Stories from the Second Floor: 2

I'm writing to you now on my mid-day break. Most workers use this time to get in touch with their families off the Islands, on mainland New York, or in other parts of the country. They give the workers access to video chat, but a lot of the families outside don't have that luxury, so it's not used that much.

I said last time that I would tell you about my own family. I'll try to give as much detail as I can. I came to the United States in 1995 under some difficult circumstances. I met a man who lured me away from home with promises of the 'good life'. I soon learned that I wasn't the only girl he had made promises to. The man ran an import-export business, trafficking girls and boys to fuel the growing sex trade. After two years I worked my way out of the underground brothels into the private service of a wealthy young couple. Their interest in me was not purely sexual, they had bigger plans in mind.

They offered me a deal - They wanted me to be a surrogate mother to their child, in exchange for legal status. I was only 17. I had never had full control over my body, so this was just more of the same to me, so I agreed to the deal. A year later I gave birth to a child. I don't know if it's a boy or girl. I don't know what she looks like. All I know is that he or she lives the good life I dreamed about before I came here.