5.2 In The Storm

I could tell by the sound of the key turning and unlocking the doors, which door from the two wings was opened while I sat in my kitchen-office cubicle. I knew all school kids leave the house first in the morning. Next all the girls who went to their offices. And last was always Sabo. Reed would be sleeping and he was unemployed. In the past, he was a footballer.

Monday morning, I stood in the passage giving a sharp ear listening to the door locks. As I was instructed, I wore nothing on my body except the armband. I had to urinate in front of Shalin. This was a task honestly more difficult than I thought. I drank a lot of water.

When I heard the lock turn, I began to release pee standing in the narrow passage a yard from the gate. Nobody could see me until they stepped on the gate out of the entryway.

It was Natasha of the east wing who popped out. She saw me standing naked in the passage and peeing to the ground. She paused with her eyes fixed on the knob and observed rather in her mind if it was safe to open the gate. She swung the gate open and stepped out.

A nasty act and a bad day for me. I emptied the bowel helplessly. All that water just drained into the soil between the bricks of the pavement. Abruptly, I heard the lock turn and I quickly stepped inside. It was Shalin who left the house.

I reached Salt Waters and reported to Asmr how it went, “Will it work on her?”

“No, it’s not her twine,” he said, “but what would she think?”

“Nothing!” I uttered, “I see her in panties all the time, hugging and kissing boyfriends in the lawn with her shirt dropped over a shoulder.”

“That doesn’t mean she’s naked!”

“The other day I saw her up on the tree with hair on her crotch in the leg holes of her big baggy shorts.”

“That doesn’t mean she’s naked.”

“She was indecently exposed!”

“Indecently exposed, yeah, but not exhibiting.”

“What do you mean? She is a Nadine girl. They like to show off skin.”

“Who told you?” asked Asmr.

“I heard,” I uttered.

“Perhaps her garment was disarranged. Well, try it again. Tap on the door. When she comes out, you do it.”

“What if someone else popped out?”

“Then don’t do it.”

“Well, she will come to pay rent in the first week of December.”

“You must do it now. That’s what I am trying to tell you. You have to do it in the phase of the New Moon.”

“When is the New Moon?”

“Last night it was,” he sighed, “Tomorrow is your last chance.”

“Mi falda!”

That night I chatted with this anonymous person who asked a lot of personal questions. She didn’t say who it was and I was growing eager to know more about her, or him. She knew where I stay, perhaps, I forgetfully told her several times before.

Six-thirty in the morning, I came out and paused by the corner to Kamana Boulevard. This road paved with walkways on either side and a median with shady trees lined in a row. I saw the girl turn into the lane walking at slow pace. When Nizu saw me, she paused for a moment. That slim tall brown girl in a flared frock that gave such an impression of flat hips. I was getting worked up but she turned back and took the other lane. I felt warmth in my middle finger. My motorbike stood by the gate but in second thought I wasn’t willed to go after her. I lost my cool.

I returned to my room and hurriedly took a large dose of heroin preparing for the morning encounter with Shalin. In this hassle, I bumped my face on the leading edge of the door left open in an angle that obscured to my sight and I fell on the floor unconscious, between the bed and the door, in space less than three feet in width.

I was sinking to the bottom of an ocean in a cold dark dreary night. Waves rolled over my head burying the distant lights. There were people drowning in the ocean and lights of a floating bridge emerged but I was growing weak. I could not swim across the sea and climb that mile long ridge. I grabbed a mooring line and listened to the voices behind. I saw my half-brother and half-sister grab this line in the struggle. I let go of the line and dived deep into the black water in order to save them and me on my own.

I woke up lying naked on the floor. The door left open and the dope on the table. It was wet outside and a cool Tuesday morning. A numbness bitten my arm and I could feel no pain. It was very quiet, past eight and everyone gone to their offices and schools. The dream lingered on my mind. I tried to associate to something in real life. I could think of nothing.

I have not seen my siblings in a long time – half-brother and half-sister, or stepbrothers and stepsisters either. The only one I frequently see is my big sister, half-sister, I call Donna. She’s the eldest of my mom. Her name is Najma and stays at her place called Bonita – formerly she was known as a Beauty Queen in Fresco.

I missed that chance to bump into Shalin. I took off the black armband from my biceps admitting that I have failed. I picked my guitar and notebook, sat down to update a song.