“Is it morning already? Did I do something horrible or embarrassing again last night? Ugh! I don’t want to open my eyes!”
It’s the same line that I have been saying for the past week. I’m Vladimir something, No, my last name isn’t Something, I just don’t know it. I can’t seem to remember everything about me yet.
Last week -
I woke up in an unfamiliar bed. It just didn’t feel right. I vaguely remember it but I feel deep inside me that I don’t have this kind of bed. It’s hard but it’s not painful to put weight on, it’s kinda cool but hot at the same time. It’s a wooden bed covered in handmade dried leaves. I got up, looked around and kept thinking where the hell I am, then it hit me, I also didn’t know who I was! I panicked for a few minutes until I felt lightheaded when suddenly, a muscular tall guy opened the light wood door and greeted me with a pleasant good morning.
“Oh great! You’re up!”
- Says the hot stranger
I just stared at him in awe. He was taller than me, chiseled abs and a golden tan, he’s not shy to show it off, he looked proud when he saw me staring at him. I only stopped starting after he started talking to me again.
“Hey, you must be hungry, I just finished cooking my last dish, I’m sorry, I didn’t know what you’d want to eat.”
“Um. Thanks?”
“Let’s save the questions or pep talk for later, for now, please follow me outside”
Honestly, I’m still in awe, I’m confused, maybe even disoriented but one thing’s for sure, I am FAMISHED!
I expected a bad view when I stepped out of the room but when I first gazed at the view, my jaw dropped! It’s as if I stepped into another dimension.
We were on top of an island, literally at the peak of the island. It’s a small island with a few cottages but we were also surrounded by other islands but this was the only one that had cottages on it.
“It’s amazing huh?”
“Ugh… What?”
“The place. It’s peaceful here, especially this time of day.”
“I’m sorry, I wouldn’t really know. I literally don’t know anything right now.”
“Well, please have a seat so we can dig in”
He led to the breakfast table and I was surprised that It had a lot of food, different kinds of them! Chicken, Crabs, prawns, fruits, it’s like a buffet!
“Let’s dig in?”
“Are we expecting others to have breakfast with us? I mean, It looks these were prepared to feed at least twenty people”
“Haha! No one, it’s just you and me here. My assistant and the cook couldn’t help themselves while these were being prepared so I’m sure they’re full.”
“What do you mean? This looks like a place that different types of people would insist on going”
“Well, that’s the goal”
“It’s not open to the public yet?”
“Nope! I promised to show you the place first before deciding on opening it right?”
“I literally don’t know what you’re talking about”
“Let’s eat first, maybe it’ll help jog your memory”
“Umm. Okay”
It felt like I’ve never eaten as much food from the past. All were scrumptious and I had to taste it all. I ate for almost an hour!
“Okay, I think it’s time for dessert”
“Wait what? I think I can’t…”
“Mr Noah! Your dessert is here!”
A short guy appeared beside me with two trays full of different kinds of colorful desserts.
“Oh, you’re up Mr Vla..”
“Thank you Bruno!!! That’ll be all”
“Wait! What did you just call me??”
“I am sorry Mr Noah. I will leave now”
The guy looked like he wanted to slap that Bruno kid when he called me. It was kind of unsettling.
“Okay. I wanted you to have a good meal first before talking about you but Bruno just spoiled it. Okay, here we go… So I’m Noah, I own this land and that was Bruno, my assistant.”
“And?”
“Your name is Vlad, that’s all I know. We met last night, we had a few drinks and had a good talk.”
“Vlad, oh yeah, I kinda remember, Vladimir! My name’s Vladimir!”
Noah shared that we did have a good conversation last night and that we were talking about how I can help him complete the missing pieces before his grand opening but I can hardly recall any of it. I can only understand some of it like I was drinking and dancing but the rest was not even a blurr, It was all a blank!
“ Do you at least remember parts of what happened last night?”
