I woke up as the guard scrapped a stick across my bars.
'Up!' he ordered me. They were coming for me. We were pushed into a room, court-like and formal. The judge looked at us as we stood there on trial. Six aluminium tins sat on a table by our tickets and my backpack. Words were flown around the room, fingers were pointed, and eventually Darlene's statement was thrust forward at the judge.
When it looked like it was over.
'We didn't even get a change to speak!' I screamed over the top of all our pleas. 'She didn't know what she was signing! We can't read Thai! That's not out stuff! We don't know who put it there! We're American citizens. We want to speak to somebody from the American embassy! Where is our representative! Someone who can speak English!! We want to speak to someone from the embassy!'
Finally the judge looked at us. He understood, but looked at us with hatred. He didn't believe us. His words bore down on the room, as the final sound of his hammer against wood cracked through the warm air.
'What the hell is going on?' I screamed.
Our lawyer turned to us and simply said 'Life, you bofe got life.'
'What?' I screamed, 'We didn't get to testify and we haven't even seen an American representative!'
'That's not the way it works here.' he stated. 'You can appeal, but choo have to find chaw own lawyer, somebody who knows this system.'
I stared blankly back at him. He didn't even ask for our account of things, and he could speak English. He just let us lose. Darlene was crying, my face contorted into dry sobs as they pushed us away.
'How long is life?' I screamed back.
'33 years.' he yelled at me. 'I'm sorry.'