Escape Vlog

Rough Outline

Why She Ran: A Video Confession

Ideas:

Inprisoned by family

Females not valued

Much older sister couldn’t have children, but she was more powerful than mother, so she take Cecelia as her own child

Older sister doesn’t love Cecelia, and abuses her

Older sister threatens to sell Cecelia off for marriage, so Cecelia thinks the Prince will be cruel to her

Brother-in-law/Father figure runs crime syndicate, is part of the modern slave industry. Imports Philippinos and Africans to work as « indentured » house maids, nannies, etc. Basically slave labor with no freedom.

These slaves who don’t obey get beaten, sometimes to death

Cecelia’s nanny was often bruised, and in turn cruel to Cecelia

Cecelia discovers who her real mother is, and the real mother rejects her to protect her own heart, and also because of family reprisals

Cecelia’s brother beats their mother for admitting the truth

At 14 Cecelia tried to run away, but being that young she was caught after 1 day

At 17 Cecelia tried to run away again, went to a friend’s house, got found out when she tried to contact a boy she likes

At 21 she is sent to marry the Prince, and uses this opportunity to run away from the alter

She is not found because Aurelia has caught her

Vlog

Hi guys. I’m trying to think of what I want you to know, why I’m doing what I’m doing. You know, it’s been hard. [“help me” flashes on the screen]. It’s kind of funny, I’ve dyed my hair green, and I’m getting married in 1 day. We’ll see if he still loves me with wicked witch green hair. [cackling] I’m really, do you love someone just for how they look? I know I’m beautiful and all, but I’m so sick of hearing that it’s my fault that men lust after me. Really? They should just tape their peckers down and leave me the fuck alone! Seriously, I think these men would lust after a dying cow their so desperate.

OK, really, I digress. [small laugh]. That’s such a big word: digress. I just smart, you know. Too smart! Too smart to think that the future husband of mine is going to be any different than the rest. We’ll see how he reacts to my green hair, and then I’ll know—does he love me or my looks. And then I’ll know if I’m safe or not.

Please listen to me now, I’m getting to the good stuff. [If I run, this vlog may be all that’s left of me.] It felt like maybe prince was my way out, but I’m getting to see that all men are the same. And before him I was smartening up, and getting ready to go. I’ve been watching all the travel videos I can, because, you know, I’m never allowed to go anywhere alone. I sometime get to go to a restaurant with a friend, but not even to the zoo where I could walk around. I just want to go to a park, to a salon, walk through the mall.

I tried that once, I left the back of the restaurant and went to the mall. My driver slash body guard, really my jailor, came and found me. It was like being kidnapped, but in reverse because they brought me back home. I was trying to run, but these damn heels made me run stupid and all wobbly like, and he grabbed my hair, and I fell backwards, and he jumped on top of me. His pit was in my face, and boy did it smell bad, like angry bad—no like fear bad. And his stupid little buddy came running up and grabbed my legs. They hauled me out of there in front of everyone one. No one did anything to help me. But they knew the quick way out, and I was down a dark hallway, out an ugly grey door that went straight to the parking garage. The big one sat on my chest the whole way back to our complex, the Oasis they call it. I can’t even breath or nothing, I tried screaming, but I couldn’t grab a breath. I think I eventually passed out, cause next thing I knew I was in my bed.

I could hear talking outside my door, I think it was my father and his first wife. She never liked me. They both sounded angry, but not like they were fighting with each other. They got quiet quickly, and I didn’t see either of them. My guard came back in, and dragged me by the hair into the servant’s elevator. I’d never seen it before, and there were floors I didn’t know about. We went down to B2, and he threw me in a small room with a bed and a bucket. I was so thirsty because I hadn’t drunken anything since lunch at the restaurant, but no one came when I banged on the door. I stopped when my hand started throbbing and there was blood running down to my elbow. I knew that I was going to be there a long time, and I wondered if my sisters knew where I was.

I was there for like 5 months, but I’m only saying that because that’s what sister told me. I couldn’t tell, because it was dark, and the lights were turned on for an hour or two, I don’t know like every day and a half. Sometimes I was awake, and sometimes I was asleep. It was like French prison—did you ever see the movie “Catch me if You Can”? It was like that, and when the lights came on the burned my eyes.

There were different guards too. I think they were told that they couldn’t touch me, but there was one who would beat me, and then he’d use a screw driver on me. First it was the handle, but then it was the driver part. I’d bleed for days. He disappeared, so I think my father at least thought that he was the one who should choose who could defile me. Really, that’s all he cared about was being in control. That little SOB was touching his property, me, and my father wouldn’t allow that. He was in control, and they better follow orders.

So anyways, I played the good girl. I knew I had to act all sorry, and say I’d never do it again, and that I love my father, and I’d be a good girl. If I didn’t they would have never let me out. But inside, deep inside I knew I needed to plan better. I didn’t have internet, but I did have TV, so I watch those shows. I don’t know why, but they never showed how to buy a ticket, or what you did with it once you got it. Sometimes they’d show the ticket, and maybe a glimps of them waving at someone as the walked through a door, but I couldn’t really figure that out.

Our home, the Oasis, is big, with big walls all around. I was allowed to ride horses, and sometimes I’d even go on the dirt bikes. That was fun. It was the freedom that I was allowed. I took every moment of it that I could. So I thought I could ride away. But those dirt bikes only go so fast, and their gas tanks are pretty small. So I kept watching travel shows and dreaming about all the places I could go, and the food I could eat. Though I could just have asked the cooks to make those meals for me. I didn’t want too—I wanted to save that for when I was free. It would taste better with freedom.

It’s been so lonely, because I couldn’t see my sisters. I’d be a bad influence on them, and I think one of them tried to run away too. I overheard the servants talking about her and B2, and I knew what she had tried. I was afraid for her, but I couldn’t do anything. I was still in prison even if I wasn’t in the basement.

So I’ve been trying to talk with my friend about this, and she shares it with her friend. Azmi, that’s who’s shooting this video. Azmi, that’s my nickname for him, because we all need to be hidden and private, he’s keeping this video and will release it if I disappear again. He’ll tell everyone why I ran. But we’ll see. Maybe prince will like my green hair. We’ll see if he smiles or not.

We’re getting married in a church. I’m surprised my father is letting this happen, but prince’s family is very powerful. And they insisted. The church, the La Sagrada Familia of course, because they’re so important, is huge. I got to see the blue prints, I got to see the details, and I studied it carefully. I tried to, I tantrummed to be able to dress in the school house, but they said no—probably saw it as an easy place to escape from. But they were right and wrong. It was too small, too easy to watch all the exits. They did me a favor.

Yeah, being off the churchy part, being closer will make it easier to escape through the basement. I’ve looked at the plans, I’ve studied my route, I know how to get out. I know what I’m going to do. IF….if I need to. I’m escaping my family one way or another—either into prince’s arms, or off on my own.

I don’t know, what else can I tell you. I mean, my family will lie. My father will lie and tell you what a bad person I am. I’m not perfect, you know, but I’m not bad. I consider myself a good person, you know, like everyone one else. Except my dad is an evil person. He touches me like he touches his wife, right in front of other people he will be rubbing my back, then his hand goes down to by butt. He says he’s just being affectionate, but it makes me feel grose. And he comes up from behind me, wraps his arms around my waist, and starts kissing my neck. Second time it happened I spun around and told him to stop, he stopped, and stopped talking to me. He just looked by me like I don’t exist when we see each other in the house. I don’t know what is worse, having your father being creepy affectionate, or treating you with contempt.

But then he goes and sticks me in his little jail for running away.