As the day passed, Flora remained apprehensive as to what would happen to her in the coming days. She had not heard anything else from Eva, but she was quite worried that the new housekeeper would just enter the kitchen and demand Flora’s termination for disturbing the master and her guests. Flora tried to forget what she had seen inside the library, hoping that by doing so she would also be able to erase the events that had transpired that morning. However, try as she might, the image of the more youthful Mr. Dante lying inside a box of earth with his eyes wide open were burned in her mind.
When she signed that employment contract a few weeks ago, she had committed herself to keep things that she would observe in the mansion as secret. She had seen a lot of things already that she could not really explain, but she had learned to accept them as the master’s eccentricities that Pablo had told her at the beginning of her employment. Perhaps that was really wha
Flora wheeled the cart into the dining room and parked it at its usual place. She remembered the last time that she pushed the food cart inside the dining room was three days ago when she served lunch to Mr. Renan. The guest had returned to Cardena since then and Flora had not any guests to serve. She tried to remember the things that Pablo had told her before and hoped that she would not commit any mistake that would get Pablo to be angry at her.Flora took note of her uniform and smoothened her apron. She then stood at her spot next to the food cart and waited for Pablo’s instructions. She was surprised that Pablo was not standing next to her, but was pacing the floor, something that was not characteristic of him who had always seemed composed and confident.
That night, Flora returned to the servants’ quarters with Nadi. She felt tired and decided to get to bed early. She helped Nadi prepare for bed and heard her daughter say her prayers before sleeping. Flora herself got under her blankets after saying her prayers and flicked off the light from her bedside lamp. She looked at the dark room and observed how the dark shapes of the walls and furniture took form.Flora did not know what time she had gotten asleep, but she was assailed by strange dreams. She dreamed of Nadi hugging her doll as she was led by Emil down a dark staircase. Nadi appeared to be crying, but she allowed herself to be pulled by Emil. Flora tried calling to her daughter, but it seemed that Nadi could not hear her. Then, Flora saw Emil disappear through a chasm that opened at the bottom of the staircase. Nadi stepped into nothingness and she fell still hugging her doll.Flora called to her daughter and tried to run towards the chasm whe
The next morning, Flora woke up from the sound of her alarm clock. She opened her eyes and realized that she was curled up in bed. She immediately silenced her digital clock and stayed in her position for a while.Such a strange dream, she thought. She remembered the blood dripping from the chin of the man who bent over the unconscious Eva who lay on the marble table and she shivered. If it were a dream, it was quite real, she said to herself.Flora flung the sheets and got out of bed. She went through her morning rituals and then woke up Nadi. When they were both ready, they got out of their room and walked over to Eva’s door. Flora raised her closed fist to knock on the door. She hesitated a moment before proceeding to make three knocks. When she heard nothing, not a sign of movement from within the room, she knocked again. Louder this time around.“Maybe she’s gone out,” said Nadi who was holding her doll. “Maybe she went a
As Flora ate breakfast with Nadi at the anteroom, she could not help but feel agitated the way that Rosa shouted at her earlier. Rosa had allowed Nadi to stay at the anteroom or at least ignored her presence all the time that her daughter was there. Nadi had also behaved well and played with her doll without disturbing her mother next door. Flora was hesitant to bring Nadi anywhere else because even though she could not see her, it was comforting to know that her daughter was near.When they finished breakfast, Nadi asked Flora a question, “Is Rosa angry at you, Mommy?”Flora did not realize that Nadi could hear what was happening next door. She knew that her daughter could, but Flora ignored the fact.“No, my dear, she just wants me to bring you to a better room,” said Flora.Nadi gave her mother a hug and Flora felt that her daughter was comforting her. She hugged her daughter back and finally decided where to bring her.M
When Flora arrived at the laundry room, she looked around and saw that Nadi was nowhere to be found. She tried to calm her nerves as she knew that her daughter could be hiding inside the storage room. She walked calmly towards the storage room and opened the door to look inside. She flicked on the lights, but she still could not see any trace of Nadi. She felt her heart beat faster. She shouldn’t have let Nadi stay at the laundry room by herself.“Nadi…” Flora called softly. “It’s Mommy. Are you here?”Flora heard a soft giggle and she felt relief flood over her. She entered the storage room and decided to play along.“Hmm… I wonder if someone is hiding behind those boxes!” said Flora as she looked behind the boxes of detergent. “I thought I heard someone giggling.”Nadi giggled louder.“I know. Maybe there’s someone hiding inside the cabinet!” Flora then op
Flora covered her face with her hands and cried without a care, not minding that she was still inside the dining room in front of Pablo. She felt as if her whole world had come down on her. She could not care less if the master himself entered the dining room and found her on the floor. She heard Pablo still shouting at her and even tried to pull her up to her feet by pulling her arm, but she ignored him. She did not know when Pablo finally left the dining room, she only realized that he was gone after what seemed an hour that she cried.Flora felt the dryness in her throat and her eyes felt swollen from crying. She finally got the strength to stand up, using the food cart to support herself. Then, not knowing what else to do, she pushed the cart towards the kitchen. She was still sobbing as she entered the kitchen and her face was still wet with her tears.When Flora raised her head, she realized that Rosa was looking at her. Rosa’s forehead was furrowed and her
