They talked about a lot of things. She enjoyed the talk, she really did. It was weird, she thought, to be with men who were so pleasant and easy. She laughed a lot and that was new too. There wasnt much laughter at home.
They came back.
Late today, just as she was getting ready to close, they both came back.
She knows now that their names are Dimitri and Bengt. Dimitri comes from Vilnius and Bengt is from Sweden. Bengt is a policeman, in Klaipeda to work on an investigation.
They seem to know each other well. They met many years ago. Although she isnt sure, she guesses that Dimitri must be part of the Lithuanian police force.
They were just as nice to her and asked again about her job. They seemed shocked when she told them what she earns waitressing at the café. Bengt told her what she could earn in Sweden for doing just the same thing. It is almost twenty times as much. Every month. It seems incredible, but they insisted. Twenty times as much!
She told them about her dreams. Told them about the small, cramped flat that is her home, about her walks with Vladi, about wanting to leave Klaipeda, which somehow doesnt offer her enough any more.
They ordered more sandwiches and invited her to sit down at their table.
They talked and laughed, which was lovely. Laughter clears the air.
They come back for the third day running.
She almost expects them now and before they order she has laid their table for coffee and sandwiches.
Yesterday they offered to help her, said that they could fix the paperwork, work permits and that kind of thing, if she was keen to work in Sweden. Just imagine, getting twenty times what she could earn here.
She laughed and told them it was crazy, she couldnt.
Today she brings the subject up herself, asks them what has to be done.
She needs a passport, but one which says she is older than she is. They can arrange it. It will cost a fair bit, of course, but theyre happy to lend her the money until she gets paid in Sweden.
They have actually done this for other Lithuanian girls. When she asks who they are, they give her some names, but Lydia doesnt recognise them.
They tell her that they have a female contact in Sweden who makes the girls feel really welcome.
She says the coffee is on her and they sit about for quite a while.
She mustnt make up her mind until shes quite, quite
sure, they tell her. Its important that she thinks about it. If she really wants to stop just dreaming about other places and break free, she has to let them know soon. The next ferry, which theyre travelling on themselves, leaves two days from now, and they assure her they can fix the passport in time.
Its warm when she gets to the harbour. The pouring rain has stopped, the sun is shining and there is hardly any wind. Vladi holds her hand and says hes happy for her. Her things are packed in one suitcase, mostly clothes and as many toiletries as she dared to take. A handful of photographs, her diary.
She hasnt told anyone. Mum wouldnt understand. She doesnt long to get away.
But she will phone as soon as she gets there. From her new workplace. She will tell them how much she is earning and how much money she will send home every month. Then Mum will realise what its all about. Her new, different life.
They agreed to meet at the entrance to the ferry terminal.
She spots them easily. Dimitri, the dark-haired one, is wearing a grey suit. Bengt has got almost blond hair and is a little shorter than Dimitri. His eyes are so kind. He gives Vladi an envelope. Vladi looks very pleased, but doesnt meet her eyes afterwards, just gives her a hug and hurries away. A young woman, about her own age, comes and joins them. She has dark hair and looks pretty and friendly.
They say hello and introduce themselves. Her name is
Alena. She too has brought just one suitcase and also has a false passport.
The ferry is so impressive. Lydia has never been on board such a large ship. Quite a few of the other passengers are Swedish, some are Lithuanian and some she cant place. She smiles as she steps on board and leaves her past behind.
She and Alena share a cabin.
They get on really well. Alena is easy to make friends with; shes the sort who seems to invite you in, curious and eager to listen. She laughs a lot and its easy to laugh with her. Lydia has a special feeling all over, now that shes on her way.
Soon it will be time to go for a meal.
First, they have to go up to meet Bengt and Dimitri in their cabin, which is just upstairs. Then they will go to the dining room, all four of them together.
They knock on the door to the cabin.
They wait. Just a little while.
Bengt opens the door with a smile, and gestures with his hand to invite them in. They exchange glances and feel a little shy. Stepping inside the mens cabin doesnt feel quite right.
Then everything falls apart.
One single breath.
Thats all it takes.
The two men raise their hands and slap them hard in the face.
They keep hitting until the girls collapse.
They tear at their best frocks, rip the fabric to pieces and push balls of cloth into the girls mouths.
They force open their legs and push deep inside them.
Lydia will never forget the sound of his panting in her face.
That night she doesnt sleep. She lies in her bed clutching a pillow.
They shouted at her. They hit her. They held the cold metal of a guns muzzle to her head and told her that she could choose now to shut up or die.
She cannot grasp what has happened.
All she wants is to go home.
Alena is lying in the lower bunk. She doesnt cry quite so much. She says nothing, makes hardly any noise at all.
Lydia looks at her case. Its on the floor, next to the basin. The case she packed without telling anyone. She left home less than twenty-four hours ago.
She hears the noise of the waves hitting the ships metal sides. She hears it through the window, which can be opened, but is too small to climb out through.
The journey ends in the morning.
She is still in bed.
She hasnt dared to move.
She tries to ignore them when they bang on the cabin door and shout that its time to leave, they have to go ashore.
Dimitri walks just ahead of her, Bengt is behind her. They walk towards the exit and through passport control.
She wants to scream.
She doesnt dare.
She remembers the blows to her face and the pain when they penetrated her. She begged them to stop, but they didnt.
Its a large place, much larger than the terminal in Klaipeda. People meet and hug each other, delighted to be together again.
She feels nothing.
Only shame.
She doesnt know why.
She hands her passport to the uniformed official.
Shut up
. He leafs through it, looks at her, nods her through.
Or die
. She walks away. Alena is next.
Outside the gate, Dimitri turns to Lydia and tells her that he will take the passport. She owes him for it and he wants his money back, so now she has to work.
She doesnt really hear what he says.
The large hall empties slowly as the people around her leave. They wait at a newsagents kiosk, a small distance from passport control.
Then she comes, the woman they are waiting for, who works with Dimitri and Bengt.
She is wearing a grey tracksuit. The top has a hood and she wears it pulled down over her face. She is quite young. The woman smiles at Dimitri, gives him a peck on the cheek, then smiles at Bengt and kisses him on the lips, as if they belong together. She turns to Lydia and Alena, still smiling, and says something they dont understand, presumably in Swedish.
Well, hello there. So you are our two new little Baltic pussies.
She kisses their cheeks, first Lydia, then Alena. She smiles and they try to smile back at her.
They dont notice when Bengt Nordwall leans close to the woman and whispers to her, his hand gently pushing back the edge of the hood.
Lena, Ive missed you so.
But they hear what she says next, still turned towards them and smiling. She has switched to Russian.
Welcome to Sweden. I hope youll enjoy your stay.
A NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Anders Roslund
is the founder and former head of
Kulturnyheterna
(Culture News) on Sveriges Television, and for many years worked as the head of news at Aktuellt (Channel 1) and as a prize-winning investigative reporter at Rapport (Channel 2), the Swedish equivalents of CNN and the BBC.
Börge Hellström
is an ex-criminal who helps to rehabilitate young offenders and drug addicts. He is also one of the founders of KRIS (Criminals Return into Society) a nonprofit association that assists released prisoners during their first period of freedom.