
 
When Cecilia escorted Maria Elena to Kim’s office, Criminal # 
98946 was waiting in the reception area to let them in. The 
Spokeswoman invited her assistant and her two guests to have tea 
with her in the back office. Cecilia reminded Maria Elena that it 
ultimately was Kim who was her mentor and it was with Kim that 
she would have to work out the details of her future life as a 
criminal.
 
Cecilia conversed with the Spokeswoman in English, explaining her 
idea of having Maria Elena stay with Victor Dukov permanently and 
possibly request work at the university as a groundskeeper. Kim 
seemed very satisfied that her prisoner already had received her 
first class in Danubian. She asked what Maria Elena thought of 
Victor. When Maria Elena answered honestly that she wasn’t sure 
what she thought of him, Kim responded:
 
“Did you know that I used to work for him?”
 
“Yes, Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna, he told me last night. He also 
said that you were one of his favorite employees.”
 
Kim turned her head slightly. She tapped her neck and glanced at 
Cecilia, who shook her head.
 
“Did you know that when I worked for him, I was a criminal?”
 
When Maria Elena heard the translation, she wasn’t sure she had 
understood correctly. Kimberly Lee-Dolkivna…a criminal?
 
The Spokeswoman called her attention to a tapestry hanging on the 
wall behind her desk. She took it down, revealing several objects 
from her own past. There was a brightly-colored t-shirt with a 
marijuana leaf on the front, a criminal’s collar with a broken 
latch, and a small picture of herself with the following 
inscription:
 
“Zek nom. 98945 - Kimberly Lee – USA”
 
Maria Elena studied the portrait on the mugshot. The image must 
have been taken about seven years before, when Kimberly Lee was 
only 18 years old. Her hair was very short and her expression 
reflected pure terror and bewilderment, a total contrast with how 
she currently looked, sitting confidently at her desk.
 
“For two years, my name was Criminal # 98945. I served a two-year 
sentence for smoking marijuana behind the Temple of the Ancients. 
For two years I wore this collar you see hanging on my wall and I 
wore nothing else. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
 
“I…y…yes…Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna…I understand…”
 
I am telling you this, because I want you to understand that I 
had to endure some of what you will have to endure. You have no 
right to assume that I really don’t know what you are going 
through, because I was there myself. Seven years ago, I sat in 
that same chair where you’re sitting, the very same chair. Just 
like you, I sat naked on a towel, because as a prisoner I was 
forbidden to wear clothing. And just like you, I went on trial 
and was punished. I know how you feel right now, because 
everything you are feeling I felt myself. Do you understand me?”
 
After listening to Cecilia’s translation, Maria Elena managed to 
respond:
 
“Doc-doc, Advodkatna Lee-Dolkivna.”
 
“When I told you yesterday that the Path of my Life was to serve 
as your custodian and your mentor, I actually meant that. I have 
a Path in Life, which was laid out by the Creator before I ever 
set foot in Danubia. That is why I was arrested and that is why I 
served a two-year sentence. You will understand that you too, 
have a Path in Life, a path that brought us together.”
 
Maria Elena face was blank, because she had no clue how she 
should respond. The Spokeswoman continued:
 
“I am telling you this, because I don’t want you to assume your 
life has ended just because you were arrested. It hasn’t. Your 
life has changed, but it hasn’t ended. Nor has your life been 
suspended. You will lead your life day by day, and your duty to 
the Creator, to everyone around you, and to yourself, is to make 
the best out of it. And those words are not mine. They were from 
my own Spokesman, something he told me the second day of my 
sentence.”
 
Maria Elena was silent. Finally she was able to respond with a 
question: “So…Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna…I was wondering…what’s 
gonna happen to me? My life…the one you’re talking about…what is 
my life gonna be like?”
 
“You’re screwed legally, and I’m telling you that up front. 
You’ll probably be wearing a collar for 55 years, like the 
arraignment committee told you. So, you’ll live out the rest of 
your life just like you are now. No clothes, no makeup, no 
jewelry. No drinking, no drugs. Your purpose will be to serve 
society and those around you. You will lead a demanding life, but 
you will also always understand what is expected of you. No one 
will lie to you, and you won’t lie either, because you won’t have 
any reason to lie. At some point you’ll come to terms with what 
happened, and when you do, you’ll learn to speak Danubian, make 
new friends, and probably fall in love with someone. Then the 
years will go by and you’ll get older, just like everyone else. 
That will be the Path of your Life, as they say here.”
 
“The Path of my Life…”
 
“The Path of your Life…you will understand…just like Criminal # 
98946…just like me…just like all of my other clients.”
 
