Written by: Sweta Ghimire - 25001, Grade XI
Posted on: 19 January, 2024
Late midnight, working in the office overtime with a project due tomorrow morning, Charlie, intern at a reputed institution was working under a male manager. After getting a degree she got her first internship. She was from an unprivileged background and a woman belonging to a lower ethnic community. Despite all this she was a hardworking and dedicated person.
As she was working alone in the office, she heard a weird sound from the cabin above. She decided to check. One step, another step likewise, she reached in front of the cabin's door. From outside the glass window, she saw an extremely appalling scene which gave her chills from inside. Her manager was abusing and harassing a clerk. She could not believe the sight and tried to go away due to the terror. She accidentally knocked some files and ran which made the manager alert and he caught sight of her. She felt guilty being a coward due to her own reasons. She packed her stuff and decided to complete the project at her apartment.
The very next day Charlie hesitated to go to the office but ended up going. Shockingly everything was normal. Even the clerk was also working normally. Few days passed, and she was assigned to do a new project with the mentor and the manager. She felt anxious. But everything went normal. The project completed and after a month the institution got profit and Charlie was made permanent at the institution. Her cabin was now near the manager's. Charlie was doing well in both professional and personal life. She had completely forgotten the incident.
The institution was invited to a business conference where the representatives of the institution were supposed to go. As Charlie was one of finest employee, she was selected to go to the gathering with the manager. They both went to the conference and represented their institution. But while returning to their respective homes, the manager invited her for a drive. As it was late, she, decided to go with him. She felt ok. But after a few moments she felt uncomfortable as the manager took the route from the forest. As time escalated, she felt being touched by the manager. She couldn’t even react and felt numb. She couldn’t fight back and felt unconscious. Later, Charlie was found by a woman in bad condition: blood all over and wounds at her body, and half dressed. She was basically raped by her manager and thrown near a bush of the forest. Charlie was admitted to the hospital. She was bed rested and was helped by the nurse to overcome mental instability, the trauma. Charlie was facing wide range of emotions which include fear, shame, anxiety, depression, guilt, anger, and a sense of impotent.
She felt that it was her fault to trust a harasser. She felt more depressed that she could not even take any action due to her family situation.
Lastly, causing her to leave a note “Why am I the one?” and jumped off the hospitals top floor. Her body went down, but the soul went up.
