“I just can’t believe she did that to me, that wretched woman!” Eva cried loudly as she placed her hands on her face. She sobbed uncontrollably and tears fell on her face that still had some traces of make-up. Flora tried to console her and tapped her back. “There…there... I too had my own share of horrible bosses, especially while I was working in Malen. I was just lucky that my last employer was a nice lady.”“She shouted at me and ordered me around like some kind of slave. I am not a slave. She treated me like there’s nothing that I could do well. I trained for this. I spent a whole month studying how to prepare meals and cook properly and then she would just have me scrubbing the floor and cleaning the sink. I feel like Cinderella down on my knees doing that old witch’s bidding! I don’t know if I can bear this!” Eva buried her face in her hands and bent low as she sat on Flora’s bed.Flora tried not to laugh, but she knew that Eva did have a point. Rosa was just too strict. She pe
“He is? Let me take a look!” Eva took Flora’s place at the peephole. She stayed there and looked at Emil who stood motionlessly in front of her door across the corridor. A few minutes after Flora heard him knocking on the door, Eva saw him turn and walk away without making any more sounds. His face was expressionless, and his eyes were glazed, as if looking at someone who was a long way away.Eva turned away from the peephole and looked at Flora who was waiting for her to say something.“What is he doing?” asked Flora in hushed tones.“He’s walked away,” reported Eva. “He just stood there for a few minutes without doing anything.”“I wonder why he came,” said Flora. “Why didn’t he knock again?”“I don’t know. Maybe he’s shy or maybe he thought I was already sleeping,” replied Eva.Flora nodded her head but thought that it was weird for anyone to just knock at someone’s door and then leaving without even calling or trying again. Maybe Eva’s right. Emil was probably just too shy, althoug
It was early morning when Flora woke up. She was not used to hearing the digital clock provided in the room when it issued its alarm at 3:30 in the morning and was surprised at its loud beeping. Immediately, she flicked on the bedside lamp and looked for the off button on the alarm clock. She sat up and dangled her legs out of the sheets as she coaxed her body to wake up. The bed had been soft and comfortable, and Flora was quite happy that even the servants’ rooms were provided such luxury, but somehow, she missed the coziness of her old bed in Cardena. It was small and the cushion had become harder, especially in areas where the cotton had clumped together, but it had afforded her restful nights. Somehow, her old bed gave her the safety and security that this new bed could not.Flora stretched her arms and yawned. She looked across the room and saw Nadi in the dim light, sleeping peacefully while hugging her doll. Flora was glad that her daughter was able to adopt to the new room an
It was still dark as the two women and Nadi walked out of the servants’ quarters and walked on the path leading to the main house. There was a slight drizzle and they walked hurriedly to avoid the damp. The wet path glistened under the weak light of a single light bulb that shone from under the roof of the servants’ quarters.“Careful with your steps, Nadi! The path could be slippery,” Flora warned her daughter just as she walked close to her and shielding Nadi with her body.In a few minutes, the women were at the back door of the main house, shaking off the remaining raindrops from their clothes.“Do you think she’s here already?” asked Flora as she brushed Nadi’s head and dress with her hands.“It’s too early, maybe she’s still sleeping comfortably in her bed,” chuckled Eva.When they opened the door and entered the anteroom to the kitchen, they noticed that the kitchen light was on. Eva looked at Flora with an exaggeratedly scared expression to which Flora just smiled. They quickly
Flora had to stop after hearing Rosa speak. It was not the first time that she was told to take care of her daughter. Of course, Flora would take care of her. She’s Nadi’s mother after all. That look on Rosa’s face however seemed uncharacteristic of her usual acerbic nature and Flora even doubted at first if it was really she whom Rosa was referring to.Flora closed the door gently and found her way to the dining room where she saw Pablo pouring water into the guest’s glass. Pablo was quite at ease and did it efficiently. His hand steadily held the pitcher just an inch above the glass such that the water hardly made any sound. Then, Pablo quickly withdrew the pitcher and replaced it on the table. Afterwards, he approached his station near the food cart where he saw that Flora was already standing and looking at him.As Pablo walked towards Flora, he gave her a sharp look but did not say anything and just stood silently next to her. When the gues
The guest drank some water and wiped his mouth one last time before folding his napkin neatly and placing it on top of the table. He stood up, holding on to the table as he did so to support himself.“Thank you,” he said, looking at Flora and Pablo before approaching the door that led to the entrance hall. Flora smiled at the guest and thought how weak he looked for his age. He looked overworked and the lines around his eyes were much more pronounced.“You’re welcome, Sir,” replied Flora and she walked towards the table to get the used plates and utensils. Pablo followed her and picked up the water pitcher and glasses. He was silent and Flora felt uneasy. The only noise in the dining room were the clatter of the utensils and the tinkle of porcelain as they were placed orderly in the food cart. When they were done, Flora came behind the food cart to push it back towards the kitchen. Pablo stood in her path which stopped her from pushing the food cart any farther.“Stop,” Pablo said, his
“Nadi! Where are you?” asked Flora, feeling nervous with the disappearance of her daughter.“She’s with Eva,” said Rosa softly.Flora turned to Rosa and asked, “Where did they go? Where did she take my daughter?”“I asked Emil to show Eva the vegetable patch where she could pick the vegetables for lunch and they took your daughter with them,” explained Rosa.“But how long have they been gone?” Flora asked Rosa in a voice louder than she had intended. It was her daughter that went missing and she was quite concerned that she did not know where Nadi was.Rosa stopped writing and dropped her pen on the table. She eyed Flora who realized that she might have said something to offend the cook. Upon seeing Flora shrinking backwards, Rosa picked up her pen and went back to writing on a notepad.“They haven’t gone long. It would probably take them an hour to get to the spring and pick the vegetables and another hour to get back. You won’t be able to get them to hurry back by clucking there like
“That’s nice, Nadi,” Flora told her daughter, all the while feeling apprehensive that her daughter had seen the place where fishermen supposedly vanished. Flora hugged her daughter and kissed her head thinking of what she would do if her daughter suddenly disappeared. Flora knew that she could not live with herself if something happened to her daughter. “Did you enjoy your walk to the vegetable patch?”“Yes, Mommy!” said Nadi. “I picked leaves and flowers for Kay.” Nadi then showed Flora the bunch of small different colored flowers.“Oh, they’re beautiful, Nadi!” said Flora and smelled the flowers being held out to her by her daughter. “And they’re very fragrant!”“Fragrant!” repeated Nadi.“Yes, fragrant,” said Flora. “I have to go back inside, Nadi. Can you stay here and play with Dolly while I work?”“This is Kay!” said Nadi, hugging her doll.“Oh, sorry, I thought you said before that her name is Dolly,” said Flora.“No, this is Kay,” insisted Nadi and then she got off from Flora’s
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