“I have nothing. It’s even a miracle that I remembered my name and I even had you and Bruno to help me with that”
“To be honest, I checked your pockets to somehow get any IDs so I’d know where to bring you home but I decided to just bring you here. It’s safer here”
I was very thankful with Noah’s generosity but I have this gut feeling that something’s off. That he may have left out a few details about what happened last night but I also have this sure feeling that I have to go with the flow and sleuth with a possible enemy for my own safety or that might have watched to much murder movies to think this way.
Regardless, I am still thankful that he’s taking care of me.
After a few hours of talking and brainstorming about my identity, Noah decided to tour me around the island. Then I realized that the island was just small. It has 15 different cottages depending if the tourists decide to stay long or just a day trip.
We got around the island in just 15 minutes and it’s cool that you can literally walk around an island like what. Noah then led me to the staircase leading to the biggest and fanciest cottage on the island, his house. At a glance you’d say that it’s just a typical cottage, decent doors and windows, open air but it was all just a facade. It had beach chairs and picnic tables at the corners and he also had a 360 degree view of the island.
He opened the door and we were immediately greeted by a door in the middle of the floor. There was a small pedestal around 1 meter and opened the door using his handprint. When his handprint was recognized, the door began to slowly open and a grand staircase that goes underground suddenly emerged. We went down the staircase and were greeted by a luxurious living space that had TV screens that made it look like their windows that you can easily view whatever’s on the opposite sides of the walls, the other islands and the beach.
I was amazed at first but I suddenly got a chill when I realized that it’s like an underground bunker of a spy of some sort.
“I know what you're thinking, Vlad. It’s too much.”
“Well that’s one way to describe it”
“I’ve always wanted to have a home in the heart of an island. This was a dream come true for me. I had to spend a hefty amount to have this dream come true but it was all worth it!”
“Well, If you put it like that, it’s much more understandable”
“Well Vlad. Your room’s right there.”
“I have a room?”
“Yeah. This has three bedrooms. Mine’s just across your room. Well this was intended for personal guests so of course you’re welcome to stay here until you remember something. Bruno and Poker, our island chef, can always bring us what we want from upstairs. Oh wait! Let’s go over here!”
He showed me to a hallway that leads to a lower floor and when we got there, my jaw dropped again! It led to an underground waterway that seems to get him off the island faster when he’s inside the “bunker”.
“Awesome huh?”
“Well awesome’s a bit of an understatement. You really went extra in building your dream home huh? Oh by the way Noah, where exactly are we?”
“We're in one of the islands of Malay Aklan just a few kilometers away from Boracay.
“What? What on earth am I doing here? My gut tells me I live nowhere near these islands”
“We have all the time in the world to figure that out. For now, why don’t you take a rest and sleep it off. A long sleep might help you remember things about you more. “
I got inside “my room” and It was huge. He somehow maximized the space of this underground house. Looking at the furniture and other designs in the room, I noticed a teddy bear with an odd right eye beside the flat screen television. I didn’t pay close attention to it but I already knew that it’s a “Nanny Cam”. Something’s definitely sketchy about Noah and I will play my role as the guys with no memory until I actually regain all of it.
The next day, I woke up to the smells of freshly cooked bacon and eggs that’s already at my bedside table. I saw Noah sitting at the edge of my bed just staring at me like he’s magically removing my clothes.
“Good Morning sleepy head! Any new memories today?”
“Oh hi Noah! I got nothing. Oh, Is this for me?”
“Why yes, to start up your day. Listen, guests will be arriving soon so I need to go up in a bit. Will you be okay here?”
“Maybe I can help upstairs? There’s only three of you anyway”
“Five new staff members are on their way here. Each of them are accompanying the guests from the main island so all you need to do is relax and watch tv here. There’s also a gym across the hall, the door before our underground exit if you want to do your cardio or lift some weights”
“Lots of activities down here as well I guess”
“Just relax and try to do some meditation, It might help you with your memory”
He got up and kissed me on the head and left the room. That’s a bit weird again given that based on his story. We only met a night ago. Why would he kiss my head? Well, I think it’s best. I can do some sleuthing while I’m down here. Just need to be casual. I’m guessing there’s more than one teddy bear in here.