Maria Elena’s thoughts returned to her conversation with Cecilia, 
and the possibility that she might have been double-crossed and 
murdered had she completed her trip to Germany. Her mind was full 
of doubt…was she extraordinarily lucky, or unlucky? What really 
awaited her in Frankfurt…la plata or el plomo?
 
----------
 
The Spokeswoman did not give her client much time to reflect, 
because there still were several issues that she needed to 
resolve, the most important of which was making sure she was 
gainfully employed. Cecilia immediately brought up the idea of 
having Maria Elena work as a gardener at the university.
 
“Yes, that’s better than anything I was able to think of. The 
best thing would’ve been for her to work for Victor, but since 
she can’t ride a bicycle, I guess the university is her best 
option. I’ll call over there and see if they need anyone.”
 
Kim picked up the phone while Cecilia told Maria Elena what had 
been decided. It was obvious that she was not at all happy with 
the prospect of being a gardener. Cecilia responded:
 
“What’s wrong with being a gardener?”
 
Maria Elena couldn’t express what she was thinking, but what 
bothered her was the idea of ruining her hands. Even two days 
after being arrested, her manicured fingernails were intact, the 
final link to a former life that allowed her to worry about her 
appearance. At any other time in her life she would have dreaded 
getting her hands dirty, but in Danubia that fear was even 
stronger, because it was her last shred of personal vanity, one 
that she had hoped to preserve.
 
“Please…can’t it be anything else?”
 
“Yes, it can. You can change jobs after you learn to speak 
Danubian. But right now you can’t communicate, which limits what 
you can do. If you don’t like gardening, then that’ll be an 
incentive to do well in language class.”
 
Maria Elena paused, desperately trying to think of an argument 
that would get her out of the gardening job. Meanwhile, Kim put 
her hand over the phone’s receiver and asked Cecilia in English:
 
“What’s the language class schedule for your students?”
 
“13:00 to 16:00, Monday through Saturday. In the mornings they go 
out on city tours.”
 
“What about P.E.?
 
“16:30 to 17:30.”
 
“Do they want her to participate in that?”
 
“Yes, to be in the language program, she’s gonna have to 
participate.”
 
“OK, then I’ll have her work from 9:00 to 12:00. I’ll have to 
petition the Ministry to get it approved, because that’s a 
reduced schedule. I want her to learn Danubian and, for the 
moment, that takes priority over working. Also, you can tell her 
that if she’s getting a reduced work schedule, she’d better bust 
her ass at night for you and Victor. You tell her I’m doing her a 
favor.”
 
Cecilia translated, adding that she wanted Maria Elena to thank 
her Spokeswoman. The prisoner did not look happy at all. Cecilia 
became irritated:
 
“What’s your problem? That’s a huge break for you! You’re only 
gonna have to work three hours a day! I wish I could work just 
three hours a day! Now, you get on your knees and you thank her!”
 
Reluctantly the Maria Elena did as she was told, repeating a 
phrase she had learned that morning:
 
“Spakeebo dek mene.”
 
Once the prisoner was on her knees with her hands resting on her 
thighs, Cecilia realized why she was so reluctant. She had 
beautifully manicured fingernails. Obviously that would change 
the moment Maria Elena’s hands went into the dirt. Well, that was 
just too bad, because Danubian women (even ones that held 
professional jobs) didn’t let their fingernails grow out or wear 
nail polish. One more thing for her to get adjusted to…
 
Criminal # 98946 stuck her head in the door to let Kim know that 
the police had just brought in a new detainee. It was obvious her 
time with Prisoner # 101025 had ended, because now she had to 
deal with her newest client. As the women exited the back office, 
they saw a cop standing over a very depressed young man. He was 
completely naked and was kneeling with his hands cuffed behind 
his back. Unlike Maria Elena, whose detention had not really been 
normal, the young man had been photographed and assigned a 
criminal number right after being arrested. After exchanging 
salutes with Kim, the cop handed over the client’s paperwork and 
introduced him as Prisoner # 101098.
 
Cecilia commented in Spanish:
 
“We need to go. Kneel and say good-bye.”
 
Once they had exited the Central Police Station, Cecilia 
addressed Maria Elena’s fingernail problem, explaining that 
painted fingernails were similar to unbraided hair in Danubia; 
something foreign and not considered appropriate. “…in a way it 
makes sense because, look at yourself, for example. Here you have 
this really great work schedule and all you can think about is 
ruining your nails. Don’t think I can’t sympathize with you 
because I do. You take a look at my pictures before I came here, 
and you’ll see I liked bright red lipstick and bright red nail 
polish…and they always had to match. I was thinking about that 
all the time…but once I came here I had to give it up.”
 
