Tales from the Inn in the Middle of Nowhere

Chapter 3: Kat's Tale

Claro blinked once... twice. For a moment, he was not sure where he was. He stared at the large circular lighting fixture hovering above him. The sound of the chirping crickets seemed to be lulling him to sleep once more. But he's been a light sleeper since his first day at work. He checked his Omega watch. Half-past three. Undecided with what to do with his time, he raised his hands to the back of his head and cupped it. His mind flew back to his weird dream. He wondered what prompted it. Remembering that when he fell onto the floor and woke up, he immediately picked himself up and sat on the edge of the bed. While still confused, he again experienced that sudden groggy feeling. And he laid back to bed. There he slowly fell into a deep slumber and remained oblivious for hours.

While musing to himself about the meaning of his vision, he suddenly craved for a cup of coffee. He ignored the feeling at first for fear of disturbing the rest of the household. He stood up, got a hold of his backpack and opened it. He drew from it a pen and a leather-bound notebook. Sitting on the bed again, he started jotting notes about his first-day experience in this strange place. He smiled to himself. Being in an inn in the middle of a forest and with an unusual family seemed to him more like a fairytale story. He then got the urge to get to know more about this peculiar family.

Being an only child of work-driven parents -- a Japanese mother, and a Filipino-Spanish father -- made his childhood very far from family-oriented. Even during holiday get-togethers, reunions with relatives were dull and reduced to forced civility. In his loneliness, he took refuge in writing. As a child, he had written a lot of adventure stories of futuristic heroes from uncharted universes. But as a young man, his interest shifted to journalism. He fell in love with the edginess of uncovering the truth behind the stories. And as a professional, through his good academic background and his parents' influence, he landed a job in the biggest television network in the country. There, he let his job dictate his lifestyle. He had been working for Bettina Santos since he was twenty-three. It was not easy. The woman had been known to be a primadonna with a razor-sharp tongue who would demand perfection at all cost. For her, it's all about rating. And he learned to walk on fire, metaphorically speaking. But lately, he had found himself questioning his motivation for working. He had lost his spunk and drive and he desperately wanted it back. So, he went on this journey – a quest to get his mojo back. He thought that he only needed rest and relaxation. But perhaps he needed more.

After this contemplation, he showered and changed into his favorite white shirt and jeans. He dried his thick shoulder-length hair with his handy blow-dryer, which he always took with him in his travels as one of his small indulgences. As a finishing touch, he tied his hair into a ponytail and put on his gold-rimmed glasses. By four in the morning, he became truly hungry. A motor running alerted him. He opened the large sliding window to the terrace and investigated. It was just in time for him to see the gray sedan leave. Assuming that everyone would be already awake, he decided to go down.

Katriona was filling water in the red water heater. He watched her from the mid landing of the stairs. Her back was towards him.

"Coffee or tea?" Katriona asked without looking.

He was startled. "Uh...erh...coffee."

"And how do you take your coffee?" She inquired again.

"Black. With just a hint of sugar." he walked towards the kitchen and sat on the stool in front of the counter.

Katriona immediately took a mug and moved to the coffee maker. She filled it with the hot black liquid, then put half a teaspoon of brown sugar.

"Brewed?" Claro accepted the mug. He took a sip and then smiled. "Great brew! It can beat the best cup in any famous cafe in Manila. I'm impressed."