Her Flaws

Chapter 12

I kept going. I couldn't control my emotions. I couldn't stop my tears. I was now in Valenzuela city which is 24Km from Pasig where I lived. First thing I thought was that they would trace my bike now. I sold it as soon as I found a suitable place near highway. It was too late at night, I didn't even know the time. I sat at the bus stop still crying. There was a clash of thousand thoughts in my mind. I just wanted to be a good daughter and look what I did today. I could not comfort myself saying that I did nothing. It was useless giving myself a pointless excuse. The guilt was too much for me. I just wanted to go far far away. I didn't even know what to do. Where would I go now?
I took the public transport to Cocomo Island which is just 12Km from Valenzuela.
“Excuse me...?”
I was startled. A man in his mid twenties waved his hand in front of my eyes. He had dark curly hair. And he was fair and had pretty eyes and a magnificent smile that could make anyone's day. People usually don't have moustache here expect for those youngsters who're crazy about beard, moustache and their manly looks.
“Oh.. yes?”
“Is that yours?”
“Um.. no.”
I picked up the card he was pointing at. There was a business card. I examined it roughly. It was of a psychologist. Dr. Xinyi d'Sousa.
“Well, it's not mine. But can I keep it?”
“I'm not sure if it belongs to anyone here. So it's ok.”
I kept the card in my pocket. The guy was sitting next to me but he said nothing afterwards.
In the morning, I reached Cocomo Island. I had nothing, no other clothes, no phone, no bike. I went to a guest house for a little stay and to calm down. I really needed to calm down to think about what to do. It was a small private guest house. Probably, made for one night stay for the picnic parties and families who visit Island. A lot of passengers got off the bus with me. When I was paying at the guest house reception, the man who was sitting with me was also there. He just sat in the lounge and I went straight up to my booked room. I had already cried so much that my eyes were dry and swelled. There were no tears left. I took that water bottle out that I had bought before. I drank it in one breath. I needed to calm down. I sat quietly. Took long deep breaths for a minute or two. I went into the bathroom, rinsed my face and hair, washed my wounds and re-bandaged them. Outside the guest house, there was a woman selling clothes on a stall. Those were all local but it was my need now. I bought two shirts and two trousers, a coat, a cap and a scarf. A pair of comfortable shoes also. They were all cheap so I bought everything I needed at once. I had to transform myself or anyone could get suspicious of me. So I changed into my new clothes, washed the old ones and dried them in the room. And now that, I was feeling better, I was too hungry. I could die starving.
I went down to the lounge. Now I took a close look at the surroundings. It wasn't a big hall, but a neat, clean and organized lounge. There weren't a lot of guests. It was all wooden, floor and the roof. Just as you enter the door, there is the reception desk and in front of it, a couch and a table. Beside the table, there is a very beautiful vase that caught my eye. It had very pretty freshly plucked flowers, mainly daisies and roses and orchids and tulips and camellias. Then after walking ten steps, there was a set of comfortable sofas and armchairs couches in the middle and near burnt the furnace whose chimney ran up to the rooftop. On the left side of the lounge there was the kitchen and on the right side there was an office room for the owner and another room beside it I don't know for what, it wasn't labelled. It was a double storey, two hundred yards guest house, very nicely done with architecture and design. More than the looks of it, I liked the way it was comfortable. It wasn't like a formal five star hotel but it gave a homely feeling. I went to the kitchen desk and asked for a club Sandwich. I could not spend money on fancy food. I just need my stomach full. I had never spent money so thoughtfully ever in my life. This just made me feel so horrible, miserable and sick. The curly haired man still sat in the lounge and was now having sips of warm espresso. I picked out a newspaper from the newspaper shelf that hung beside the kitchen take away section, and sunk in a sofa comfortably. I could not figure out exactly what had become of my life. I was reading the newspaper. I wasn't actually reading it. I was just looking at it.
“You look changed ...”
The man sitting there interrupted my so called reading.
“Me?” I asked even though I knew there was no one else in the lounge except the two of us.
“Yeah, I saw you in the bus. You look changed now.” he continued, “I mean, you look prettier. Did you have a road accident?”
“Uh.. hmm, yes. Kind of.”
“Oh. Are you fine now? Your hand seems hurt.”
“Yeah, it's quite good now. Good enough to throw a punch.”
He smiled, but I said it being quite serious.
Well, I had no interest in talking with someone and I had to hide myself in case a police officer disguised as a citizen traps me and arrests me (I have seen this in movies a lot) but I needed someone to talk and he looked nice. After gathering a lot of courage, I asked him a question.
“Are you on a picnic?”
“Yes, kind of. I love to travel.”
“A-n-n .. good.”
“And what about you?”
“I'm just here I don't know why.” I murmured softly.