Cecilia glanced at Maria Elena’s hands:
 
“You got ‘em done in Panama?”
 
“Yes, sort of a last treat before my trip.”
 
“Well, enjoy them for now, because when we get home tonight 
you’ll have to cut ‘em short. It’s not because you’ll be digging 
tomorrow, you’d have to do it anyway. No matter where you’d work, 
you’d have to cut your nails.”
 
----------
 
Thirty minutes later Maria Elena was sitting in a class with 15 
exchange program students. Most of them were from the United 
States, although there were two Canadians and a guy from Ireland 
among them. After being able to forget about being naked in 
public for several hours, in the classroom she felt very 
intimidated because she was the only nude person in the group. 
She noticed the guys constantly looking at her, but as best she 
could, tried to ignore them.
 
The professor came to her aid by watching for anyone paying more 
attention to the naked Colombian than to his class and calling on 
that person. Time after time he tripped up inattentive 
classmates, until finally they were able to focus on the fact 
that they needed to concentrate on Danubian vocabulary and not on 
Maria Elena’s body. The professor avoided calling on Maria Elena 
the first day, but she knew that he’d expect her to participate 
after the newness of her situation wore off.
 
----------
 
After class the students immediately headed to the gym, while 
Maria Elena stayed behind to wait for her translator. When she 
showed up at the door, the prisoner was shocked, because Cecilia 
was completely naked except for a pair of running shoes. In her 
hands was another pair of shoes. It turned out the extra pair of 
shoes were Maria Elena’s, borrowed from her seized clothing.
 
“Exercise time. I need to go out with my group, and you’re coming 
with us. Put these on.”
 
They left the language faculty building to join a group of about 
30 women, all of whom were completely naked except for running 
shoes. A group of naked young men had gathered about 100 meters 
away and already were standing in formation. Maria Elena 
recognized them as the male participants of Cecilia’s exchange 
program. In both high school and at the university, men and women 
always exercised in separate groups, to prevent them from being 
distracted by members of the opposite sex.
 
The women were all from Cecilia’s exchange program. Four larger-
breasted women who had obtained medical waivers carried folded 
sports bras in their hands. However, they would only be allowed 
to put on the bras when the group was ready to start running. 
During the stretching exercises and immediately after the run 
they would have to take them off.
 
A female Danubian fitness instructor, who was equally naked, was 
in charge of the class. She picked up a leather switch and 
snapped at the group in Danubian. The women quickly lined up and 
spaced themselves for stretching. The instructor used the 
implement to point at a couple of students who had not positioned 
themselves properly within the group. Very quickly they complied 
with her commands.
 
As scary as the scene might have been for someone who had never 
seen a fitness class at the National University, it was obvious 
that Cecilia and her students were used to what they were doing. 
Fitness was a serious matter for all students and participants in 
the foreign exchange program were no exception. The students had 
been informed about fitness classes during orientation and had to 
sign waivers upon entering the program. The instructor kept a 
sharp eye on everyone in the group, and a quick swipe of the 
switch across the bottom or thighs was the penalty for anyone not 
putting full effort into her exercising. Nearly everyone in the 
class, Cecilia included, had taken a stroke or two at some point. 
 
Maria Elena was included in the fitness group because she would 
be attending language classes along with the US students. As long 
as she was studying Danubian with the exchange program, she would 
have to exercise with the North Americans. Cecilia explained that 
the newcomer would be expected to stretch with the group on the 
first day and perform some of the more basic exercises, but for 
the moment was excused from running. Within a few days she would 
be expected to run with the others, once she was completely 
recovered from her experience at the airport.
 
An hour later Maria Elena joined 30 very exhausted women in the 
shower. The women chatted in English, but there was one student 
from Miami who spoke some Spanish and was able to communicate 
with her. She commented that a couple of the guys in the group 
also spoke Spanish, one of them fluently. That was heartening 
news for the prisoner, the hope that she might be able to 
converse with someone besides the bossy Dominican.
 
----------
 
Upon leaving the shower room, Cecilia told Maria Elena to pick up 
her study materials and follow her back to Victor Dukov’s house. 
They were joined by Cecilia’s fiance, who would be accompanying 
the two women back home. Later Maria Elena would learn that 
anytime she traveled around Danube City, she liked having Jason 
go with her, even if she was wasting his time. It was not because 
Cecilia perceived any danger in the Danubian capitol, or because 
she wanted to show him off. Instead, she suffered from real 
anxiety if she was separated from him for more than a few hours. 
Maria Elena later calculated that Cecilia could spend up to six 
hours without Jason in her sight: anything more than that made 
her nervous and depressed. She didn’t merely love him: her 
feelings towards him came much closer to a desperate need for 
him.
 
