March 2019
GreenValley
Philippines
Rhee was looking in the mirror. She seemed excited for the birthday celebration of the new big man of their town. Mr. Akihiro Taishi. Mr. Taishi is a businessman from Japan who married an entertainer from GreenValley. The couple is planning to open a new resort in their municipality and the big reveal will probably be at his birthday tonight. Every elite member of the society of GreenValley is invited, and that includes the family of Rhee. Rhee's family is not super rich. Theirs belong to the average one. They were invited to the event because her mom, Tracy, is one of the towns councilors. Tracy is on her third term this year and some people of GreenValley is eyeing on her as the next vice-mayor. Tracy was dressing one of her twins.
"Rhee, please hold Red for a while,I'll be dressing Rob next." Rhee cheerfully holds Red on her arms when her father Mr. Robin yelled from the other room, "Rhee, were did you put Renzo's belt? "
Rhee rolled her eyes. She is used to this situation. If she is not baby sitting her twin siblings, she is responsible for finding misplaced items in the house. She has been tagged clumsy by her father and sometimes she hated him for that.
"It's in the drawer. " Rhee replied.
After several minutes of dressing up the Robin family though incomplete because their eldest daughter Rita, is working in the big city; are now set to leave the house.
Mr. Robin was on the driver's seat. "Okay kids don't forget to fasten your seatbelt." Mr. Robin declared as he starts the engine on their way to the Garden.
The Garden is a new events place in Green Valley and only the people of high society can afford to book for an event in this place. If Paris has "The Ritz"; GreenValley has "The Garden".
It was built a decade ago as a mansion but has been transformed as a hotel recently. The hotel edifice is a mixture of Georgian and Mediterranean style but the inside of the hotel and its fixtures is of Modern architecture mainly because of it's recent renovation. It has a glass roofed garden to the East with a well manicured yard that houses a lot of equally beautiful Vanda flowers and Ecuadorian roses; an infinity pool on its south; and an al-fresco restaurant "Wine & Greens" on its West side.
The Garden is perfect for Mr. Taishi's Havana Themed Party. The male elites of the society who has been arriving to the party are wearing Cuban hats while the ladies wear printed dresses in bold colors, some came with floral hair clips. The waiters are serving cocktails and appetizers to the guests and music from the live band is all over the place. Mrs. Taishi's wife, Ella, is busy entertaining the VIP Guests —the GreenValley Municipal Council and its neighboring town's businessmen and politicians; high ranking staffs from GreenValley Med; teachers from Green Valley High and some of the members GreenValleys Women Association among others.
GreenValley's Mayor Jeremy was seated beside the CastleHill's Mayor and they are talking about politics. Two of Jeremy's trusted advisors & bodyguards Val and Fin are on the look-out. The school principal of GreenValley High Mr. Ferrera and his wife are dancing while their obese son, Willard is on the dessert table busy munching on some pastries. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the party but the main guest of the event is nowhere to be found. "Where is Mr. Taishi? " Mr. Robin asked his wife. "Maybe he is somewhere in the room rehearsing for his speech. You know he is not very fluent in speaking our language." Tracy replied, then sipped a drink.
"Mama, I want to pee. Can I go to the toilet." Renzo said.
But as usual, Rhee was the one who accompanied her brother in finding the hotels comfort room.
Their is a queue on the corridor towards the female comfort room, some faces are familiar but the other ladies looks like from the nearby town, CastleHill.
Rhee is walking on the opposite direction. To the left is where the male's comfort room located. The room is quiet and it seemed to be empty so she decided to enter since he is playing guardian to her brother. Renzo went inside the cubicle and decided to pee while Rhee is on the sink looking at the mirror trying to reapply a lipstick when she heard a footstep coming.
A Japanese Filipino guy, probably eighteen, tall and lean, with a slim nose and a pinkish thin lips is glaring at Rhee's reflection on the mirror while she is in a hurry putting her powder and lipstick inside her bag. The guy seemed shocked at what he saw and felt suddenly nauseated. He felt a little bit dizzy and was about to puke. Rhee felt like she wants to apologize and explain as to why she is on the males comfort room. But she felt embarrassed to say the words, instead blurted out, "Renzo please hurry up, I'll be waiting outside. Don't forget to wash your hands." And Rhee hurriedly stepped out of the room.
