Trafika Europe 3 - Latvian Sojourn

The girls lit up cigarettes, began to snicker and told her that they sold the best goods available and the going rate for them was much higher than for mushrooms… Nadezhda looked on as they brushed their hair, applied make-up to their weary faces, smoked and sipped from a previously unnoticed bottle. Then they positioned themselves some distance from each other facing the oncoming cars, their hands held out at their side, their thumbs stuck out provocatively. The warm fragrance of her bath still encircles Nadezhda as she takes her usual walk along the edge of the highway. She has beaten her own special path. Its distance from the traffic is adequate for her not to be hit accidentally, nor sprayed with slush when it has snowed unpredictably or when there is a thaw. It is a sunny, warm autumn day. The highway is dry. The traffic – not too heavy, nor too sparse. Somewhat middling. The real work begins in the afternoon, but she arrives earlier. To talk to the girls, to swap stories. Not far from the old bus stop is their warehouse – an abandoned high- voltage electricity storage unit. It is a place where they can keep their cosmetics, drinks, basic first-aid, and various knick-knacks needed for their daily work. It is good here at the edge of the highway – the pimps leave them alone. They think that the girls are only wanted by desperate long- distance drivers of the large vans travelling to and from

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