Never underestimate the female mind. In the worst of situations, we will find a way to survive and thrive even. No matter what fate or abuse befalls us. That's how I ended up here. Alone on the edge of this cliff overlooking the crashing waves below. No, I'm not contemplating throwing myself over the edge. Not anymore. An angel saved my life. One amazing individual led me out of the darkness of a world of unfathomable abuse and showed me there was, indeed, a light of hope in my world. My story is horrendous and might even be stomach-turning to some. It's not for the faint of heart. It's meant only to explain how I came to be standing here today.

THREE YEARS AGO TODAY:

I was only fifteen years old when it happened. I, like most girls my age, had only a few things on my mind. The really important issues like homework due, a boy I liked and what to wear to school the next day. I was a middle class teenager with average grades, a good family and lots of nice friends. These are things that you don't really understand are as wonderful as they are until they are taken away from you. I never realized how lucky I was until that one night, after the football game, when I left my friends behind to walk home, alone.

The night was a little cold but not so bad. I only had about five blocks to walk. Didn't seem like such a big deal since I had walked it many times before but tonight was different. Tonight, someone was following me in a car without the lights on. Someone who I knew nothing about but he had been tracking me for a couple of weeks. I didn't know this last bit until much later.

At about halfway home, I turned and was preparing to cross the street when this car pulled up in front of me. A semi-good looking older man leaned out and asked if I could direct him to some address near my own. I backed up automatically and said "Sorry, can't help you" and tried to walk around the car. I knew wierdo's existed but hoped he wasn't one of 'em. He moved so damn fast after that that I couldnt believe it. He jumped out of the car, grabbed me around the waist with one hand and clamped his other hand over my mouth. Something in his hand sortof smelled funny and that's the last thing I remembered before my world faded away.

Somehow, he dragged me to his car and put me in the trunk. That's where I woke up hours later. Trapped inside a smelly old trunk, terrified. I hit and kicked the hood but no one answered me. I screamed and cried and the car just kept going. I was panicked and didn't know what to do. I ended up praying as hard as I could until finally, the car rolled to a stop. Still, he didn't let me out. I needed to pee and I could feel sweat trickling down my skin from being locked inside this confined area. I wanted to vomit but kept making myself swallow so I wouldn't. I layed in there for what seemed like hours before I heard a key slide into the lock of the trunk.

I was prepared to claw and scratch my way past him but the moment the lid flew up and I jumped forward, a fist slammed into my face and my world went black again. I knew nothing. Felt nothing. Many hours later, I woke up with my hands tied behind my back and my ankles bound in a small, dark room. It was cold and slowly, I realized, I had no clothes on anymore. I tried to scream but a rag was stuffed in my mouth. I wriggled and tugged at the ropes binding me but couldn't get loose. I cried more. My heart was pounding and I looked around the room and could find nothing to help me. Then the door swung in and the man appeared. He walked in and closed the door. He smiled at me and I was sick. He walked right up to me and smacked me hard. That's when my nightmare began. It lasted three long years. I still don't know I got through it. But it gets worse from here. So much worse........