Chapter 7

Instead of leading her back to her cell, Carlos lead her further down the hall and around a corner where the shower room was located. A tub sat towards the side of the room and he walked towards it. Worn down with patches of paint missing from its side, a week ago Anna would have never thought of getting in something as old as that. Now though, with her hair matted and dirty and a layer of grime on her skin, a hot bath sounded like the most wonderful thing in the world. Turning on the water, Carlos filled the tub until it was full. As wisps of steam began to rise from the warm surface of the water, he waved her over and held up a bottle of shampoo.

“Here, let me wash your hair”, said Carlos, “I know you girls don’t like getting it dirty and I’ve seen the ground on the inside of your cell”

Hesitating, Anna stopped before him a few steps away.

“Why do you care”, she said, “You work for the cartels”

“We can go back to your cell instead if you want”, said Carlos letting out a sigh, “I just want to talk. I promise that’s all”

“Just talk, nothing else?”, said Anna, “Where have I heard that before”

Even as the words left her mouth however, she found herself taking another step closer to the welcoming water and steam. Carlos waited patiently as she took one more, raising her leg and dipping her foot inside to test the temperature of the heat.

“Too hot?”, he asked.

Anna said nothing as she stepped into the tub lowering herself into the water as she sat down. With her hands still cuffed behind her back, it was a bit awkward but she managed to do it without losing her balance. The moment she leaned back however she couldn’t help but let out a sigh. With the water rising to her neck, it covered her like a blanket of warmth washing over the patches of roughness in her mind. Despite the ordeals of the past week, in that moment all her problems seemed to fade away. Even the fact that she was now a slave of the cartels seemed less important as she leaned back against the edge of the tub.

From behind, Carlos scooped some water up over her head. A moment later, Anna felt the cool sensation of shampoo as he squired a generous amount into her hair. Using both of his hands, he began to massage her scalp running the tip of his fingers through like a makeshift comb to untangle the knots within.

“You know, you have beautiful hair”, said Carlos, “Reminds me of my daughter”

Anna tensed up a little keeping silent as she waited for him to continue. The last time she brought up the subject, he had punished her for asking.

“She was six when we left Mexico and made out way here”, said Carlos, “Illegally of course, not that they were ever going to take people like us in. It’s a shame she’s no longer here”

“What ... what happened to her?”, asked Anna.

“We got caught”, said Carlos.

“Is she-...”, said Anna.

Carlos cut her off.

“I was stupid and we got caught”, he said again.

He said nothing else as he continued to work out the tangles in her hair. As the shampoo mixed with the water, a lovely smell of something sweet, melons or strawberries perhaps, floated over to her through the air. Rinsing her off with some more water, Carlos reached for the conditioner and added some of it as well. As he bent over to wash her head once more, laying there with the warmth of the water against her skin Anna felt like it was the most wonderful feeling in the world. All of a sudden, she felt like if she closed her eyes she would instantly fall asleep. A second rinse cleaned her off again and Carlos sat back to let her soak.