It had been a while since Kendall had such a satisfying breakfast. Seared tuna – a thick chunk - with avocado, a bed of egg noodles topped with cilantro sauce, and a full teapot of jasmine green tea. The hearty meal relaxes Kendall, lulled her into a nodding sleepiness even as the television played, tuned to the Asian Food Channel.
Opening she eyes, she found herself sitting in front of a beautifully decorated dinner table, three lit candles on a brass stand at the center, to her right a bottle of champagne, unopened besides two tall wine glasses, their smooth surface reflecting the sharp glare of spotlights hung high.
A live show. And there's the oh my God what a hunky chef… Arman? He can also cook… Mmmmmm…
Kendall swooned as Arman, apron hanging loose on his broad shoulders, flipped a thick, blood red, steak on a skillet and the sweet aroma of roasting meat filled the air.
… mhhmm, I do love red meat… well done, please…
And then came a sudden announcement from the stage's speaker.
please help me I cannot move please, Doctor
Anger rose within her at the intrusion as she saw Arman gorging on the piece of steak, its juice oozing down his chiseled chin and down to well-formed chests. She stood up and smile, her tongue flicking in anticipation of joining the feast. And then she heard the voice again.
please Dr Kendall please I need your help
She cursed the distraction, seeing Arman now gone. So too was the steak, a pool on the floor the only tell-tale sign where he had stood, busy buzzards hovering on leftover bits and pieces as she knelt on her knees. Her eyes stared at the stain so red so juicy so enticing, and joining the buzzing insects as she started licking the cold wet floor a taste so succulent, from a piece of meat so tender…
DR KENDALL PLEASE
She woke up with a start, the shout in her mind ringing loud in her ears, a throbbing pain in her head and feeling a strange wetness in her nostril.
I'm bleeding? What happened to me?
Then she remembered the familiarity in the voice she heard in her dreams.
Saari. Is he in trouble?
She picked up the room's phone, dialed his number and waited as it rang and rang.
Not picking up… no no no please don't let there be more complications please no…
Frantic, Kendall rolled down from the bed, went to the bathroom and washed her face, a quick wipe with a fluffy white towel, and then took a bathrobe from the wardrobe opposite.
"This will do," she said, slipping on the hotel pair of flimsy slippers, before stepping out from her room, finding the hallway empty as she headed towards Saari's room. She knocked on the door, to which there was no reply. Instead, it was the door from another room creaking open the slightest, its tenant curious at the commotion intruding the early morning calmness. She tried the door. Locked.
Of course it would.
Kendall ran back to her own room, entered and rang the reception. Two rings, and then a sweet voice: "How my I help you, Dr Kendall?"
"Could you someone to help open my friend's room? Room 608. Dr Saari Langkasari…. That's correct… Didn't answer my calls, and he has a health condition… That's great. Thank you."
Replacing the receiver, Kendall rushed out from room again and ran towards Saari's room and stood waiting. Minutes past before she heard the lift doors opening, hurried steps, soft, on the plush carpets, as seconds later two men arrived at her side.
"Thank you for coming," she said, looking at the taller man in dark blue shirt, test-pens tucked inside his shoulder pocket, a leather pouch hanging from his belt. The man took out what looked like a credit card reader, connected it to a USB slot beneath the card slot, keyed in a six-digit code, twice, and the door clicked unlocked, swinging inwards slightly.
She went in, pushing past the man, and saw Saari lying prone in bed, his body ramrod straight, eyes staring at the ceiling, dried blood staining both sides of his cheeks.
"Dr Saari? Can you hear me?"
She saw him forcing a nod. The man laid so rigid, the only discernible movements being from his fingers, lain across his chest, the duvet covering the remainder of his body.
"I can't move," he said, the voice raspy.
Kendall placed her palms on Saari's forehead and flinched, a stinging icy coldness jolting her. Turning towards the two men, she was half surprised to see a small crowd building outside the room. Kendall told them to call for an ambulance and to close the door, irritated that a man's suffering had suddenly become a public spectacle.
"… She was in my dreams…," he said.
Kendall looked around the room, found nothing out of the ordinary. She then felt a sudden movement, and saw Saari moving his forearm, lifting both slowly and placing them at his side, Head turning towards her on the left side of the queen-sized bed. She saw his toes wriggling, slow movements like the slithering of maggots inside a bloated carcass.
Why did I think that?
Glancing at Saari, she recoiled slightly staring at his eyes; two empty slots leading to a deep pool of pitch-black darkness, and then it was his brown eyes again.
"Dr Kendall?"
Saari's words broke her train of thoughts, as she turned her attention to him and saw he was able to push himself to a sitting position, the duvet slipping down to his waist, a trail of soft hairs running downwards in his lower torso. Kendall felt herself sexually stirred, shifted uneasily on the bed.
"I think we can call off the ambulance. I am feeling slightly better now," said Saari, his voice still weak.
Kendall placed her hand on his chest, taking delight in feeling the warm, taut muscles beneath her touch.
"We still need to check what happened to you. But if you insist, I can tell the reception to call them off."
Arman has sweet brown eyes.
She eyed him, her breath halting, finger caressing his nipples and another hand snaking underneath the duvet, a gasp from her lips as she felt his hardness.
"Yes. I think we should do just that, Dr Kendall."
Again, it took only two rings, and then she spoked into the phone: "Dr Kendall here. Please cancel the ambulance. He's feeling better now. Thanks."
She did not bother replacing the receiver on the hook, slipping out of the bathrobe to join Saari as he stretched his limbs. The bed creak slightly as Kendall began to caress his chest, her hand slipping inside the duvet in search of the throbbing warmth she had felt earlier.
Arman. I'm with you finally.