Jon felt like a giant trap had closed in on him. He remained standing by the staircase where Dante left him for a full minute before coming back fully to his senses. If the gardener gave the calling card to Dante, who knows what else the gardener told him. Jon searched his memory and tried to recall what he said to the gardener. Did he sound desperate? Did his words betray his own thoughts about Dante?Jon shook his head in despair. Even if the gardener did not repeat their conversation, the calling card itself would be a telltale sign of his desperation to escape the island. Why else would he give it to the gardener with instructions to call Fernan and Lisa?Aside from this, Dante listened to his call as he talked to Lisa and Vicky. This meant that Dante wanted to hear for himself what the people on the other side of the call were saying. He obviously wanted to stop people from looking for Jon in the next seven days. At the same time, this meant that Dante already knew what Jon was up
Jon felt weak in his entire body and he struggled to keep his eyes open. His eyelids suddenly felt very heavy and his limbs were as if encased in cement that he could hardly move. One of the women was bending very close to him until he could smell her perfumed black hair. She had on a flowing white gown which brushed across his face as she stood up and stepped away. Jon's skin tingled as if touched by a rush of cold air wherever she came in contact with him. Then, Jon felt hot liquid flowing from his neck towards his collar and assumed it to be his own blood. In his mind's eye, Jon could see himself surrounded by the three women much like the same way that vultures surround its prey."Hush! I told you to be quiet," said the woman who was bending over Jon to her companions. "He's going to wake up.""You spilled some. Let me get at it," cried a second woman and Jon saw from the corner of his eye one of the women rising and approaching him. Her long hair cascaded down her shoulders and fe
He first heard the sound of heavy breathing and wondered who it was who would breathe so close to his ears. He realized that it was his own breathing when he observed it to be in rhythm with the movement of his chest. He forced more air in and felt the life-giving oxygen enter his lungs, then quickly expelled it when the air was spent. He wondered where he was and tried to lift his eyelids. The room that he saw in the dim light seemed familiar and he tried to see more of it by moving his eyes around. He saw light streaming in from the outline of the door and somehow expected a shadowy figure with red eyes emerge from the darkness. He waited, but no dark figure appeared.Blinking his eyes, he tried to peer into the darkness and saw the faint shapes of furniture all around him. Not the dungeon that he expected himself to be, but a furnished room with a carpeted floor and decorated walls. His limbs felt heavy as he tried to sit up from where he lay. He realized that he was on a soft bed,
The moon had set somewhere beyond the horizon, making the darkness of the night sky almost absolute, if not for the sprinkling of stars that shone even brighter with the absence of the celestial disk. The air had grown much colder and Flora shivered in the darkness as she waited for the sun to rise. She sobbed softly, not quite knowing if she would survive the night. There was only the dawn and the light it brings that she looked forward to, hoping that it would bring her fresh hope and that against all odds, she would be able to return to her home in Cardena. Flora remembered how barely two weeks ago, she was anxious as to how she could celebrate her daughter’s birthday who had just turned five. She blamed herself for falling hard for that selfish, lying scoundrel whom she called her husband. She had come to Malen many years ago to work as hired help for an old lady who was living off her savings and needed someone to stay and help her with her daily chores. Flora worked really har
"Ms. Flora and Ms. Eva?" It was the recruitment officer. The two women whose names were called stood up and were immediately ushered inside. The interviewer gestured for the two women to sit down in front of him and opened his mouth to speak. "My name is Pablo and I am looking for two housemaids who will be staying in at my master's house." "The two of you were selected. Congratulations!" The recruitment officer suddenly interjected and smiled widely as she clapped her hands enthusiastically. Pablo stared at the recruitment officer who realized that she had spoken out of turn and walked backwards to the far corner of the room where she stayed for the duration of the interview. "As I was saying..." Pablo resumed speaking, his disdain at being interrupted evident on his face. "...I have selected both of you to serve at my master's house. You will receive food and lodgings as well as very attractive salaries, more than what you were receiving at your previous employment. In return, you
On her way home after getting hired by Pablo, Flora reflected on what she had just been told inside the interview room. She knew that she should be happy for getting a job with good pay that also allowed her to live with her daughter. Finding a job had been more difficult lately because of the recent typhoon that destroyed the livelihood of many of the people of Cardena. Farms that grew rice and other crops were flooded while fruit-bearing trees were toppled down by the strong winds. Flora knew that many people were looking for a job and she was quite lucky to have been offered one. Surely, she could not let a good opportunity pass. Still, there was something heavy that weighed on her mind that kept on warning her to stay away from Orsica.Confused and very much worried about her future, Flora did what she always did whenever faced by big decisions and events in her life. She went to church.The church Flora went to was almost three centuries old and had withstood the many disasters th
“Surprise!” Flora held her hand against her breast as she felt her heart skip a beat. She had just switched on the lights when her daughter jumped from behind their battered sofa to surprise her. With her mind still occupied with thoughts of an unknown future, Flora was extremely jumpy.“Oh, help!“ cried Flora to all the saints, her face briefly displaying her fright before beaming into a smile when she recognized that it was her daughter who jumped at her. Flora lowered herself to hug Nadi who was only too happy at scaring her mother out of her wits.Flora kissed her daughter and let herself be pulled towards the sofa. She saw her friend Perlita standing up from where she hid with Nadi behind the furniture. Perlita, as always, had her necklace of synthetic pearls hanging around her neck and wore her sarong over a white shirt. She greeted Flora, gently pressing her cheek against hers and joined her at the sofa.“So which one of you thought about scaring me to death?” Flora asked her d
The two women were silent for a few minutes as they both processed in their minds what Flora’s future was going to be. In Perlita’s mind, it was akin to a death sentence based on the stories she had heard about Orsica and its infamous resident. How many stories had she heard over the years about the people and the boats that had gone missing while sailing close to the island? Recently, she heard about a relative of a friend who was supposedly hired by the rich recluse but was not heard from again. Some say that the person was still in Orsica and very much alive, enjoying working in the island while properly cared for by the master. Still, there were others who asserted that the person had not communicated with friends in the mainland and was most probably dead. The body would have been kept hidden or buried somewhere within Orsica, but it was more plausible that it was thrown to the shark-infested waters surrounding the island. Perlita’s own grandfather was also said to have sailed to
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