Carrion Restaurant

TW: cannibalism

“Are you coming tonight?” Xellaena asked her sister. Feyraj, who’s sipping her Starbucks strawberry frappe, nodded.

Xellaena tried to relax as they strode towards the building’s elevator. She has passed the job interview last month.

At first, she seems excited to land her first job- being a dishwasher. Seems cheap for a bachelor graduate but it's better to have a low-paying job than to be stuck in the house with her vicious and gold digger stepmother.

She’ll do anything to earn on her own so that she can purchase her own home- may it be an apartment or an affordable condominium unit. Living with her stepmother is like growing in a bountiful garden and suddenly a weed sprout out of nowhere. Of course, it’s a weed; it’ll just sprout anywhere where the land is fertile.

Xellaena quickly returns her attention to her sister and was startled at the sight of the elevator buttons. There's a thirteenth floor in this building. She tries to halt and grab her sister’s right hand. Her sister's expression is simply blank and proceeds to push the button.

She thought the world suddenly collapsed when Feyraj pushed the thirteenth-floor button. Xellaena began to panic on the inside. Her calm face began drawing a face that resembles a raging maelstrom. She then turns to the right to face her sister.

"Are you insane? Why didn't you tell me that it's on the thirteenth floor? You know what that means, don't you?" Xellaena bellowed.

"Calm down, Xellaena. Superstitions are but old wives' tales for the elite people. I thought you liked the restaurant while you scroll through the reviews and interiors of it on their website." Feyraj said then give her younger sister a warning look.

Xellaena tried to object but stopped when the elevator door opens, signaling their arrival on the floor.

It was dark and gloomy and has an eerie atmosphere. Of course it's dark because they're assigned on the night shift. They rapidly make their way towards the restaurant and proceed to their respective places. They then started their jobs right away in the Carrion Restaurant.

Xellaena was in the dishwashing area while Feyraj was serving on the tables of the customers. Xellaena then wondered why the restaurant was named as such, despite the fact that the owner's name is Eoghan Carrion. Eoghan could at least name it like Heavenly Taste or something like that. Carrion seemed to be very unappetizing, unpleasant, and scary for a restaurant name.

Xellaena then take her break and ate the sandwich that Feyraj prepared. She reached for the orange juice on her bag that she’d purchased at Walmart yesterday. Feyraj was always a good cook and is spectacular in the kitchen. She wondered why Feyraj didn't apply for the role of the assistant cook and instead took the waitress job.

An hour later, a series of screams and pleading flooded the storage area of the kitchen. The customers didn’t seem to be bothered by those noises and just enjoyed their respective evening meals. Feyraj knew that was the cue to go to the night manager's office to demand answers on what the hell happened.

"What happened in there?" Feyraj asked as if a mother lost her child in the crowd.

"It's successful, darling. She'll be served later at exactly an hour before midnight." Feyraj took a moment to process the man's words then shyly grinned.

"What's this? Why is there a human thumb in my soup?" A customer demanded Feyraj. The latter began to shake. She had been speechless for fifteen seconds in front of this customer. Feyraj was about to be in tears when the customer’s companion spoke.

"We asked for the soup of the night and you gave us this!" The lady shrieked in anger.

"We asked for eyeballs for the specialty, not a thumb!" She added in dismay.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, madam. I will be back right away for your exact order." Feyraj now replied calmly and wiped away the sweat on her brows.

She gazed at the night manager, who’s standing near the aquarium. His smile was lustful and not a hint of a gentleman. He’s more of a rough man if you put it that way. She was glad at the thought that she volunteered her naïve sister to be the special ingredient tonight.

Hours passed by and the clock by the crimson-painted wall chimed to six in the morning. As soon as her shift is over, she packed her and Xellaena's things silently.

When she arrived home, no one asked why she entered the house alone. Her stepmother is not home and is probably sleeping with one of her favorite lotharios. No one in the household demanded Xellaena's whereabouts. She realized that her sister was nothing but dust in the wind in their sole abode.

Tired, Feyraj crept to her lavender-colored bed and crossed Xellaena's name on her list. She began to ponder for a while and grabbed her cell phone and invited Arwin, Xellaena's former boyfriend, to be the latter's replacement.

Feyraj paused for a minute and then said at the phone. "They’ll pay 10$ per hour even for a dishwasher you know. You can meet me at the local coffee shop to discuss the requirements and details of the restaurant tomorrow." Arwin, who contemplates for ten seconds, eventually agreed.

Feyraj sighed with relief and victory. She now has her sister eradicated forever; leaving Arwin on her sole hand and care. No, she'll not hand him to Martin, the restaurant’s head cook, right away. Specialty dishes are only held once a month in the Carrion Restaurant.

She had been planning all of these for the past three months. Thanks to accidentally spilling Martin’s white shirt with macchiato at Starbucks four months ago. Because of him, she came across an exotically splendid and one-of-a-kind restaurant. She eventually became close with the night manager and is even his mistress for more than three months.

She has a nice month-long to savor the taste of Arwin and feast on him before he’ll meet his inevitable doom in a stove pot.

Feyraj smile at her rumbling thoughts. She then wears Xellaena's sapphire ring on her middle finger and then lulled herself to a good night sleep.