But the moment she started telling the story she found out she was not as ready as she thought. She could still feel the hands of the man on her arms on her body. Grabbing her arms, covering her mouth. Living through the fear again she told everything she could remember, from the moment she walked out of the library where she had studied, till the moment she passed out.

And then they started grilling her. She had no other way to describe it. Questions that drew out details she did not know she had in her. About the way the men looked, what they had said, her thoughts and feelings during the ordeal and about her headache and her passing out. She was happy that they had already caught the guys who did it as even after all the drilling, her description about the 3 men was patchy at best.

She just knew one was about her age and 2 were older. Maybe 35 or 40. They were big man, but everybody looked big from her perspective. It was dark and she thought they might be slightly tinted, but she was not sure as the alley and building had little or no light. The man all spoke with the local accent, and they all smelled like they had been drinking. But other than that she had nothing on them. What puzzled her most was that she had no injuries at all. She could clearly remember the fist coming her way, only inches away from hitting her head. She must have passed out and fallen to the floor before the fist landed.

And after that the cops must have arrived to arrest the three men before they could rape her. She had asked the doctor when she came to check on her earlier in the morning if she had been tested for rape and the doctor said she was fine and nothing had happened. Not a scratch or a bruise, except those on her arms. She was so relieved after hearing it, she cried for 5 minutes. She never cried. She had not cried once after her father died 6 years ago.

She asked them what would happen next and if she would have to identify the men in a lineup or testify if the men would go to trial. Their replies had been evasive. That everything was still under investigation and all would be explained later. Dei explained they needed to gather all the facts and evidence first and based on that a course of action would be taken.

She liked Dei, he had something solid, someone you could trust. During the discussion she deduced he was the one that had found her. Not that he said as much, but she could tell from the way he asked questions. But she still got the feeling they were not telling her everything and in the end that resulted in an uncomfortable silence in the room. “When will you be released from the hospital?” asked Dei, breaking the silence.

She replied that she would probably go home this afternoon. The hospital wanted to run a few more test, but unless something new came to light, she was free to go. “Do you need a ride home?” asked Dei. “I am happy to drive you there, if you won’t mind. That is the least we can do after all that happened to you”.

She thanked him but told him her mom had already promised to take her home. Not long after that the two men had taken their leave and left her alone with her thoughts.