As I stand to gather my things to leave, I look to the right at the pile of purses I’ve been working on all day. My boss has put me on a special project to hand-stitch a very detailed flower on one of the new handbag designs that our warehouse received. I wince as I glance at the center of one of the large gold flowers I hand-stitched with golden thread. The middle of the bloom was extremely intricate and required me to make extremely small stitches. As I finish picking up my materials, I decide to blame my throbbing blister on all of the flowers I had sewn that day.
I am proud of my work, I like what I do. Some of the girls my age that work around our neighborhood make more than me, but also have to stand on their feet all day selling jewelry. I wrinkle my nose as I think of the market where our handbags are sold. I often stroll through the rows and rows of stands and see other bags that our warehouse produces, and usually I can spot my work hanging in front. I’m not sure why tourists are so drawn to the handbags. They are just pieces of cloth and leather stitched together. All I know is that I work really hard to make sure my stitches match the pictures my boss puts at my station at the beginning of every week.
I shut the lights off and step out the back door. My friends are all waiting for me, and they are smoking. Paulo offers me a cigarette and I refuse. My arms hurt so much; I don’t think I can raise my hand to my mouth.
“Corilly, you worked a long shift. You are going to be the Queen of Manila! How many bags did you do today?” Paulo stuffed his cigarette box back into his shirt pocket.
“I got 16 bags done, but I think I’m getting better at those gold flowers. I might get even more done tomorrow.” I say as I gingerly rub my blister.
“Good! Now you can buy us dinner!” Paulo and Veronika laugh as my cheeks burn with embarrassment from not having enough money to do this.
“I wish I could, friends. I have to go home. I want to get up early so I can get some more bags done tomorrow. The boss is paying me more for these bags than normal. I need to be ready for Christmas.” I bounce my shoulders as I think to the day ahead.
My friends and I walk together towards our neighborhood. We all live near the freeway overpass. My family rents the apartment at the top of a large abandoned warehouse. Many families here share the buildings on the block.
The next morning I wake up to the sound of trash being dumped next to the freeway. I hate the smells that drift through the open window. I stand and run my fingers through my hair. I look around for my work pants and pull them on quickly. I am not sure what time it is, I have to make my way downstairs to check.
I step out into the morning air and breathe in. The humid air fills my lungs and I cough a little as I see the food stand nearby is grilling rice patties for breakfast. Before I put my hand in my pocket to feel for some Pesos, I look at my blister. It has gone down a bit, and it makes me happy. I pull out some money and hand it to the man selling the patties.
“Can I get two?” I ask as I stand on my tip-toes to see the fire under the grill lapping at the patties.
“Yes, you can. How is your job, Corilly?” The man selling patties knows my name because I come here every morning.
“Good, we are getting more designs every day. I think our bags sell better than any other warehouse that is offering them at the market.” He smiles as he wraps my patties in plastic and places them in a paper envelope.
“Good! Good! Now, you must donate to our rice fund!” He laughs and points at a jar for tips. I drop in a few Pesos and put my rice patties in my side pack. “I’ll see you tomorrow!” I wave at him as I step across the street and walk towards work.
As I get closer to the warehouse, I see a group of white people standing at the entrance. I shy away from them and duck behind one of the overpass columns. The white people are arguing with my boss. There are three women and one man.
“Will you just allow us to look around?” The tall woman with bright yellow hair talks as if she is plugging her nose.
“No! You are not allowed in here. This is my business, and my property. I will call the police!” My boss stands with her arms and legs pushed up against the frame of the door.
“We promise not to take anything. We may even buy something!” The man seems nicer than the blonde lady. The other two women are shorter and stand behind the man and blonde. They are both looking back and forth between each other and my boss. They seem younger than the other two in front.
My boss seems interested at their offer to buy merchandise. She tilts her head and looks beyond the group of white people. She seems to be looking right at me. I spin around and push my back against the side of the column, hoping she didn’t see me.
“Only you can come in, but the other three must stay out here. I don’t trust all of you tramping through my building. I don’t trust them standing out here alone, either. How do I know they won’t sneak in while I am showing you around?”
“We aren’t interested in stealing your property. We would just like to see how you are replicating some of these designs so well.” The blond woman’s voice sounds even more nasally when she speaks louder.
“No, I don’t trust you.” My boss sounds very angry. “Corilly! Come out from behind there!” I jump three feet in the air as I realize she’s called for me. I spin around as if I’ve been thrown from a dance partner in a tango.
“Yes?” My voice sounds so small. I am looking at the ground.
“Come over here. You are to walk with this man through the warehouse. You are to show him only the showroom, and nothing more.” She points at the man who is wearing a brown suit and holding a backpack.
I scurry over to the group and do not look at any of them. My boss steps aside and points to the hallway leading to the showroom. I step inside the doorway and turn back to see if he man is following me. His skin is so white, and his eyes are a piercing color of blue. I feel a jolt of electricity shoot down my spine and come out my feet as I quickly look back to the floor. I have never seen eyes that color before.