Takashi splashed his face with a lot of water, as if he wants to cleanse and purge all the scenario that he saw on the mirror awhile ago. How on earth is it possible that the morena girl she saw earlier, the short coned shaped girl —be the woman who looked radiantly elegant wearing a white bridal gown and kissing him in front of so many people. He can't accept this. The girl is not her type. This is impossible, Takashi calms himself. Maybe the booze is playing a trick on his mind. His psychic abilities must be becoming vague or inexplicit. He reasoned with his thoughts. Yes, that must be it. Maybe he is losing his psychic powers because of what happened a year ago before they moved to GreenValley; or he is simply drank. He can't read someone's future anymore he assumed. His cellphone was vibrating on his pocket. That must be his father, Mr. Taishi or his mom looking for him, he assumed. He pressed his pocket and decided to ignore his phone. The embarrassed girl awhile ago keeps popping on his mind. As he was about to turn off the faucet he saw something that probably belonged to the girl. It was a pastel handkerchief with an embroidered calligraphy on it. Rhee. That probably could be the girl's name. He wants to throw the handkerchief to the trash can but hesitated. Apart of him is curious about the girl. He'll keep the handkerchief for now. He'll dig for answers as to why he is a part of the girl's future. He put the handkerchief on his pocket and went out of the comfort room.
A panicked crowd of old ladies are exiting the glass garden where the party is being held. "Their is probably poison on the wine." the woman on her sixties exclaimed. "Impossible, I haven't seen Mr. Errol drinking the wine but it is only him who passed out after Mr. & Mrs Taishi raised the glass for a toast." replied the other woman.
Mr. Errol? Are they referring to Mr. Errol their butler. Takashi is confused. He didn't saw this coming. This could be a vision or something. He wanted to pinch himself. No, this is not a dream, this is probably a delusion because of the free flowing alcohol he had awhile. Mr. Errol seemed to be a healthy man on his forties. How could he passed out. This is intoxicating. Mr. Errol was a very kind man to him. Ever since they moved to GreenValley Mr. Errol was the only man whom he can confined his problems with. It was him who helped Takashi adjust his new life. And whenever he has girl problems Mr. Errol will always be there ready to cheer him up. Takashi shook his head. And then he heard another lady with a tulip hair-dress saying, "Good thing, Dr. Fabia was there, but let's go home because their might be a foul play on this." as she rushed her way out to the lobby. The manager was busy assuring the guest not to panic and clearing misconceptions, "Please let us calm ourselves and stop spreading misinformation to others. No food poisoning happened here, the staff and crew of The Garden handles the food & drink meticulously and we take pride on that. Besides it would be very bad for business if something unfortunate might happen to our guest. What happened to Mr. Errol was a case of Myocardial Infarction according to Dr. Fabia. We will assist you all in any other way so please cooperate with the management."
The mayor's bodyguards is clearing the way. Mr. Jeremey is making an exit and with him are Mr. Akihiro Taishi and his wife. On their back are the politicians from the neighboring town and some other guests. A stretcher is being lifted by a group of medic towards the ambulance from GreenValley Med.
Dr. Fabia is with the team. He is still wearing his Cuban hat that perfectly matches his printed polo. He is giving order to the nurse. The ambulance siren is noisy and a group of policemen are on their way to the lobby. They want to speak to the manager and want to clear the area immediately.
Takashi has been standing on the hallway for several minutes already. Several guest has passed by him already. He is dumbfounded until a girl accidentally bumped into his back. Finally he is back to his senses.
Rhee suddenly saw a vision of a young boy being hit by a truck. The streets seems unfamiliar, it is not from GreenValley, she is certain of it. It was a street somewhere in Osaka and it is a place she never have been to but definitely would wish to visit someday. She loves ramen, and she could smell the aroma of it from the nearby restaurant. But the accident is disturbing, she has no time to try the authentic delicious food there. Instead she looked closely at the boy. The boy's face was covered with blood. She wanted to comfort the boy, but she realized people can't see her there. The passerby's were covering their mouth with shock. Suddenly she heard sirens from the police and ambulance. The noise was deafening and she heard a familiar voice, "Rhee why are you just standing there. Hold Renzo and let's get in the car." Her father was a little bit out of the mood. Her mom, Tracy was pushing Red and Rob's twin stroller towards the parking. The evening went sour because of what happened to Mr. Errol. Rhee's face looked pale. What was that vision all about she asked herself. This doesn't happen to her often. She's been seeing visions again. The last time she had episodes like these was when she was eleven years old. She look up at the night sky from the car seat window—it is a full moon on that very evening and it is shining brightly at her face. She felt sad and realize the connection.