That night, however, Cecilia was not wasting Jason’s time. The 
couple would be going out on a date, to a place called the 
Socrates Club. Cecilia promised to invite Maria Elena in the 
future, but informed her that night she needed to clean the 
house, cook dinner for Victor and Pedro, and study Danubian for 
the next day’s lesson. “After your trial, you’ll have plenty of 
time to go to the Socrates Club…you’ll have the rest of your life 
to hang out there.”
 
Cecilia left instructions in the kitchen for dinner: a salad, 
boiled potatoes with fried vegetables, and blackberries for 
dessert. Victor helped Pedro with his homework while Maria Elena 
cleaned up from dinner and straightened the house. She laid out 
the clothing that Victor would wear the next day and changed his 
sheets. Finally she managed to take a bath.
 
After that she sat down to do something she hadn’t done in three 
years…study. She had dropped out of school at age 16, missing 
graduation by only one year. A wasted opportunity, just one out 
of several chances in life she had passed up. At first it was 
hard for her to concentrate, but suddenly a long-lost feeling of 
hope welled up inside her as she tried to memorize the guide book 
given to her by the professor. She now had a goal for the 
following day, something that was achievable. She was determined 
that, if called on in class, she would give correct answers and 
outsmart the norteamericanos.
 
----------
 
Two hours later Maria Elena was too tired to continue studying 
and was satisfied that she was adequately prepared for the 
following day. She decided to make herself some herbal tea before 
going to bed. She quietly slipped by Victor, who was in the 
living room praying in front of his wife’s portrait. There was 
something very sinister about that black prayer robe…she thought 
to herself…very medieval…from a different time…
 
She pushed that thought aside and quietly boiled a kettle of 
water. She poured herself a cup and proceeded to take it upstairs 
when she noticed Victor just standing in front of that picture. 
In a flash she realized she had a very good opportunity to 
ingratiate herself with him, by offering him a cup of tea. She 
took the cup originally intended for herself and walked up to 
him. She lightly tapped the spoon against the cup to avoid 
startling him. As soon as she was close to him, she knelt, and 
without saying anything, offered him the tea.
 
It was a small gesture, but it had a huge effect on Victor. With 
trembling hands he took the cup. Then he held out a hand to help 
Maria Elena rise to her feet. His eyes were full of tears. He 
pointed at the picture:
 
“Minak jinokt. Onakt nad Juni mortk dek.”
 
He took a sip from the cup. After a long pause he spoke again:
 
“Spakeebo dek. Spakeebo.”
 
Maria Elena was able to ask him one question, something she had 
learned that afternoon in class. She knew how to ask if he would 
be alright:
 
“Ved budkt doc-doc dek?”
 
He nodded. “Doc-doc…doc-doc…”
 
However, his expression told her something very different. It was 
clear that he wasn’t going to be alright. She tried to give him a 
sympathetic look. He drew a deep breath, wanting to tell her that 
he deeply appreciated her effort at condolence, but also knowing 
that she would not understand what he was trying to say. He drank 
the rest of the tea and handed back the cup.
 
Finally he touched her hand and repeated:
 
“Spakeebo dek.”

“Doc.”

With that Maria Elena figured she was dismissed and returned to 
the kitchen to clean the cup and put it away. When she re-entered 
the living room, Victor already was gone. She decided that she 
too, needed to go to bed. She brushed her teeth and noticed her 
fingernails. With deep regret she searched among Cecilia’s items 
in the bathroom and found a fingernail clipper. She held the 
device to the first nail, took a deep breath, and clamped down. 
She clipped as quickly as she could, but could not prevent tears 
from welling up in her eyes as she contemplated her ruined nails.

Maria Elena looked at herself in the mirror: her uncovered body, 
that horrid collar, her face without any makeup, her ears devoid 
of earrings, and those weird braids. It was surreal and 
terrifying to think that the image in the mirror was what she had 
become. On the inside she didn’t feel like what she saw in the 
reflection, but she knew that it was only a matter of time before 
what she was on the inside would match the image she saw in the 
mirror.

She heard a question in her mind, from a voice that was as clear 
as if it had come from someone standing next to her: 

“Is becoming different really so bad, Maria Elena? Can you tell 
me that you actually liked who you used to be? Is there anything 
you’ve ever done with your life that you can say you’re proud 
of?”

She turned around with a start, but there was no one in sight. 
Even so, she could feel the presence…of something…or someone…and 
it was enough for her to answer out loud:

“No, nothing to be proud of…nothing…absolutely nothing…”

She returned to her room and lay awake on top of her sheet for a 
few minutes, but finally forced herself to go to sleep.

