The Red Rose

Chapter XX

After taking out my suitcases and belongings, I finally managed to leave Vienna Airport and set off towards home, to the apartment my grandfather had given me. I felt very tired, but I loved the place I had, even though it was small.

"Wow, what a view... And you can see St. Stephen's Cathedral from here."

It was a really central spot, in the heart of the city, and I couldn't stop thinking about how expensive it must have been for my grandfather to buy this place.

The bedroom had a simple single bed, and there was a shelf with several books and a computer. The dining room was almost attached to the living room and had both a sofa and a folding table. The kitchen had a small bar and enough food to cook with.

"Well, I'll have to start learning to cook," I thought.

I essentially didn't know how to cook anything more complex, just throwing something into the pan, rice, noodles, or potatoes, and that was it. I didn't even bother using the oven.

In Chile, our kitchen was a traditional wood stove, which discouraged me from cooking for myself. My father, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy making different dishes, but he hated washing up, so we bought a dishwasher.

Here, I noticed that the kitchen was electric, and I found this more pleasant. I put a pot of water on and started boiling it, already thinking of making myself some noodles with a simple sauce, without meat.

"Hey, it's just turn it on and go! Great," I said to myself as I watched the bubbles slowly start to form in the water.

On the side, I saw a coffee maker and a kettle. People said that coffee lifted the spirits, just like mate, and my father enjoyed his mornings with his mate, but I, on the other hand, never felt that coffee had any effect on me, so I was always more of a tea person.

After putting the noodles in the boiling water, I glanced at the table and saw a smartphone. I was very curious when I saw it, so I approached and examined it in detail. I saw that it had a fingerprint sensor for unlocking.

"Wow, Grandpa really had everything prepared..." I thought while examining the phone.

I didn't recognize the system it used; it seemed new, neither Android nor my favorite, iPhones.

I started checking the contact list on the phone, and it had my dad's, Sebastian's, and Juanpi's numbers.

When it turned on, it seemed like certain programs were running in the background, and for messaging, it used a new system I wasn't familiar with. There were no social media apps or cloud storage options either; it was a completely sealed smartphone.

Remembering that I was in Vienna, I called Juanpi to tell him I had arrived in the city and wanted to share the news.

"Hello? Miguel?" he asked.

"Yes, here. Hi Juanpi, I just arrived and found this phone. Is it yours?" I asked, a bit curious about it.

"Yes! Someone came by, a bulky man. We checked the apartment together, and I prepared this smartphone for you. He told me to be very discreet and that you would call me at this exact time. Oh! I think he left you a letter!"

Juanpi seemed very excited. I imagine having people from your country while abroad is always a plus, a little piece of home in another place.

I looked around and found the letter, basically sending greetings, and there were also some chips for the door and the safe, along with other things for the house.

After telling Juanpi all about my journey and my bizarre encounter with the woman at customs, he laughed and told me not to overthink it.

We finally agreed to meet at midnight. Juanpi also mentioned that his "mole" had requested an in-person meeting at the same time: