The police gave up after an hour.
They managed to find a van that matched the description parked at the Spicy Nightclub, but it was not involved in any illegal activity. Since the nightclub was closed, the kidnappers probably stopped at another unknown location. The NGO search teams had scouted nearby bars and nightclubs recommended by Aat, but also came up empty. Nobody had ventured to ask Margaret and Chariya about their puffy red eyes when they returned from the washroom – everyone understood. With the fresh disappointment, the team was dejected beyond words, slumped in a loose circle around Morris' desk; even Aat had finally roused himself enough to join the group. Margaret, however, fumed silently.
Within ten minutes of receiving the news from the police, without a word to anyone, she stormed out of the office. Chariya wanted to follow, but Morris reassured her that Margaret was the type of person who simply had to do what she had to do; whatever it was, she would be better off having done something other than sit around. Chariya could only hope that he was right.
Once again, they were back to waiting – for Margaret to return, for Mya to call, for a miracle. A miracle that had fizzled into complete impossibility long, long ago.
BINABASA MO ANG
When Hope Calls: A Human Trafficking Story
Short StoryOne phone call. One kidnapped girl. One impossible rescue mission. When the staff of a human rights NGO receive a call from a distraught girl, Mya, claiming she had been kidnapped, they are thrown on a gut-wrenching quest. They don't know who...
