charge.
He let me handcuff his arms to the metal bedpost as I undid his trousers, hinting at what was to come – something kinky.
All the time I was thinking about getting to Liliana.
I knew I would not have much time. I had to use it wisely.
I blindfolded him with a black scarf and told him I had a surprise for him. He had to be patient and wait a few more minutes. And as I grabbed his gun and disappeared into my bathroom, I hurriedly pulled on jeans, a T-shirt, and some flat shoes.
I slipped out of my bedroom and locked the door from the outside. The corridor was clear as I rushed along and down the stairs with the gun in my hand.
I knew the Rapist would be in the kitchen playing cards with the other guards. I had to try and make it through the lounge to the front door before they knew what was happening. I prayed that I would make it out of there.
As I rushed through the lounge there were two girls in there, chatting. They looked up with surprise as I sped past them, grabbed the handle of the front door and turned it.
It clicked open.
Never had a sound filled me with such joy.
I stumbled into the night, running as fast as my legs would go before they realized what had happened.
The dark night sped past me as I travelled through unfamiliar streets. It was probably about five in the morning. I did not know where I was going, just that I had to get as far away as possible.
I kept expecting to feel a hand grabbing my shoulder and pulling me back so I did not dare look behind me or slow down.
I ran past bars and shops and houses and apartments until my chest hurt and I could no longer breathe. I passed men in the street who turned their heads and stared at me but I did not stop. What if they were friends of these people?
I found an alleyway behind a building and crouched in the dark shadows. I wiped my fingerprints off the gun with my T-shirt and threw it behind a pile of rotting rubbish. My plan was to wait there until I caught my breath, then somehow find the Moldovan Embassy. I would get home.
As my breath finally slowed down it hit me what had happened and I started shaking uncontrollably.
My T-shirt was soaked in sweat and my jeans clung to my legs. One of my shoes had come off as I was running, and it was only then that I noticed blood coming from cuts on the sole of my foot.
I had escaped, but what would they do now? Would they try and find me? How could they find me in this big city? Would they try and find Liliana? Surely they would not be able to steal her from the orphanage. There would be adults there all the time to supervise the children.
I did not know how to find the Embassy or Consulate. I had no money for a bus. Would a stranger help me?
I took deep breaths, gulping for oxygen to calm me, and walked tentatively back to the street, looking up and down. I needed to find a woman or a couple who would help me. There was a bar a little further down. Maybe there would be someone in there.
No one in the bar spoke English. They gave me odd looks and shrugged their shoulders at me. I must have looked dishevelled and strange to them.
I walked on further down the road to a small shop. There was a woman just opening up and stacking newspapers outside.
At last someone who might help me.
I tried to explain I wanted to get to the Embassy but she could not understand what I was saying.
As I stumbled further down the street a taxi driver called out to me.
‘I have no money,’ I cried. ‘But I need to get to the Moldovan Embassy. Can you help me?’ I pleaded with him.
I did not want to get inside a vehicle with this man, but what else could I do?
‘No money, no taxi,’ he said, turning back to his newspaper.
‘Can you give me directions, then?’ I wailed.
With much reluctance, he put down his paper. ‘There is no Embassy,’ he said, ‘only a Consulate.’ He gave me directions and told me it was not far.
I clutched my chest with relief and hurried off down the road.
The sun was just