Flora did not realize it, but she breezed through the dining room and across the entrance hall until she got to the wide staircase. Her footsteps were mostly muffled by the carpet, but it was also the force of habit that she maintained her steps light as she crossed what she considered to be hallowed halls of the mansion. Upon reaching the wide staircase that opened to the entrance hall, she held on to the bannister of carved wood for support and climbed up the steps as fast as she could. She reached the landing and walked quickly towards the south wing.The portraits that hung on the walls seemed to watch her as she sped along with a single intent in her mind – to reach the room where her daughter was. Nothing else mattered to her but Nadi who remained the single purpose of her life. Without her daughter, Flora knew that h
Flora and Nadi was walking towards the staircase when she heard voices of servants who were coming up from the opposite wing. She realized that she was bound to be discovered with Nadi if she continued to walk towards the staircase. She knew that she needed to act fast before the servants get to where she and Nadi were. Then, she saw the storage room and decided to hide there. Immediately, she and Nadi ran to the storage room and she let Nadi sit behind the laundry baskets.The voices got louder as the servants went closer to the storage room. Flora opened the door a little and she saw that the servants were carrying dirty laundry. Flora panicked as she realized that the servants were going to the storage room and leave the laundry there. Without thinking she did something that she would otherwise not do.After a while, the door to the storage room opened wide. The servants stopped talking abruptly when they saw Flora inside.“Oh!” said one of the se
The water was clear and Lisa had no trouble seeing the cave opening just ahead. Before swimming through the opening, she took a quick look behind her and saw Nestie just behind her. Lisa gave Nestie a quick wave and shot through the opening of the cave with broad strokes of her arms and legs. Lisa swam to the surface and was quickly amazed at what she saw. The sun shining through the opening of the grotto made the water luminous, turning it from emerald to a glowing neon. She looked at her hands from under the water and saw the fine bubbles on her skin turning her hands into silver. She looked up at the ceiling and saw the ripples in the water reflected on the high dome of the grotto, giving the cavern an otherworldly appearance. The stalactites hanging from the ceiling glinted in the green light and looked like numerous fingers reaching for the water below. Nestie’s head bobbed out of the water and he quickly wiped the water from his face with his hands. Lisa watched his friend’s re
The boat glided over the water, leaving ripples in its wake. The boatman jumped aboard and started the engine, steering the boat towards one of the many islets that dotted the sea. Nestie turned his head and looked at the cliff that they had just descended. He swallowed hard before saying to Lisa. “I can’t believe we descended from that,” he said. “Are we going back the same way?” Lisa smiled as she saw the expression on Nestie’s face. Her friend took the front seat on the boat while she sat behind him. “Do you want to?” Lisa asked. “I don’t know if I can make it,” Nestie replied. Then, he added. “Maybe I can, but you will have to pull me up.” Lisa laughed at Nestie and pinched his back. “Ow! What was that for?” asked Nestie, rubbing his back which Lisa had just pinched. “For being so adorable!” Lisa answered. “Look ahead of you and enjoy the scenery. Don’t you think the islets and the rock formations look stunning?” Nestie loo
Upon alighting from the tricycle, Nestie saw the ocean and the tall cliffs that surrounded a wide beach. They were a short distance from the sandy coast where several boats were docked. Out on the sea were numerous islets that rose from the water like the backs of turtles or upturned boats. Several of the islands were connected to each other like a pearl necklace, the sea between them becoming labyrinthine for boats to navigate through. Fortunately, the islets also served a purpose in protecting the moored boats on the small beach where Lisa and Nestie were standing as well as the inner islets in the archipelago from the strong currents and big waves coming from the open ocean. “Do you like what you’re seeing so far, Nestie?” asked Lisa who had just paid the tricycle driver and stood beside Nestie to admire the scenery. “I’ve seen so many coasts in my life, but this is still breathtaking!” remarked Nestie, drinking in the scene before him. They were on top of a cliff
Lisa woke up from the sound of birds outside the window. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the room flooded with golden light. She stretched her arms and rubbed her eyes before sitting up in bed. It looked like it was going to be a good day, she thought as she looked around the brightly-lit room. Celie was still sleeping soundly so Lisa silently got off her bed and prepared to take her morning shower. It was good that Celie was able to sleep without any incident. Her cousin needed to have a good night’s rest if she were to look great for her birthday party. After taking her shower and putting on her usual comfortable clothes of jeans and a cotton shirt, Lisa noiselessly left the room. She then walked to Nestie’s room and knocked on the door. “Come in, Lisa,” came Nestie’s voice and Lisa twisted the door knob. “How was your sleep last night, Nes?” asked Lisa. Nestie had already changed and was combing his hair. “Very well. Thank you,” replied Nestie.
