Unanswered Prayers

i am surrounded by broken hearts and unanswered prayers. Rupa stands the line before 9am waiting for rice and meat in exchange for the outstanding price of her own sexual exploitation. I walked through the gach to talk with the landlord of a potential property this morning, seeing her there so early broke my heart. i smiled, she smiled back in her empty way. I wonder has Rupa stopped praying? have her prayers gone unanswered so long that she has stopped praying. i think i would have stopped long ago, in her worn sassy shoes. resigning myself to emptiness, a broken heart to match a broken body. fatalistic resignation to what has been forced and stolen. the life breath shallow as if dying. if she can no longer cry out, who will cry out for her. where are the answers to my prayers for her...have i prayed long enough, hard enough for God to hear and respond. her prayers remain unanswered and i imagine if she still prays, it is not for freedom but for survival, existence, her daily food and not much more. it is not enough, it will never be enough. let the kingdom come now, today in this minute and hour for Rupa. teach me to pray harder, without ceasing...because I know Rupa is only one of 10,000. One prayer still unanswered among thousands. Here in the Gach O God, have mercy. Hear us and answer our calls for mercy.