“You did what?” asked Nestie, bewildered.
“I climbed down my bedroom window through that tree,” replied Lisa nonchalantly.“You said that like you were just going down the stairs!” exclaimed Nestie. “How old were you? That looks dangerous!” Nestie walked beside the tree and looked up at the bedroom window.“I was six. It’s not as dangerous as it looks,” said Lisa as she walked beside Nestie and likewise looked up.“Not dangerous! You could have broken your neck!” said Nestie in a loud voice. “Perhaps you do have that ‘wild streak’ in your genes,” he added.Lisa laughed softly. “Explain ‘wild streak’!” She challenged Nestie and she slapped his arm gently.Nestie merely crossed his arms and looked away.“Whatever you were thinking. You could have used the stairs, you know,” said Nestie.“You know what? IAlthough not the kind of ghosts that you’re thinking of, dear Nestie, Lisa completed the thought. She had not turned on the lights in her bedroom and she looked at the flickering shadows casted by the branches of the tree on the floor. The moon was bright, making the contrast between light and shadow more defined. Lisa looked at the small movements of the shadows as the breeze shook the branches and leaves of the tree outside her window. There were no distinct shapes and the movements were more or less random, but she gazed at the shadows for several minutes, remembering the time more than a decade ago when she was in the same room and watching the shadows from her bed.Her cousin Celie was sound asleep at the other side of the room while the young Lisa had just sat up in bed, holding the sheets to her neck as she listened to the wind blowing outside and seeing the moving patterns of shadows on the floor. She had awakened in the middle of the night after a frightening dre
Lisa touched her face and realized that tears streamed down from her eyes. She sat up in bed motionlessly for what seemed to be an hour recalling her past. She had somehow forgotten the details when she first arrived in the adobe house, but seeing her old bedroom had triggered memories that she was not quite ready for.The next morning, Lisa woke up refreshed and in better spirits. The events of the previous day when she rescued the woman who fell overboard seemed nothing more than a memory that happened years ago. She went downstairs to have a quick bath and, as soon as she had finished, felt more like her usual self. She swiftly changed clothes and let her hair hang loose to dry. She realized that it was cumbersome to be going down every time she needed to go to the toilet although it was something that did not really strike her as odd when she was living there as a young girl.When she was ready, she walked out of her bedroom and down the hallway to Nestie’s room.
With his full breakfast adding to his already heavy frame, Nestie found it difficult to follow Lisa as she left the dining room and to the courtyard. It was a cool morning after a light rain that fell just before sunrise and birds could be heard chirping as they played and on the branches of the tree overhead. The scent of the flowers was quite invigorating and gave sense of a beautiful day ahead.“Wait, Lisa,” called Nestie. “Don’t you know you shouldn’t run after a heavy meal?” he asked. Lisa had stopped to let Nestie catch up with her.“I’m not even running! That was just my normal walk,” replied Lisa, chuckling. “Maybe you need to lose some weight. You need to start burning all those fat,” she added.Nestie finally reached Lisa and said, “Dear, this is my natural form. You can’t make a square bubble, can you?” Nestie held his chin high as he took Lisa’s arm to prevent her fro
"Celie!" Lisa screamed holding her cousin's shoulders. "Don't tell me there's a new one. Who is it this time?""Stop it! You make me sound like a harlot." Celie covered her ears and laughed aloud. Her eyes twinkling."I remember you told me about that journalist just a week ago. The buff one with the amazing hair," said Lisa, recalling her last video chat with her cousing."Oh, did I tell you about him? Yes, he does have amazing hair!" Celie said dreamily. "And those biceps!" The image of the journalist appeared in her mind."How about Doc Steve? You begged me to introduce you to him when you saw him at the conference. You did tell him you're seeing someone else, did you?" asked Lisa."Well…" Celie raised her shoulders and avoided looking at Lisa."Well… what! You haven't told him anything? Doc Steve's a really nice man. You'd break his poor heart!" Lisa’s eyes widened in disbelief."He is rather lovely, isn't he? So silent and
Nestie opened the door after hearing a polite knock. He expected to see Lisa on the other side, but was surprised to see her with lipstick and light make-up as well as an attire that was not really the type that she would wear.“Lisa! You look pretty with make-up on! And that attire!” Nestie made a soft whistle. “That would surely make the boys take notice!”Nestie then realized that Lisa was not alone. He knew Celeste de Luna after seeing her picture many times in magazines and in the occasional society news. “And you don’t need any introduction, my dear!” He then stepped out of his bedroom to come closer to Celie. “You are even more beautiful in person with impeccable fashion sense!”“This is Celie, my cousin!” Lisa said. “Celie, my program manager at the Institute, the one whom I told you would be coming with me.”Nestie offered to shake hands with Celie but was surprised when the la
“Thank you, Lisa love,” Celie murmured as she squeezed back Lisa’s hand. “I feel like I’ve been imprisoned for so long and you remain my lifeline, my window to the world.”“We’ve grown up together, Celie, and I can say that you have been my friend the longest. I consider you more than a cousin, but a twin sister,” replied Lisa.“I appreciate that, dear Lisa. I appreciate that you have always communicated with me even when you went back to Malen. I am quite lonely here despite being surrounded by all these people and admired by the public. The last few days have been the worst, as I have told you. The constant presence of the guards failed to make me feel safe but have made me feel even more like a prisoner,” said Celie, wrapping an arm around Lisa’s waist and resting her head on Lisa’s shoulder.The two women walked slowly, feeling more secure in each other’s arms than with their guard
“Where are we anyway?” asked Nestie as he looked around the small front yard garden. There were short bushes with white flowers planted along the low adobe wall that separated the garden from the grounds of the adjacent church. The wall itself looked as old as the cathedral itself and had the same curving patterns that seemed to copy rolling waves of the sea. The cathedral, however, had been cleaned and whitewashed while the stone wall was covered with moss and had deep cracks in some areas.The building within the stone walls was a two-story house with thick adobe walls at the ground level and hardwood on the upper level. Apart from the peeling paint in some areas, the house itself seemed well preserved with all the original windows and hardwood paneling intact.“What is this house?” asked Nestie as he looked up at the old structure. “It looks as old as the Adobe House,” he said.“Older,” replied Celie. She stood
Nestie asked the question and then looked at the wisp of smoke that slowly dissipated from the window. He wondered what it was that created that smoke that for a moment looked like the figure of a woman leaning out of the window to look at the street below. As Nestie looked, a young man wearing a red shirt looked out holding an e-cigarette and blowing copious amounts of steam. Nestie had to laugh at himself when he saw the man.“So, what happened next?” Nestie repeated his question. When he looked at his side where Celie was, he noticed that she had disappeared together with Lisa. He turned around and found that the cousins had gone to the gate to welcome a group of children who were all dressed in colorful costumes. The boys were dressed in different shades of green while the girls wore dresses in yellows and oranges. Nestie came towards them.“What are you kids supposed to be?” he asked the children as they filed through the gate and stood on the