The Lost Shoe

Prologue

"Tok tok tok!" "Who is it? I am in the bathroom! Please give me a second!" I hurriedly wipe my body with the off-white towel and wrap it around my waist. I go out of the bathroom and swiftly look for my shirt and boxer shorts from my century-old-looking locker. I wear both almost at the same time and in a split second I find myself taking a peek from the hole on the door of my apartment. I see a familiar face standing impatiently on my doorstep. So i unlock the door and open it to reveal the boy in his 20s with brown, curly hair wearing a pair of denim and v-neck shirt. "Hey Dennis! Buddy! Come on in!" I lead him to a monoblock chair as I sit on my wooden bed which screech every time I do so. "You know what Rogelio? I know I have been annoying because I have been bugging..." "I know, I know, You want me to go with you to Victoria. Well, i am going to think about it this time. When are you going to leave again?" I ask in an annoyed tone. "Tomorrow at 10 in the morning." "Alright then. You'll know I am going if I arrive at the port at 10 in the morning tomorrow."

I haven't been to Victoria all my life and I am afraid that there's nothing I can do there that can improve my means of living. I am a living alone at 22. I did not finish school even. I had no means to do so. My father got ill and died when I was ten. My mother eloped with another woman when I was fourteen. I had been doing odd jobs since then to support my schooling. I used to work as a house help in a lodging house near our school. I would clean the whole house everyday after my classes. I would finish cleaning at 12 midnight just so I can stay in that lodging house and have dinner for free. Good thing I had Dennis who treats me to lunch. So, back to the present. What should I do? Should I go with him or not? I turn the lights off and lie on my bed. It is already 10 in the evening. It is silent in my room but the busy street outside keeps me awake. If I go, what would happen to me in Victoria? Should I just leave my job here as a server in a Karenderia? If I stay, will I be a server for the rest of my life? I keep thinking until I am drowned in the murk of night.