The Coño Boy 6: Ten Lifetimes With You

Chapter Thirty One: La Mariposa Validora

La Compaña de Arrastia
Puerto de Manila
Manila
16 de Deciembre 1887
5:54 pm

Segismundo:
Horacio... Horacio...

Segismundo calls as he enters his father's office. Don Felizardo left at around a quarter past three for some urgent business with the Governor General's office. And as the day draws to a close and the grind begins to slow down for the laborers on the docks, Segismundo intends to take Rafael out on the town after a dinner appointment.

Rafael's behaviour the past few days has caused Segismundo to worry. He has been unusually withdrawn, quiet, and his mind often wandering off. Rafael would spend hours just sitting by his office desk, lost in his thoughts, not paying attention to anything about the goings on at Compaña El Nuevo Sueño. Rafael would show up, let the day pass, and leave.

He barely says more than two words to Segismundo through the day, and even as they traveled to the capital city to settle some accounts and finalize deals with regards to the containers for shipment they require, he has kept pretty much to himself. Segismundo knows the cause of all this, and is trying his best to lift Rafael's spirits. But not even the energy, sights, and sounds of the busy capital city could draw half a smile on Rafael's face.

Horacio:
¿Señor?

The clerk rushes into the office as soon as he is called.

Segismundo:
Nacuita mo ba ang Señor Rafael?

Segismundo asks for Rafael. He had left him reading by the window of Don Felizardo's office when he headed to check on some samples at the warehouse about an hour ago. The clerk looks around the office.

Horacio:
Narito lang po siya canina, Señor Segismundo. Acala co po sumunod siya sa inyo sa bodega.

The clerk tells Segismundo as he sets down some papers on the table.

Segismundo:
Hindi co siya nacuita sa may baba.

He says as he checks the cover of the book Rafael had left on the table.

Segismundo:
Ipag-utos mo at baca cami ay nagca-salisi. Ipa-hanap mo siya sa baba at ina-asahan caming dadalo kina Don Basilio.

Segismundo orders him before looking out at the window facing the docks.

Horacio:
Opo, Señor.

_ _ _

Restaurante Illyria
Calle Escolta
Manila
16 de Deciembre 1887
8:08 pm

Rafael found himself walking aimlessly as the shadows cast by the late afternoon sun fell longer and wider over the city. After catching a ride on a coach from the busy port district, he got off at Calle Escolta where the shops that chose to remain open until later in the evening have lit their lamps while the fashionable cafés and restaurants have begun to serve dinner.

He had not eaten much during lunch and was craving for something to eat. He stumbles upon a stylish looking restaurant situated at the corner of the busy street beside a jeweler's shop. The name Restaurante Illyria done in gold script over a cobalt blue oval signage with carved tendrils hangs above the door.

As Rafael steps inside the restaurant, he immediately feels transported inside a book with illustrations as he sees the brightly painted walls filled with images from Greek myths: Winged Eros with his bow and arrow welcomes every patron, there is Psyche with her oil lamp radiant in the dark, Aphrodite presenting Paris of Troy with a golden apple, and doomed Narcissus staring at his reflection by the lake. The murals, separated by dark polished wooden panels decorated with wall brass sconces bearing the lamps that lit up the restaurant's interiors.