PIECES

I was being held against the wall in a hotel room by my throat. My feet dangling in midair. My mind is racing trying to not panic however, at the same time I am thinking of how to get out of this. It is amazing how very fast or slow a mind goes in the face of danger. I heard the man who was tightly pressing his huge fingers to my throat say, "Don't try to take advantage of me.

Don't take my money. I'm not stupid you know! The giant, strong, slightly angered man was saying to me. I had to find a quick way out of this. "I'll do what you ask".

The angered man looked at me and loosen his tightly wound grip. I did my best to pretend that I was obliging. That I would do whatever he asked and when he asked.

I had no intentions of doing this. I was looking around his sparsely decorated hotel room. He had his underwear, socks, and t-shirts so neat and precise. Everything in the room was neat. No dust, he had this strange look in his eyes as if he was focused on something not really there. But you could tell he was paying attention.

"I'll pay you, but you need to calm down. I don't want anyone in the front office coming to see what the noise is about in here." He walked over to me to look me in my eyes. "You didn't answer me," he said in a sinister voice.

"Ok, I'll do whatever you say. Can I sit on the bed first?", I asked.

"No"! He yelled startling me out of my thoughts.

"Sit in the chair over there," he said motioning to the chair that sat between the bed and the front door. I sat. He said to take my shoes off and I did that too. I eyeballed the lock to see what type was on the door and as soon as I saw him turn his back to take his pants down, I grabbed my shoes, fled to the door, threw open the latch, and ran as fast and as far as I could. I never looked back until I was across the street and traffic was between me and that room. When I turned around, he was standing in front of his hotel room door, staring at me.

I was human trafficked at the age of 16. I was raped by my father at the age of 11, eliminating any "first-time" experience I could ever have with a boy.

Many, many things happened to me after that. None really good. I learned to take care of myself and eventually to love myself. Unfortunately, I learned some other not-so-good things. Things that would stay with me my entire life, no matter what.

People took advantage of me and I had no control over what happened. I do now.

Boys, girls, women, and men are not for sale. People are being trafficked each and every day and a lot of individuals close their eyes to it. One woman actually told me that boys are not human trafficked. I explained to her that they definitely are and at ages from babies to adults.

I began a program called Angelwow. It stands for Angel Without Wings. I help victims/survivors of human trafficking, sex slavery, and prostitution. They are the Angels. I attempted to find transitional housing, health and well-being places, apartments, clothes, furniture, and tattoo removal from being branded, among other things. I hope to help them help themselves. We also try to reunite them with their families as they will need all the support they can get to begin again.

Everyone could use an Angel, to help us pick up all the broken pieces.