The cars sped past in front of him. Black smoke blew off his face, the disgusting smell of it tingled his nostrils in the most annoying way. Well could have just easily escaped the embarrassing situation only if he ever thought of running. But considering the odds, it seemed like it did not even bother to cross his mind. What Well did instead was to walk at his fastest pace until he reached the other end of the pedestrian lane. There, people were as fast and as quick as the cars. Busy. Topsy-turvy. That was how Well would describe the scenario the moment he landed a foot on the other side. It was as if an entirely different world. However, he was fully aware that it was nothing but just another block of skyscrapers and tall buildings that was obviously an extension of the New Bill. It was still part of the New Bill. The extreme uncomfort, immense anxiety, and utter suffocation Well felt were enough manifestations to conclude that he was still in New Bill. Feeling an imaginary scrape
"Thank you so much," Well said to the taxi driver as soon as he paid him the money and got out of the car. Well's heart thumped fast and loud. Every beat of it went exactly on the same pace as his feet. He could not tell if he was just tired, or if he was really, really unsettled. Of course, it had to be the latter. Before the taxi driver rolled down his window, he said something to Well. "Do not hesitate to call 911 whenever you feel like you are in danger, sir. It is better to be safe than sorry." He cleared his throat. He was about to run the engine on but suddenly he remembered the conversation was not yet over. So, he furthered his warnings. "But according to what most of the people here in this place believe, the police department here is only as crooked and as evil as the burglars. I'd rather you go and contact anyone you trust and ask help from them instead. Who knows they are more reliable that the so called cops of New Bill who know nothing but to rest on cloud nine and en
A knock on the door had caught the attention of Well, making him jump off of the couch and run all the way past the living room to twist the door knob open. It was a hotel clerk, bringing a bar cart with him that contained a full course meal. IT was only then when Well realized that it was already lunch time. “Hi, Sir, Good day. As part of the VIP subscriber benefit, we offer you this free full meal course of the day. Enjoy!” The hotel clerk greeted Well with a vibrant smile plastered on his face. “Oh, thank you! I did not know you have stuff like this. Good thing I have not prepared my lunch yet, so you came just in time,” Well answered, although inside his head, he was already questioning the authenticity of the words coming from the mouth of the hotel clerk. The hotel clerk fixed his red bowtie that looked like a big stain of blood on his white inner polo shirt, and then maneuvered the trolly to the direction of the living room. “May I?” he asked, probably preferring to whether
“Definitely, the mercury must have been in the ice cubes.” These were the words that Well had told himself after getting rid of the attempted murder through food poisoning plotted against him. Even up until now, two o’clock in the afternoon, two hours since he met the hotel clerk that delivered the meal to him, he still could not believe what actually happened, and what more could have happened only if he was not paying attention to the things happening around him. The food on the table were still untouched. Well was sure to assume that the ice cubes had been mixed with poison. As a matter of fact, that was the only thing he was so sure about. He did not know what was the status of the actual meal itself– if whether it was safe to eat or not. But now that doubts and trust issues had oozed out of Well’s mind, he could not help but think the same thing had happened to the meal. It could have been had some poison, too. Well did not know what to do. He wanted to call the help desk to
“Taxi!” Well shouted as he waved his hand in the air, hoping that the taxi cab from the west was empty so he could finally get a ride to the Cemetre Street, Nonato Extension where the nearest branch of the Octagon Shop stood according to the customer service woman he talked with about twenty minutes ago. When the taxi cab halted in front of him, Well was quick to jump into the car and tell the cabby driver where he wanted him to drive to. “Cemetre Street, Nonato Extension. Specifically on the Octagon Shop if you are familiar with it,” he said and thankfully, the driver recognized the place and now it had been a whole lot easier for Well. “We are on it sir, estimated time of arrival would be not anywhere past three o’clock,” said the taxi cab driver in his deep, husky, yet a little too loud monotone. “Looks like you are planning to buy yourself a new device, aren’t you, sir?” The driver turned his head around to see Well, as he was sitting on the back of the car even though the shot
“Oh, I am so sorry to hear that,” Well suddenly snapped. “But I am just wondering, have you really lost someone because of that shit?” Well, he was curious. He had heard a lot of people he met talking about the same thing, and now that there was someone who can actually tell him a vivid explanation as to why he had been continuously getting the same caution and warning, he could not help but be worried for himself. “Yes,” the taxi driver replied within one second after Well’s statement. “I lost my eldest daughter over a year ago. It happened really fast. Unexpected, even. It never really occurred to us that something like that would happen because, we are not even rich. As a matter of fact, we live in the skid row. Me and my family of six, we are one of the poorest families residing here in New Bill. But then, people were right when they said criminals choose no victim. A crime is a crime and it can be committed to anyone whom criminals see fit. And then, that was it. In just one q
Well did not want to return to his apartment just yet. He decided he had needed to take a stroll somewhere and have a grasp of the free and fresh air— if there was any— from the metro. He went to the City Central Park. There were tens of benches made out of bamboo painted in three kinds of blue, and giant pots with shrubs and other decorative plants planted in it. They were not much people passing by. There were a few, but they did not even exceed in twenty. Five of them seemed like a group of high school students, judging by the uniform they all wore the same. Three were couples, and then the rest were bypassers stopping by to either take a picture or rest for some time. Well sat in one of the benches and laid off the paper bag where his brand new cell phone came in a box. He took it out, unboxed it, and only then when he saw the phone did he heave a heavy sigh because finally, after days and nights and twilights and dawns, he now had a new phone. However, it did not make any change
"Jacel Mae Forecaster? Wow. What a strange name that is. Sounds like someone from Western part of the world," Well told the girl who had now moved closer to him. "So, how long have you been here? In this place? I bet you have been here for more than a year already, because I can tell how much you memorize the place like the back of your hand," Well continued, there was a hint of smile trying to get on his face but he did not want it to be noticed by the girl, who, to him, was nothing more than just a stranger he met on the place. "You are such great when it comes to second guessing," the girl replied, twirling a strand of her hair around her index finger. Confused, Well asked. "What? Really? How can you say so?""Because I really did come all the way from New Zealand, a Western country, like what you have guessed. I came here a couple of years ago to pursue the same thing, my studies." The young lady's brief explanation seemed to have caught the interest of Well that he was forced t