Examining the rare bites in her neck, Rosalie touched it with her hands liked scratching on it and Mieke saw it.
"Don't scratch it with your fingers, don't you see it's already infected?" Mieke subdued Rosalie as she was scratching with her fingers the bites that were on her neck.
"I could not guess what insect had bitten me?" Rosalie said and listened to Mieke, she stopped scratching her neck.
"It happened maybe during your sleep and you even did not realize it or felt it." Mieke stood up and went to the counter and asked something, to the hearing of Rosalie, Mieke was asking for a piece of garlic.
When Mieke came back to the table, she told Rosalie to bend her head backward so that her neck with a bite could be clearly seen. Mieke scrubbed to the neck of Rosalie the garlic that was already crushed.
"Do it carefully! Why are you scrubbing my neck with that? It's burning!" Rosalie felt a burning sensation and she could hardly bore it.
"Just endure it. My grandfather did it always. When we were bitten by insects, he quickly rubbed it with garlic, so that the germs could be killed before it will spread to the whole of your body. Even rabies, garlic could kill rabies." Mieke said.
"How could your grandfather know? Western people do not believe such?" Rosalie asked Mieke how her grandfather could know such practices.
"Rosalie, my mother was born in Indonesia. She is white and so the whole family but the family had lived in Indonesia." Mieke took out from her bag a band-aid and gave it to Rosalie to cover her neck. Rosalie used the band-aid.
That evening, Rosalie was just minutes home when she heard the doorbell. When she looked at the window to see who was by the door, she saw Daniel with a bouquet of flowers. Rosalie opened the door.
"Good evening, Rosalie." Daniel greeted Rosalie.
"Good evening," Rosalie answered Daniel.
"For you." Daniel gave to Rosalie the bouquet of flowers he had on his hands.
"For me? Where I have to thank this for?" Rosalie asked as she accepted the bouquet of flowers from Daniel.
"I apologize for what happened yesterday. I am sorry, Rosalie. It will not happen again."
"I forget already what happened. Don't worry about it. Will you come in for a cup of coffee?" Rosalie invited Daniel inside her house for a cup of coffee.
"Thank you, Rosalie. I see you just came from your work. Me too and the children are waiting for me. Next time, maybe." Daniel excused himself.
"Okay, again, thank you for this beautiful bouquet."
After she put the flowers in the vase, Rosalie looked at in the refrigerator what she could have for supper. There's still fish cooked in her favorite recipe. Just cooked the fish with vinegar, garlic, ginger, and salt, that's all.
She took the fish out of the refrigerator, a cucumber, few tomatoes. In the rice cooker, there's still enough rice so she just set the cooker on a warm menu, washed the cucumber and tomatoes, sliced it. After five minutes, Rosalie was already eating her evening meal.
Rosalie finished already her meal and was washing the dishes when she heard a voice calling her name.
"Rosalie!"
Rosalie stopped her washing of the dishes and listened well.
"Rosalie" the voice was again calling her name. It was not Queen Riza who was calling because it was a male voice. Rosalie ignored what she heard and just continued washing the dishes.
After she had wiped dried the plates and the utensils and kept them in the cabinet, Rosalie made a false coffee for herself. She liked it very much to drink false coffee after her meal. She made her coffee with just instant coffee, sugar and used pure boiled cooked milk. This way of making coffee, the Dutch people called it false coffee.
She settled a seat on the sofa in the living room after she opened the TV. The everyday routine of her to watch the news on the TV after eating her meal.
"Rosalie."
The voice was calling again her name. The voice was from her bedroom, but again she ignored it. She concentrated on watching the news while drinking her coffee.
After the news, Rosalie decided to go inside her bedroom. She just closed the door when she heard again her name.
"Rosalie."
This time, the voice was a woman and seemed to come outside her room. Rosalie came out of her room and look who was calling her name. It was Isabel, her colleague.
Rosalie opened the door.
"Isabel!"
"I pushed your doorbell a few times but I think is not working," Isabel said.
"Really? It still works a few hours ago." Rosalie said and at the same time push the doorbell and they heard nothing.
"You see, it did not work," Isabel said.
"I will let it be made. Do you want anything? Come inside." Rosalie invited Isabel into her house.
"No, I have to work, I just pass by to give you your mobile phone, you forgot it on the table." Isabel declined to enter the house as she said she had to work.
"Thank you, Isabel, kind of you to bring to me. By the way, I do not know you are working in the evening." Rosalie said to Isabel.
"Two hours. Cleaning offices. You know already who it with children was." Isabel answered Rosalie.
"Do you want me to drive you to work?" Rosalie offered Isabel to drove her to work.
"No, it's not necessary, I am with my bicycle. Okay, Rosalie, see you tomorrow at work." And Isabel biked herself to her evening work. Rosalie closed the door and walked toward her bedroom.
When Rosalie was inside her bedroom, she heard again a male voice calling her name. She felt then someone tapped her shoulder from the back. She turned around to look and she was aghast. She's looking at Martin who was smiling at her.
Martin seemed different. He wore an old fashion cape. *To be continued*Remedios Dorio