Rachel

Looking past the veranda, I saw someone looking at me from afar. He was holding a garden hose in his right hand and was somehow waving at me with his left. He was smiling. A smile that showed his perfectly aligned set of teeth. A smile that was definitely his most admired asset. A smile that showed a kind feeling – somehow warm yet unnerving.

Being the polite person that I am, I smiled back. Although unsure of what that smile might mean, my muscles somehow involuntarily moved and found its way into doing something rather automatic. It was just a simple gesture yet his smile faded the moment I smiled back. Confused, I looked behind me to see if there was something wrong yet all I saw were my mother’s paintings. When I looked back, the man was gone, leaving his watering hose to the ground.

A loud shutting of the door then came next, hinting that the man just went inside his supposed house. I stood up, went to the mirror that was beside our front door and started to examine myself. I look ‘okay’. A little tired but nothing about my appearance seemed off. Rather displeased with how my neighbor reacted, I decided to eat breakfast. I went to the fridge to get some meat and cheese, some bread and some cold milk.

While I was busy assembling my sandwich, I noticed Martha staring at me. Martha was our guard dog and she kept the family safe and sound during the night from potential bad people. I asked ‘What’s wrong, Martha?” and then she barked three times which I assume was the equivalent for ‘I love you’. Pleased with what Martha said, I decided to give her half of the sandwich that I was making. I could tell how much she liked it by how fast she was able to gobble up the whole thing.

I took a bite out of my own half. As I was munching, I noticed the funny flavor and texture of the meat and cheese combined. Not happy with what I was tasting, I chewed out the rather funny-tasting sandwich and then drank milk, which tasted almost like piss instead. I spewed out the milk then decided to put everything in the sink. So much for a decent breakfast.

Mother was nowhere in sight. She must’ve went to the grocery store. We were running low on some essentials. The house seemed spotless so I decided to watch TV instead. Martha hopped on the couch that I was sitting on and then barked three times again. I guess she was telling to ‘change the channel’. And so I did. I’ve put on her favorite dog show – the one wherein there was this dog whisperer who was great at training under-behaved dogs. How I wish I could understand “dog talk”. For me, that would be one hell of a skill to include in my resume. Which reminds me…I’m late for my meeting with Miss Luna!

Hurriedly, I grabbed my jacket and was out of the door the next second. It has been a year since my last visit to Miss Luna. Her surname’s Lunasan but I call her Miss Luna instead. Kinda brings a more youthful vibe into it. Her office was a few blocks from our house so really, it wasn’t that far.

While walking, I noticed how wonderful the weather was. It was all sunny and the skies were filled with puffy white clouds. Encouraged with what I saw, I felt all the more determined to go to Miss Luna’s office.

Miss Luna was my doctor. She tells me stuff and gives me medicine in order for me to get well. I run out of medicine a few months ago and I haven’t really told her about that because of the quarantine but who cares? Nothing’s wrong with me. In fact, I feel more alive now that I’m not drinking any medicines.

The moment I reached Miss Luna’s office, I knocked on the door three times. After a few seconds, Miss Luna opened the door and was glad to see me. She flashed me that kind smile of hers and then invited me inside her air-conditioned office.

“I’m glad you remembered to visit me and that the rain hasn’t poured yet or else you might’ve been a soaking disaster. You forgot your umbrella here last time. Come, come seat. You must be tired” Miss Luna started.

“No, actually I’m not. It was only a few blocks away.” I answered truthfully as I sat on the chair that was in front of her desk.

“Ah yes. It’s been a year since we last talked. I was in Manila when the quarantine started. I missed out a lot on my patients here and there. So…how are you?” she asked.

“I’m fine. Really fine. I’ve never felt this fine in my entire life.” I said.

“How about your meds? I hope you’ve been taking then regularly.”

“Ah…yes. I’ve had.”

“Had?”

“Yes. I might’ve run out of meds a few months ago but not to worry, everything’s going perfectly smooth.”

“I see. But you must have notified me immediately. I mean, medication is important. I could’ve given you a discount.”

“Yes, but you didn’t due to the quarantine. It’s fine. Fine.”

“How are things with your mom?” Miss Luna struck a nerve. What did she mean by that?

“She’s fine. I think she went grocery shopping this morning.” I answered calmly.

“Okay. So, no fights? I’m asking you this Rachel coz I care.”

“No you don’t.”

“Yes, I do.”

“And so what? You want to visit our house just to prove my point that everything is actually fine?”

“If you would allow it, yes.” She said as she looked me dead in the eye.

“Okay.”

“But first, take this.” She referred to a pill in her hand.

I slowly took it then swallowed it whole. I’ve mastered the art of swallowing pills without water so I was able to manage just fine.

We traveled by car since Miss Luna insisted because of the weather which, I didn’t quite understand since it’s perfectly fine. Anyway, as we reached home, I reached for Miss Luna’s hand and led her inside our house.

Few seconds later, an ear-shattering scream filled the whole neighborhood.

I woke up to the sound of an ambulance siren wailing. Men in uniform was all around the place and was inspecting what seems to be a dead body. I got up and then people gathered around me suddenly.

One of them questioned “What happened here?”

To which I said….

“Can you keep a secret?”