Second Chances (Kathneil FF)

Second Chances - 8

Second Chances - 8

The next day, at about 7.45, after grabbing a cup of coffee and two blueberry danish as breakfast, Kevin stood waiting at the hotel's lower ground level for the games centre to open.

He paced the aisle restlessly, peering  over the glass panels into the darken centre every now and then.

Like most 6 star hotels, the games centre was well equipped with entertainment for both the young and old, but the person in charge has yet to arrive to open it.

The night before, after managing to get away from his excited fans, Kevin took the elevator down to the lower ground floor as how he saw it went.

Based on instincts, he had gone to the hotel's games room, deducing 'the girl by the road's destination based on the art utensils he saw in her arms earlier.

He has come to think the girl as that. His heart would prefer to think of her as his long lost Inessa, but his head told him not too.

But they look too much alike, he argued with himself. Stop it, you cannot afford another disappointment. Or at least your heart can't.

But still his feet took him to the games room the night before.

Alas, the games room was closed for the night.

He looked around, hoping she would still be in the vicinity.

Inessa, Inessa, Inessa.

The chant refused to leave his head.

He paced the area until he bumped into a hotel staff.

"Excuse me, the games room? It's closed?"

"Yes sir, we close at 8."

"Oh," Kevin said looking at his watch for time. It was nearly 11 at night.

"Is there anything I can do for you sir?"

"Aaah, no," Kevin shook his head dejectedly.

"Ok then, sir, selamat malam," the staff bid him good night before making his way.

"Wait," Kevin suddenly thought. "Is there a lady staff working here? With long hair?"

"Why yes, sir," the young staff smiled. "That would be Ms Kamila sir."

"Kamila..." Kevin answered absently, playing with the unfamiliar name on his lips.

"Yes, sir," the staff answered him again. "She should be in at 8 in the morning."

Kevin looked up and smile slowly, his spirit picking up again.

Kamila. Tomorrow morning, he thought.

"Thank you," he shook the young man's hand profusely. "Thank you again. Good night."

So, there he was early that morning, waiting for Ms Kamila to turn up.

Is she going by another name now? he asked himself. Is that why I wasn't able to find her all these years.

And at sharp 8, a lady with long straight hair tied at the nape walked past him, to open the door.

"Ms Kamila..." Kevin asked hesitantly behind her, his heart pounding so loud, he was sure the girl could hear him.

It's her, he thought, his eyes drinking the sight of her back. Oh lord, please let it be her.

She turned to face him expectantly, "yes? Oh, good morning sir, anything I can help you with?"

And his heart dropped like a tonne of bricks.

It was not her.

This lady was slightly older than the Inessa he saw last night.

"Urm," Kevin said uncertainly. "I'm looking for Ms Kamila."

"I'm Kamila, sir. Can I help you?"

"Oh...well yes, I'm looking for Ms Inessa Sanchez," it was a shot in the dark, but he was stumped by the turn of events. "Does she work here?

"Inessa Sanchez?" Kamila frowned slightly, thinking. "No sir. There's no one here by that name."

Kevin's shoulders slumped.

He seriously did not know what to expect but he could not sleep the night before, excited at the prospects of meeting 'the girl by the road' again.

What was I thinking, he scolded himself. It's been years man, let it go! Your eyes are playing tricks on you, just like the devil. That girl was not Inessa!

"That's ok, then, thank you so much," he smiled sadly.

He walked away slowly, feeling older beyond his years.

"Kak! Anita dah sampai?" A newly staff nooded at him respectfully before passing him by to approach Kamila. 

"Tak tau lah."

"Dia tinggalkan berus dia kat locker saya semalam."

"Anita? Dia tengah melukis kat pool," a male staff answered.

Kamila's colleague Kevin presumed, judging by the fact that he went straight into the games centre after he answered his co-workers. 

The conversation, spoken in the Malay language, sounded gibberish to Kevin but what caught his eyes were the paint brushes in the new female staff's hand.

Possibly the same brushes he picked up the night before.

"I'm sorry, but those brushes, who do they belong too?"

"They're Anita's," Kamila answered him. "She comes here part time to teach at our centre."

"Anita?" Kevin scrambled for his phone and thrusted a virtual photo of Inessa into Kamila's face. "Is this her?"

"Yes, that's her," Kamila smiled. "Anita sta Maria. She's new here."

"I see," Kevin's heart started to pound again. "Is she here already?"

"Yes, according to my colleague, she's painting by the p..."

Kamila hardly finished her sentence before her handsome visitor ran up the side staircase, towards the garden and the pool, taking two steps at the time up to the ground floor.