“Is he still looking at me?” Flora asked Eva as they ascended the few steps leading up to the main house.Flora looked back and saw that the gardener was still gazing at them. He stood motionless as a statue as he stood near the hedge with a pair of pruning shears in his hands. He glanced at the hedges that he was pruning and saw some branches that protruded above the otherwise uniform surface of green leaves. Then, the gardener returned his gaze at the women as he snapped his shears and cut the protruding branches with the sharp sound of sliding metal blades. The offending branches fell to the ground soundlessly as the gardener looked on. The result was an almost smooth and immaculate surface of greenery that bordered the gravel path towards the mansion.“So, is he?” asked Eva who pulled Flora’s arm excitedly as Flora turned and looked back at where she was stepping.“He is. Like a puppy,” said Flora who chuckled. “Or a naughty cat getting ready to pounce on a little bird.”“Oh, is he
Flora held her daughter in front of her while Nadi clung to her. Nadi, not quite understanding what was going on, got the sense that she did something wrong and the strange man was somehow angry at what she had done. Flora caressed Nadi shoulder and bowed low to talk calmly to her daughter.“You should behave yourself, Nadi. You’ll get us both into trouble if you don’t behave yourself. Do you understand me?” said FloraNadi nodded and twisted her leg as she placed her tongue on her cheek. She avoided Pablo’s gaze and continued to cling to her mother’s arm.Flora stood up straight and apologized again to Pablo. “I’m terribly sorry, Sir. She’s just new to the place and doesn’t know what to do yet. She’s really a well-behaved child. I’ll talk to her again later.”“You should have held her tighter, Flora,” said Eva. “You know she has a tendency to run to just about anything that catches her fancy. If she were my daughter, I would make sure she’d obey me.““Just hold on to her while I tell
The women got to work at once and cleared the table under the watchful gaze of Pablo who looked at them with hawklike intensity. Flora observed how fine the porcelain was. The plates and cups were quite thin and flawlessly white. They were light and would issue clear clinking sounds like little bells when they hit each other. They were translucent under the light of the chandelier unlike the thick cups and plates that Flora was used to. At her house in Cardena, she had broken what little porcelain cups that they had when she was little and were content with eating using metal cups which later became dented and rusted that they were replaced with plastic cups. Her plates were of cheaper melamine that she bought from the market and were already discolored with plenty of scratches from use.Flora picked up the spoons, forks and knives and placed them on a metal tray that Eva carried next to her. The metal utensils were polished and reflected the light from the chandelier. Flora observed t
The woman entered the kitchen and closed the door gently behind her. Then, she surveyed the room and its three occupants, her eyes lingering on the little girl who seemed to be following her mother as she mopped the floor.“Now which one of you is Eva?” the woman asked.“That would be me, Ma’am,” answered Eva politely.“I’m Rosa, the cook. You will be working here with me,” said Rosa, her voice soft yet commanding. “And who would you be?” she asked Flora as she continued to eye Nadi.“My name’s Flora, Ma’am and this is my daughter Nadi,” answered Flora who had stopped mopping momentarily.“You may go. I shall call for you when I need you,” said Rosa nonchalantly as she turned to walk towards Eva.Flora did not know what to do but stood still with the mop still in her hand. After a while, Rosa turned her head and noticed Flora still standing motionless with the mop.“I said you may go. You don’t belong in my kitchen,” repeated Rosa with some edge in her tone. “Why Pablo would leave you
Then, Maya spoke, “I couldn’t care less where you bring your daughter.”Flora lowered her head and looked at the food she was eating. Then, Nadi reached out a hand and asked her mother to cut a piece of meat for her. Flora did so and remained silent as she thought about what she had been told. Flora remembered that Maya tried to take Nadi earlier to the nursery and only refused when Nadi hid behind her. Flora was beginning to doubt if there really was a nursery where she could leave Nadi. Is there really a nursery? Flora asked herself. Who will watch over Nadi if there is?After Flora had finished eating, she rose with Maya who had given her general instructions on what she would need to do inside the house. Flora would be cleaning all the hallways and the common areas. As for the rooms, access would be given by Maya who would unlock the rooms that would need to be cleaned. Flora would do the laundry at least once a week and could start that very day
Flora stood motionless for a few seconds as she tried to process what she was seeing in her hand. She pulled out the white sleeve from under the pile of colored clothes but did not expect to see a man’s white shirt with the whole front part covered in dried blood. She tried hard to explain to herself what she saw. Perhaps the man had cut himself, but to have that much blood could mean that the man could have died. Perhaps the man had helped someone else who got heavily injured and knowing that they were on an island, the poor victim could have bled to death. But that would still mean that someone had died. Why was it that each explanation she thought of seemed to point to someone dying, Flora asked herself.Flora realized that her hand was shaking as she held out the shirt in front of her. She tried to control herself as she thought of what to do with the thing that she held. “Told you it was red!” said Nadi, pointing at the bloodied shirt that her mother was holding.“Oh, Nadi!” said
Flora pulled her daughter towards her as she looked at Emil. Nadi played with her veil and started covering her face with it. “Just place your clothes there with the others,” said Flora motioning at the pile of clothes.“Thanks,” said Emil, placing the basket he was carrying on the floor. Then, he noticed the pile of soiled clothes that Flora assumed to belong from the master and his guests. Emil stopped and spoke to Flora without looking at her.“I also have a little girl,” he said.“You do?” asked Flora. “Where is she? Maybe she can play with Nadi.”Emil stayed silent and slowly stood up straight, turning towards the laundry room door. “My wife. She’s with my wife,” said Emil, his expression as blank as his words.“Are they here? Did Pablo also allow you to bring them here with you?” asked Flora.“Yes, they’re here,” answered Emil an
“So, you two are on first name basis now?” said Eva in a sarcastic tone. Emil had already left with the trolley after depositing Eva’s bags and the two women stood in the corridor with Nadi. They were standing in the corridor of the servants’ quarters and Eva was unlocking the door to her room. The keys jangled and she opened her door. “He did tell me his name when he stopped by the laundry room earlier,” replied Flora who also opened the door to her room. Nadi ran inside as soon as the door opened. “I got in first!” Nadi cried, but the two women ignored her. Flora closed the door to her room.“He didn’t go to the kitchen,” said Eva, looking at the end of the corridor through which Emil had walked out. She then crossed her arms and leaned back on the wall.“He said he forgot to bring in his laundry this morning, so he came to drop off his laundry bin.” Flora rested her back on the door and felt the knob on her back. “By the way, just so you know, he’s married with a kid. He also told
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