Corpse As Body, Corpse As Meal

16

HEELS from a pair of brown leather shoes clicked as it entered the Malacañang Palace. It was Kuya Rick. The driver was following a pair of sneakers that heavy stomped and alternately scratched its soles on the floor. Those shoes were worn by Cjay.

“Why would Natalia go to the hospital?” Kuya Rick wondered. Cjay and his driver had been talking about Natalia’s sudden disappearance in the car up to this point. “It’s too far from the mall too. So why bother?”

“She’s a gossip. You can never really tell how far a person can go just to get some gossip. They astound me everytime,” Cjay answered briefly because honestly, there was nothing entertaining with talking about Natalia. His only concern was to keep his assistant to hold on to the littlest freedom he got left. Being locked up in the house was worse, or rather boring, than just being cooped inside Citadel’s glass dome.

Kuya Rick was carrying the shopping bags with both arms while following him which made it a struggle for him to catch up with him. Even if Cjay wanted to help, it would be useless because there had been an incident in the past when his body’s decay was so worse that he tore off his arm while lifting up a chair. That’s why he only settled with carrying the little shoe box bag for his new pair of sneakers.

“What if she knows someone in that hospital?” Kuya Rick guessed. “A friend? A relative?”

A bit of guilt chewed Cjay’s chest. If Kuya Rick guessed it right, then it would be reasonable for Natalia to sneak away from him and check the safety of whoever she personally knew among those who were trapped in the hospital.

But who could be Natalia’s friend or relative in there? Because as far as he knew, Tita Hilda was her remaining family. That was also the reason why she was left with no choice but to stay in the presidential house and settle with working as his assistant.

They stopped in front of the door of Cjay’s room. It had a deep brown paint, made darker by the smooth glossy coat of mahogany varnish. Cjay stepped aside to give way to Kuya Rick while handing him the key to his bedroom door as well. Apparently, Cjay’s lack of body coordination was the culrpit as to why he couldn’t aim for the keyhole accurately, so the task of unlocking his bedroom door went to the guards, his driver, or his assistant. The driver took the key with his one hand, causing the shopping bags to awkwardly hung on his arm. Then, he securely grabbed the door knob while unlocking the door.

When the door clicked slightly ajar, Cjay stepped ahead and pushed both of the double doors wide open with his shoulder. He grunted in the process since the wood was simply thick and heavy. When he got inside the room, he was welcomed by Natalia bent over, her back against his direction.

Cjay scowled as he waited for Natalia to stand up straight, which happened eventually when she was done replacing the bedsheet. She smoothed out the wrinkled parts of the bed with her palm before turning to face him.

He noticed that the woman changed clothes. She was already wearing a pair of white shorts that almost reached her knees and a clean purple round neck shirt with short sleeves. Her long black hair fell past her shoulders—straight, shiny, and slightly damp. It was as if she had a bath minutes ago. Her fringes were mid-parted, which was far from her usual hairstyle where she let her hair slightly cover her eyes.

Because Cjay could see her face clearly he finally had the chance to appreciate how pretty she was. She had sharp almond-shaped eyes and wide, pale pinkish lips. She looked pretty but with a foreshadowing of something sinister. It wasn’t the typical sulky vibe, but it was more like an aura of evil mischief.

She smiled at Cjay, then she turned away to pick up something from the bed before she faced him once more.

“Where have you been?” he asked in a low tone but his irritation was prominent.