Lisa lay in bed with her blankets to her neck. Celie was right. It was a cold night. Lisa, however, could not figure out why Celie insisted on having the windows open despite the cold. Her cousin’s actions had been a bit erratic and illogical these past days, thought Lisa. She knew that her cousin tended to be unpredictable at times even when they were young. Back then, it could just be attributed to their youth; Lisa, herself, remembered doing some wild things with Celie. However, they were now grown women and very much in control of their actions. Lisa could understand Celie’s predicament of having to live under public scrutiny and always acting as a model figure for her father’s citizens, but Celie’s sudden disappearances and escape from her security detail were quite irresponsible. There was a quick snort coming from Celie’s bed and Celie moved restlessly to one side. Lisa looked at her cousin and wondered where she had gone after her photo shoot at the Home for the Elde
“Is that you, Lisa love?” came Celie’s drowsy voice as Lisa entered the guest room. The lights were off and Lisa could only tell from the dark shape over the bed that her cousin was already lying down as if ready to sleep. “Yes, Celie,” said Lisa, looking at her cousin. “It seems too early for you to be sleeping. Would you mind if I turn on the lights?” Lisa switched on the lights and saw that her cousin was in bed with her blankets drawn up to her neck. There was a soft moan from Celie. “Oh, sorry. Is the light too bright?” asked Lisa. “N-no,” came Celie’s reply. “Keep the lights on.” Lisa was about to walk towards her bed when she noticed Celie’s face. Celie’s face was ashen and her lips were pale. “You look pale, Celie. Are you sick?” asked Lisa worriedly. “No. I’m alright, Lisa. Don’t mind me. I just feel tired, that’s all,” came Celie’s reply. “Sorry to hear that,” said Lisa. She nevertheless went towards Celie and
The gates to the Adobe House opened slowly to allow the van to enter the grounds. There were soft knocks on the van’s window that made Lisa look at the person making the sound. She saw a young woman outside the van offering her garlands of sanaria. After a short pause, Lisa decided to lower the window and bought several garlands from the young woman. The young woman beamed, briefly showing her white but misaligned teeth. She thanked Lisa before walking off to find other buyers of her sanaria garlands. The sweet smell of the fresh garlands filled the van as it drove inside the Adobe House grounds. Lisa took a deep breath and was quickly reminded of her time as a young girl in Cardena. She remembered that there used to be plenty of sanaria growing wildly in nearby vacant lots and she and Celie would compete on who could pick the most. The flowers were brought to the kitchen were the kitchen maids would take some of their time to turn them into garlands. Sanaria leaves that did
The rain fell just too heavily and too sudden that Lisa could not tell if she did see what she thought she saw. She remembered seeing banners pinned on the trees outside as they entered the building earlier and knew that she could have imagined those to be something else. There was another flash of lightning followed by thunder and Lisa knew that it could be another one of the freak weather disturbances that she and Nestie had been seeing more frequently lately. “Toto, you have to stay calm,” said the nurse to the old man. She had come to the old man’s assistance when she found him to be distressed. “It’s just the rain. It will be over soon.” Lisa walked over to Nestie who was looking at the nurse as she tried to calm Toto. The two friends wanted to help the old man, but knew that the nurse would be able to do a better job. The nurse turned to Lisa and Nestie and gave them a smile. “He’s always like this during thunderstorms. Crying like a child.” “Ju
Toto placed his wrinkled hands on top of his notebook. He took off his glasses and looked at his audience around the table. They had all finished lunch and were listening to him as he read from his notebook. "Why did you stop?" said an old lady. "Go on. I want to know what happens next." "Yes, I want to know what happened between you and Clara," asked another bright-eyed old lady. "You had me talking for almost an hour. I think I deserve some breather," said Toto. He coughed, prompting Nestie to grab the pitcher and pour cold water onto Toto’s glass. “Thank you,” said Toto to Nestie after taking a few gulps of water. Lisa was amused. "You mentioned the Devil's Sea. Is that a real place?" Toto gave another cough and set down his glass on the table. "It's real alright. You don't hear a lot of stories about it now, but in those days, there were a lot of boats that went missing in that area." "You mean like the Bermuda triangle?" a