Selena was excited they were finally going on a date. 

Vlad texted, meet me at The Glass Dome Diner. 

Her overly strict mom would be livid if she knew.  She’d sneak out the back door. 

I hope Vlad is as amiable as his poems.

~~~~~~~~~

“Feel like a walk before we eat something,” he said.

“Okay.”

 His arm cradled my shoulder as we walked.

“Let me get my cellphone in the car.” 

“Okay.”

Shock and fear engulfed me when he slid the side door open.

Inside, crying girls with taped mouths and hands were all she could see. 

Terror overwhelmed her.

2022©Isadora DeLaVega

~~~~~~~~~

Genre:Flash Fiction

Word Count: 100

Photo Prompt:©Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

To join Rochelle and her Friday Fictioneers 

in this challenge: click here

 

*****January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month

***** Human Trafficking – is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labor, sexual slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, child labor and marriages, debt forced marriages, wife forced prostitution or bride buying. Human trafficking can occur within a country or trans-nationally. Human trafficking is a crime against the person because of the violation of the victim’s rights of movement through coercion and because of their commercial exploitation. ©wikipedia

***** Trafficking Leaves Both Visible and Invisible Scars

• Trafficked women and girls encounter high rates of physical and sexual violence, including homicide and torture, psychological abuse, horrific work and living conditions, and extreme deprivation while in transit.
• Serious mental health problems result from trafficking, including anxiety, depression, self-injurious behavior, suicidal ideation and suicide, drug and alcohol addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), dissociative disorders and complex PTSD.
• Physical symptoms among trafficking victims include neurological issues, gastrointestinal disturbances, respiratory distress, chronic pain, sexually transmitted diseases (including HIV), uro-genital problems, dental problems, fractures and traumatic brain injuries.©apa.org https://www.apa.org/advocacy/interpersonal-violence/trafficking-women-girls/