10.3 Black Orchid

The Bight of Azul begins from Salt Waters along the northern coast of white beach. Sunrise Villa is located at this point in Point East on Calle 1 near the big bend to Carrera 1; also known as Marine Drive and a portion of Camino Costero encircling the Hook of Caba. This rocky coastline around is known as Salt Waters. Marine Drive or Calle 1 lying in front of Sunrise Villa is not a very broad street. However, a peaceful road with shady trees and medium palms standing on the sidewalks.

Nowadays, more structures of coffee shops and houses on the coastal side obscured sea view to the road in this particular area. Few blocks away, by the end of the road, it opens to the beachside. And Calle 1 continues as a narrow lane, rather called the Beach Road or a Walking Street though bikers and two-wheelers may pass to the entire stretch of the Azul over a kilometre due northwest. Donato’s place, Sandy Side, is near here at the beginning of Calle 1 lane.

Sunrise Villa loomed a whitewashed tall building narrower at the façade and deep into the block. Spacious balconies facing the sea on every level and ten-storeys in the block. Behind the foxtail palms on the sidewalk, glass panels of a boutique faced the immediate front with lilies planted behind retaining walls. Next to this boutique, to the northwest, stood a fence gate painted white.

Sophie Nadz drives a BMW 528i with a Titanium Silver Metallic exterior finish. She parks her car inside the white fence during her breaks from work at the Ministry of Education as Deputy Minister. That was her garage too. This building did not have a parking basement because it was a much older configuration or perhaps it was not a required obligation. Most of the tall buildings didn’t have a basement parking. A parking lot though lies next to the white fence to the northwest. Or she could conveniently park on Carrera 1a next to her house to the southeast or on the right side of Calle 1.

Murry parked my motorbike right in front of the white fence. Between a palm and a light post, she’d drive carefully pass that gate to her garage. It was raining and she could not pass that gate because a motorbike blocked her path. It was a red and white Honda XR200 enduro dirt bike. She could not even pull it to a side. She cursed and turned her car to park on the right side of the lane. Then she ran across the road in the rain.

I did not know about it. Murry was in Nativa and he would not bring my bike in three days, I was told. Next day and the next day he placed my motorbike in front of her gate. This is what they call a ‘Black Orchid’ magic.

On the third day, I saw a picture of my bike outside her gate and a complaint about it on Twitter. “This dude has been parking his motorcycle on the wrong side of the road in front of my gate. This has been causing a nuisance to me now for three consecutive days. Fuck off!” 140 characters vested. I recently joined Twitter. Her nick was ‘safnaz’. Alright, this was Sophie Nadz and images of hers appeared in the photos.

I grabbed my phone and dialled Murry. This time he answered my call. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“What happened?” he sniggered.

“You put my bike in front of her gate!”

“Is that all? Did you check the thread?”

“What?” I scrolled down and it was there.

Murry commented on the thread with a picture of mine sitting on the motorbike and it read, “His name is Kawla.”

“Mi falda!” I cried, “What the fuck!”

At that point I discovered something and slowly lowered my phone. On the Twitter display of safnaz, she placed a picture of a white murex in a beige background. I have seen this shell before. And I knew where I saw it. It was in coquette’s photos on Facebook – a fake Facebook page.

Absurd! This is how they connect people. We hit her in the weak spot, he said. I call it nuisance making. In a couple of hours, that whole tweet was deleted.

When Murry returned my motorbike, I rushed to Salt Waters in the rain and met Asmr at The Breakwater. Before I could say a word, he raised an arm and slammed me down, “Take a seat, Kawla!”

I dropped heavily to a chair. Half Tone and Jokey were there, each nursing a vodka orange. I wished to have a gin tonic.

“I must talk to you privately,” I told Asmr.

“Huh!” he said softly, “Go on! We’re good here.”

I paused and then began, “I just figured coquette is safnaz. Both are Sophie Nadz.” I explained how I came to this conclusion.

“Aha! There we go!” he exclaimed, “Now we are getting at something. It is cracking up.” Asmr brushed his beard, “You must apologise to her on Messenger to say a friend of yours parked your bike in front of her gate.”

“On Messenger!” I muttered.

“Yes, on Messenger. And do not tell her how you found out she was coquette.”

“She would ask!”

“There are hundred ways to tell a lie!”

Jokey added, “You can tell her that you found it from her IP Address long time ago.”

“True. You can tell her that,” Asmr echoed.

“What if she has blocked me?” I asked.

“Then your bike goes back to block that concha’s gate,” that was who he was who said that.

“We are causing a nuisance to this lady. We can’t even park on the left side of the lane. Traffic police will tow my bike and I’ll have to pay a fine.”

“It’s time you pay a price,” returned Half Tone.

“Seriously!”

“No,” said Asmr, “You just continue to chat with her and make sure she knows you have seen that tweet. Now we must get started with Suvargedor as soon as this rain passes away.”