“My uncle once asked me, ‘Are you a virgin?’ when I was already 27 years old. From that moment, I started to be afraid of him. And a few days later, when he took me to a hotel outside the city, he leaned close to my ear by the pool and whispered, ‘After the pool, come up to my room…’”

At first, everything seemed completely normal.

We sat beside the pool, had lunch, and talked about work.

Then Richard suddenly became quiet.

I noticed that he kept checking his watch.

“Are you waiting for someone?” I asked.

“No.”

He answered too quickly.

A few minutes later, he moved closer to me.

So close that I instinctively turned toward him.

Then, in a low voice, he said:

“After the pool, come up to my room.”

I froze.

“Why?”

Richard glanced around.

“I can’t explain it here.”

“What is going on?”

He only repeated:

“Seven o’clock. Room 214.”

Then he walked away.

From that moment on, I couldn’t relax.

The worst thoughts started running through my head.

Why had he brought me here?

Why a hotel?

Why couldn’t he simply tell me what he wanted?

Twice, I almost grabbed my bag and left.

But then I thought about my father.