Her Ideal Life Turned Upside Down

A cool breeze of the city air in winter hinting at an incoming rain goes over the
citizens as the noise of the busy street loudens for each minute the morning passes and
the smell of pandesal and morning coffee emanates from the bakeries and shops selling
them in this early daybreak. Driving slowly through the thin road of industrialized Manila
is a woman at the ripe age of 28, living in joy, greeting her fellow camaraderie with warm
smiles. The joy and energy of the city match the personality of this ambitious and
optimistic Eleanor. Slowly driving through the maze of the thin bustling streets, she is
ready to start her day at this one promising software company. Getting past the lively
street comes a bigger road filled with cars, motorcycles, and tricycles screeching on the
ground as they drive on. As Eleanor slowly turns to the right, going in the direction of the
fleet of cars, she wonders to herself what sort of experience she will get this time. Time
passes as she listens and sings along to the sound of her radio playing the song
Binibini. Nervousness takes over her usual liveliness as for every minute that passes,
she gets nearer to the tall building. Her worries grow to their maximum as she parks her
car in the quiet and secluded garage, 6 levels below the start of her new career. Leaving
her car, she stumbles upon a very attractive and tall man who is holding the elevator
door for her. She smiles and enters the lift as they introduce themselves on their way
up. The attractive tall man, having worked for almost a year, gave Eleanor advice on
how the work was. He then happily explained how the environment is welcoming. Their
conversation was cut short with the elevator arriving at the 4th floor where the man
works. There, alone in the elevator, stood a young Eleanor, endowed with newfound
confidence, standing proud as the doors opened to the 6th floor where her opportunity
resides.

As the doors of opportunity she rightfully claimed as hers, opened, she saw a
bright room full of people she knew she would be working alongside. A man with a long
beard, walking with great authority, approached her as she stood in awe. The man
introduced himself as her manager, pleased to be working with her and excited about
the talent she could bring. As she entered her office she loved the breathtaking view
from her office. It was exactly what she expected to see, maybe even more. She looked
around at her co-workers and smiled seeing them so focused on their work, then settled
down. The rest of the day went by like a breeze. She got to experience the serene and
friendly surroundings and even met her kind, big-hearted colleagues who helped her
with her work whenever she had a hard time understanding something.
 Before she knew it, the first day had finished. Going home, she wished she had
stayed for longer. The second day came and the same handsome man she met in the
parking lot the day before, greeted her with the same attitude as she experienced when
they first met. They form a friendly connection, but she questions herself, maybe it could
turn into something more. As minutes turned into hours, which turned into days, and into
weeks, time passed by like the morning breeze, and excitement streaked across her
face as she received her first paycheck. She felt very proud of her achievement of
making money for the first time. On the other hand, she and the promising man got into
a serious relationship. A well-paying job, a lover, and a healthy mind and body pieced
together to create the ideal life that she’s been wanting all her life. All is going well, but
never once will happiness be the only emotion in her supposedly ideal life. A
punishment she never deserved turned the perfection inside out.

This is because of that one day that she will never forget when one of the turning
points of her life happened. Eleanor went up the floor to her work area with the same
positive attitude that she had on her first day, with the only difference being her gut was
telling her something was wrong. She then heard that the company bankrupted
suddenly without warning and the corrupt and unwise spending of the CEO or
authorities in charge were the ones to blame. Such a tragic turn of events came upon
Eleanor; at one point, the ideal life was all hers to enjoy, and then, the next second, it
was all gone in the blink of an eye. Denial overcomes her entirety as she never
expected such to happen. Thinking that she could just get another job was easier said
than done. With the bad reputation of the company, no one came close to even
accepting her. This turned her life filled with anger and madness. What’s worse is she’s
not the only one pushed into unemployment, but also her dear husband. What was once
a smooth sail through life turned into a desperate bargain for income.

Eleanor spiraled down into the deep depths of depression, tirelessly trying and
failing to crawl back up from the seemingly bottomless pit of unemployment. Just as she
started to accept the fate bestowed upon her, a damaged vision of an opportunity
greeted her even after everything she went through. Going out to salvage food with the
little amount of money she had, she came across a man, prideful and filled to the brim
with impure intentions who saw Eleanor as an object, then offered for her to work as
something she had thought about doing at least once. To become a prostitute. Thinking
as if the light would never be within her reach and feeling blinded by the collapse of the
life she had always wanted, she accepted it, believing she had no other options and
deciding that it was for the better.
 Eleanor is riddled with guilt working as a prostitute. She knew not only was she
putting her body on the line but she was ruining her relationship. Eleanor's life had
become a never-ending cycle of guilt and shame, one client after another, earning dirty
money from selling her own body and enjoyment. She was constantly met with
harassment by her clients and had no choice but to continue despite all the abuse and
harassment. Clients weren’t the only people treating her this way, since even people in
her neighborhood looked down upon her, laughed at her, teased her, and bullied her. A
prostitute is something she never hoped to be but she's accepted that this is her life
now. She's made her body a source of her income. A profession she never thought
she’d pursue, and a profession she thought she could never escape.

Until one fateful evening, she met a woman, a supposed client of hers. The
woman whispered to her that there was something new that could bring her out of that
life. Eleanor felt extremely hesitant about what she was about to go into since the past
few times people tried to “help” her, it was the exact opposite, leading up to her ideal life
getting turned upside down. The disguised client told her one line that changed all of
what she believed. “There’s nothing to lose isn’t there?” She felt null due to all the
situations that made her life miserable. But in the end, she compromised and went with
her, accepting what fate she might get from this. Eleanor was then offered an entry-level
position. Despite feeling void, Eleanor believed that there was still a chance for her to
escape, so she seized the opportunity.

With perseverance and the newfound job, Eleanor was able to distance herself
from the world she's been wanting to escape. She knew it wasn’t an easy journey, and
haunting memories of her past would persist. Yet, she still clung to the belief that each
dawn would bring new opportunities.

Years later, a familiar cold breeze of the city air in winter passes over the citizens.
Driving slowly through the thin road of industrialized Manila is a renewed woman,
greeting her fellow camaraderie with warm smiles.

The End.