Though they were only a few moments from finishing the interview, Aubrey was tempted to offer another break. It had been an excruciating conversation. What should have lasted one hour at the most had stretched into a three-hour ordeal. They’d stopped so many times, her editors were probably going to pull their hair out when they got the raw footage. Aubrey didn’t see that she’d had any choice. Even though Brenda had agreed to the interview, there had been times Aubrey was sure they’d have to stop for good.
She reminded herself that if today’s interview was difficult, the first one had been agonizing. Aubrey had interviewed Brenda several years ago for her film documentary, The Lost Ones. Brenda had still been in rehab and was, in her own words, a wreck of a human being. Seeing the woman’s progress, made Aubrey glad that Brenda had contacted her for a second interview. Although Brenda still suffered, she had come so very far from the deeply ravaged individual she’d once been.
Brenda released another ragged sigh, prompting Aubrey to ask, “Do you want to take a break?”
“No. Let me get this out. Both my therapist and I feel this will be a cathartic release for me. Also, if I can help just one person with my story, then it will be worth it.”
“All right. Tell me what plans you had for your life before you were taken.”
“I was going to be a pianist.” Brenda’s mouth trembled slightly and then became a straight line again. “I’d been accepted into Juilliard on a scholarship. My whole life was ahead of me.”
Instead of attending Juilliard, she’d been abducted at a shopping mall and sold into sexual slavery. She’d been rescued several years later but had to battle fiercely to get her life back. She’d become addicted to cocaine and heroin while in captivity, and it had taken her years of rehab and therapy before she achieved any normalcy. Though she was now a piano teacher and had recently become engaged, her life was a far cry from what it should have been.
This was the reason Aubrey felt compelled to do this particular documentary. People knew the hideousness of human trafficking. A large percentage of the victims were never rescued, and many died while in captivity. The ones who were rescued were never the same. Revealing the ugliness of human trafficking wasn’t a difficult task. But the aftereffects were rarely explored. After reporting the initial horror story, few journalists followed up on the victims years later.
When Brenda had been abducted, she had been a bright-eyed, intelligent seventeen-year-old with the whole world in front of her. She spent almost eight years in captivity before she was rescued. It had taken her more than three years to overcome her addictions and an additional five years to find a new path for herself. Now, at thirty-three, she was finally carving out a good life, but she still suffered. It took only one look in her eyes to see her pain.
“Brenda, you wanted to do this interview. You contacted me so you could get your story told. Is there anything you want to say to the people who will see this interview?”
She took a deep breath, and with a determination Aubrey deeply admired, Brenda faced the camera. Her eyes burned with a fierce intensity. “Live life to the fullest. Never take a day for granted. Live, love, and be happy, but also never let your guard down. Be vigilant. Be aware of your surroundings. Learn how to protect yourself. Make sure your children know how to protect themselves.” She swallowed audibly and then added a heartbreaking final statement. “Don’t let what happened to me happen to you or someone you love.”
Aubrey waited for a few seconds, not only to allow Brenda to add more if she liked, but to give the viewer a chance to see the incredibly strong woman behind the pain.
When there were no additional words, Aubrey said, “Thank you, Brenda, for sharing your story with us again. You’ve come so far and I, for one, am in awe of your strength and courage. I know you’ve helped a lot of people.” Aubrey gave her cameraman the halt signal, and the camera light went off.
While her crew gathered their equipment, Aubrey focused on Brenda. Though she looked teary-eyed, her shoulders were much less tense than they had been when they’d first started.
“You did great.”
A small smile lit up the other woman’s face. “Thank you for agreeing to interview me again. I know my story isn’t front-page headlines anymore.”
“Doesn’t mean it’s not still important and timely. That’s why I’m doing this new film. People need to see more than just the initial horror. They need to witness the incredible strength of a survivor.
“You said you would feel it was worth it if you could help even one person. I can promise you that you helped a lot more than that.”
“Thank you. I—” Brenda stopped when someone called her name. As she looked over her shoulder, her entire demeanor changed. She held out her hand to the tall, stocky man standing a few feet away. Aubrey had met Brenda’s fiancé the day before. The two were so much in love. The naked emotion on John’s face when he looked at Brenda was almost too painful to watch. To be the recipient of that kind of love had to be a glorious feeling.
Brenda went into John’s arms and he held her close. A heaviness lying on her chest, Aubrey stepped away. If she didn’t get out of here, she’d soon be in tears. She was happy Brenda had found the love she so deserved but the emotions were too much.
Calling out a goodbye and a promise to send her a link to the finished work, Aubrey walked out the door. She drew in a cleansing breath of air.
As her team high-fived each other and talked about where they wanted to go for dinner, Aubrey stared into the darkness and remembered a beautiful, golden voice making a promise that would never be fulfilled.
When had she stopped thinking of him every day? It had been a gradual thing. At first, she had been desperate to find out what had happened to him. When she didn’t get those answers, she learned to live with the memories of their short acquaintance. The timbre of his voice, the way he’d pause while telling a story, to give her time to absorb the nuance. She loved how he could make her laugh. There had been so little to laugh about then, but somehow Lion had managed to do that.
Now she heard him only in her dreams. He seemed a million miles away, a fantasy that couldn’t be real.
“Aubrey? Did you hear me?”
Jerking herself from her reverie, she smiled at Owen Waters, one of the cameramen. “Sorry, what did you say?”
“We’re going for dinner at a Tex-Mex place Harry says he went to a couple of years ago. Says their margaritas are incredible.”
She loved her team, but she needed some time to herself. The long drive back to LA would give her that. “I need to get back to the hotel. I’ve got a meeting with Lawrence Medford tomorrow and I want to be ready.”
Owen grimaced. “Better you than me. Heard he was an ass the other day.”
“He was, but that’s to be expected. Once he realized he couldn’t sway me, he got nicer. I think we’re going to be able to work something out.”