“Just do what you are supposed to do,” Flora heard Eva say as she reached the entrance hall. “You have all been working here longer than I am and it’s about time that you learn to do your work without much instruction!”Eva had her back towards Flora while the other servants were standing in a row and facing the new housekeeper. Flora tried to stand in line with the others without disturbing Eva from speaking. Flora had just joined the ranks when she realized that Eva was shouting at her.“You’re late! I told you to come here as soon as you’re finished with your tasks at the kitchen!” shouted Eva.“I’m sorry, Eva, I just placed the used dishes in the dishwasher and took out some of the ingredients to prepare for lunch–“ Flora tried to explain, but she was cut short by Eva.“I don’t care why you’re late! I won’t tolerate that behavior! As long as I’m

The ghastly appearance of Dante inside one of the crates shocked Flora and she took several steps backwards. She wanted to scream and had to put her hands to her mouth to stop herself from doing so. She felt unable to run out of the room as she looked at the pallid face of the master whose eyes were locked in a penetrating stare. Questions flooded her mind: What was Mr. Dante doing inside a box full of earth? Is he dead? Or is he alive and awake? Can he see me? Should I run?Flora gained back her senses after a few moments and realized that Dante, despite his eyes being wide open, remained motionless. She ventured a few steps forward and watched for any signs of consciousness. At first, Flora was afraid that Dante was dead, but his unusually red lips seemed to snarl and the deep eyes seemed to gaze at her knowingly. Looking at the master’s face closely, Flora saw that he was not as old as she thought he was. He looked more youthful with less of the gray hair and the wri

Flora wheeled the cart into the dining room and parked it at its usual place. She remembered the last time that she pushed the food cart inside the dining room was three days ago when she served lunch to Mr. Renan. The guest had returned to Cardena since then and Flora had not any guests to serve. She tried to remember the things that Pablo had told her before and hoped that she would not commit any mistake that would get Pablo to be angry at her.Flora took note of her uniform and smoothened her apron. She then stood at her spot next to the food cart and waited for Pablo’s instructions. She was surprised that Pablo was not standing next to her, but was pacing the floor, something that was not characteristic of him who had always seemed composed and confident.

The next morning, Flora woke up from the sound of her alarm clock. She opened her eyes and realized that she was curled up in bed. She immediately silenced her digital clock and stayed in her position for a while. Such a strange dream, she thought. She remembered the blood dripping from the chin of the man who bent over the unconscious Eva who lay on the marble table and she shivered. If it were a dream, it was quite real, she said to herself.Flora flung the sheets and got out of bed. She went through her morning rituals and then woke up Nadi. When they were both ready, they got out of their room and walked over to Eva’s door. Flora raised her closed fist to knock on the door. She hesitated a moment before proceeding to make three knocks. When she heard nothing, not a sign of movement from within the room, she knocked again. Louder this time around.“Maybe she’s gone out,” said Nadi who was holding her doll. “Maybe she went a

When Flora arrived at the laundry room, she looked around and saw that Nadi was nowhere to be found. She tried to calm her nerves as she knew that her daughter could be hiding inside the storage room. She walked calmly towards the storage room and opened the door to look inside. She flicked on the lights, but she still could not see any trace of Nadi. She felt her heart beat faster. She shouldn’t have let Nadi stay at the laundry room by herself.“Nadi…” Flora called softly. “It’s Mommy. Are you here?”Flora heard a soft giggle and she felt relief flood over her. She entered the storage room and decided to play along.“Hmm… I wonder if someone is hiding behind those boxes!” said Flora as she looked behind the boxes of detergent. “I thought I heard someone giggling.”Nadi giggled louder.“I know. Maybe there’s someone hiding inside the cabinet!” Flora then op