As we venture deeper into the hallway, I can hear my boss arguing with the blonde woman again. I slow as I approach the entryway to the showroom. I slowly turn back to see if he is still behind me. He smiles and steps into the doorway. I point at the piles and boxes of bags. “There.”
“My goodness, there are so many of them.” I nod and keep my head down. “Do you work here too?”
“Yes.” I shift my weight back and forth between my feet and glance up carefully. He is not looking at me. He is strolling around the room looking at the bags.
“These are incredible. You manufacture these all in house?” He stops to pick up one of the gold flower purses I have been working on for the past week.
“Yes.” I rub my blister as he rubs the center of the gold flower. A burst of pain from my blister causes me to jump.
“I am just amazed at how perfectly these match our pieces. I have never seen a better replica. Does the woman at the door do all of this herself?” He is now peering inside at the lining of the purse.
“No, she is the manager. I work on these bags, with a few other people. We sew them.” I am looking at the side of his face, and can’t see his eyes. I feel a bit braver without him staring at me.
He turns to me. “You did this needlework? It’s incredible. We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a machine to stitch the original handbags.” He squints back down at the center of the gold flower. “How the…” He trails off and I look back at the floor.
“It’s not that hard, I just follow the picture.” I pull the picture from my boss out of my pocket and hold it out to him. He steps over a small pile of purses and takes it from me.
“This is simply incredible. The detail work is amazing.” He is tracing one of the petals as he squints back at the picture. I step back as I hear my boss calling to me.
“Corilly! Get back out here!” I nervously take the picture from him and stuff it back in my pocket. He moves around me and calls down the hallway to my boss.
“We’re on our way outside, just picking one to buy!” He seems to know how to calm her down, because you can hear her grumble and continue to bark at the blonde woman. “I want to buy this.” He holds out the gold flower purse to me. I look at it and then up to him.
“You can’t pay me.” I push the purse back to him.
“I see. Well, I’ll pay her. I would just like to take a picture of your work, is that ok?” He pulls a digital camera out of his suit pocket. I look at him and then back at the hallway. I am worried my boss will hear him. As I glance back, I see the flash. He has already taken a picture without warning me.
“You probably should delete that,” I say to him softly. “She will take your camera.”
“I won’t let her. It’ll be our little secret.” He smiles and winks at me. “What is your name again?”
“Corilly!” My boss screams. “Get out here, now!” I turn from him and hurry out. He follows me and places his camera back in his pocket. As we get closer to the door, he touches my shoulder softly. An electric shock once again travels to my feet. I stop.
"Corilly, listen. I want you to stop working here. Come back with us." I breathe in slowly and close my eyes. I turn around and look at him.
"I can't, I don't want to leave. I am happy here." He holds the purse out in front of him.
"This is amazing work. I've never seen anyone do something like this by hand. You obviously are gifted. Come work for me, I will get you set up with your own place." I can tell he is taking a risk by asking me to join him. I feel excited and scared. I think of my family across the road.
"Um, I have a family here." I say to him.
"I know. We can work that out. They can come visit you anytime you want. Maybe just try it out?" The black part of his eyes are big, and he is smiling. I feel a rush of energy when I think about saying yes.
"I want to think about it, but it might work." My heart is racing, but I know deep down I could never do it.
"Yes, think about it. Listen, do you work today?"
"I do. I have to work until past dark."
"Ok. I will meet you outside here by that column you were standing by after dark. I will bring the girls so you don't feel uncomfortable. We can talk this all out. Can you stitch other designs?"
"Yes, I can stitch anything." I look back to the door, I hear my boss stomp her foot. She might be coming this way. "We have to hurry."
He glances at the blonde as he whispers to me. "I know, I know. Maybe tonight while you are working you can stitch some other examples. We can show them to Portia. She is my boss, and she won't be able to say no. Please think about it."
"Ok." I let him walk past me, and I follow him to the door.
“Thank you for allowing me to look at your merchandise, Ma’am,” the man says grandly to my boss. He hands her the gold flower purse and asks to buy it.
“It is Nineteen Thousand Pesos.” My boss puts her nose in the air as he pulls out his wallet. The blonde woman places her hand on his wallet.
“We are not paying over four hundred dollars for a filthy fake.” She growls at my boss as she glances down at the purse. "The stitching is nice, but the material is second-rate."
“This is not a filthy fake, this is a very high-quality replica with leather and gold thread. I must pay employees to do this by hand.”
“I will pay the money.” The man pulls out a thick stack of Pesos and counts out twenty bills. I have never seen so much money in my life. He glances at me as he hands the money to my boss. “This fine work deserves more. I hope you pay your employees well.”
“That is none of your business. Be on your way, I must take a load to the market.” My boss grabs my wrist and pulls me inside. She shuts the door on the four white people and rushes me into the production room where I normally work.
I sit down, thread my needle and begin to sew.
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