Penchant for Darkness

by J Elizaga

  CHAPTER 9

  The chandeliers sparkled as did the welcome aperitif. It was a surprisingly rainless November evening. Richelle’s office was celebrating Thanksgiving at a high-end hotel, arranged by the corporate headquarters in America.

  She joined the party without Miles who was away on a short work assignment. Laughter flowed freely at her table where a mix of coworkers dared one another to hit the dance floor when a DJ started playing after-dinner music. She stood up and the whole table whistled and teased.

  “First one on the dance floor? Raring to go?”

  She laughed. “Keep calm. Don’t wet yourselves. I’ll hit the ladies’ room and when I come back, you each better be ready with one move.”

  The rest of the table hooted at her.

  But it was not easy to get to the ladies’ room. She found herself walking through a dimly lit hallway after a short flight of stairs. She even looked around twice to make sure she had taken the correct exit. On facing forward the second time, she found Luc standing in front of her.

  “Well, if it isn’t my favorite colleague.”

  “Luc, how have you been?” Richelle greeted as he bent down to kiss her cheeks.

  “I am well, madam, and you look fabulous tonight.”

  “Thank you, you look very dashing yourself,” she complimented back, noticing the slight flair of his words. She was thinking about it when her ears picked up a change in music tempo.

  “What a wicked thing to do,” the voice sang.

  “I noticed you’re seated with the entire second floor team, of which I am a member so I will have stop by later. I’m going to dance with as many ladies as I can tonight before I fly back home. Would you fancy a short dance with a lonely expat from the old world?” Luc asked.

  Before she could say that she on her way to the ladies’ room, he added quickly, “Before I dance with your boss, Miss Diane, next.”

  Unaware that she responded to Lucifer’s messages in her brain, Richelle accepted Luc’s invitation. As soon as she accepted, she was back in the ballroom.

  The chandeliers glittered like a million tiny lights. They looked even more ethereal than she remembered. The sensual song took over all other sounds of activity. She found herself on the dance floor facing Luc’s outstretched arms. He was inviting her into his circle. And his charming smile would not be denied. She smiled back, took his hand and stepped into his web.

  “I did not get a chance to thank you for sitting in during my presentation,” she started. “You were quiet and you left before the Q&A.”

  Luc’s smile could outshine any chandelier. “Well, I was not invited. I just happened to walk by when I saw you writing on the board and snuck in and sat at the back of the room. And I knew you had the approval in the bag even before you finished, so I left as unobtrusively as I came.”

  He pulled her arms out before twirling her and capturing her back with one steady hand.

  “It was good day, challenging but ended up the way I hoped it would.”

  “You worked hard for it,” Luc said, his voice soft.

  Richelle felt choked up. “Some days are great, and some days are not.”

  Immediately, she wondered what made her say that. Was it relief that her big presentation was over?

  Luc and Richelle looked at each other, but the lights glittering from behind his head covered his face in darkness.

  “Tell me about it. You’re dancing with a man who lives out of a suitcase for months at a time and travels on a moment’s notice. Some days are great and some days are not, is true indeed. But I’ve learned to find joy wherever I am.”

  “Word,” she replied and heard his low appreciative laugh.

  Luc leaned closer as he murmured more compliments. She thought she felt the softest lips gently kissed her ear. His scent played with her senses on the dance floor. She smelled the woods and sweet amber. The music seemed far away but the beat was in time with her own pulse. Richelle closed her eyes and sighed.

  Luc pressed her body closer to his. When he spoke, his voice was a bare whisper, “I can give you what you want.”

  Richelle froze, as though someone slapped her with a burst of arctic air. The hair on the back of her neck tingled.

  I’ve heard that voice before.

  Richelle came to, alone in the ladies’ room with a vanity table and lounge area. She could not remember walking into the restroom; and it took a few confused moments before her brain concluded that she fell asleep and had a vivid dream. But of all the people she mingled with tonight, why did she dream of Luc? He was not even at the party.

  She stood up but the room immediately swirled, forcing her to sit back down until her head and stomach settled. The door opened and two women came in. Richelle opened her purse and pretended to look for an item inside. They saw her still seated. “You can’t hide in here much longer. We’re all going to dance!”

  From the depths of Hell, Lucifer instantly removed the line of communication to Richelle’s brain after he saw a change in her brain waves. The break awoke Richelle’s consciousness.

  Richelle made a complete about-face after he had whispered his standard lie to humans, and he could not decipher the logic behind her change of mind.

  CHAPTER 10

  Richelle touched the smooth wood-paneled walls as she made her way through a long, dark and descending hallway. Her lungs felt empty, she kept taking deep breaths. She wanted to reach the light at the end of the hall. And she was desperate for some fresh air.

  She felt like she was floating. Even though she knew she was running towards the room, her feet did not feel the floor. When she came into the room, relief was short-lived. The only light that shone through were outside the two unopened French doors.

  But which door do I open?

  She was perplexed at a sudden inability to pick which one to open. One hand would reach out to touch a door knob, only to retract. But it was getting harder and harder to breathe.

  Richelle’s body jerked and she was fully awake.

  What an eerie dream, she thought. It reminded her of another strange dream she had during her company party last month.

  Two weeks after the party, their chief technology officer introduced Jean-Pierre Nishant, the new VP of Operations who replaced Lansing. There was no mention of Luc. Sudden departures were not unusual for high level executives. She wondered if he left the company hastily or if he was asked to leave, and she hesitated asking anyone in the office about him.

  What is up with these back-to-back strange dreams?

  She shook her head as a physical movement to remove the tangle of thoughts and focused on getting ready to go to the office. And she was looking forward to going out that evening with Miles.

  It was a beautiful Thursday night to be out on a date. The moon was full and red, hanging low on a clear starry sky. A light breeze came from Manila Bay. The air slightly tickled rows of coconut trees. It was a different vibe when evening rolled. People enjoyed time to eat out and the city became alive with street food, food courts, and a multitude of restaurants.

  Miles and Richelle walked with arms linked, like two college sweethearts. She recounted her most recent dream to him.

  “Maybe it’s work-related. It was a mad rush to finish that business proposal and now that it’s done, maybe your mind is asking you if this is what you want to do,” Miles hypothesized.

  Richelle considered it. “The two doors make sense, I guess. I don’t know about the hallway and the rest of the dream.”

  “We’ll take it easy tonight and not think about work, and see if that helps you sleep tonight.”

  Miles knew to pick the best eateries in the city. They dined at a cook-your-own teppanyaki grill where they sampled Kobe beef, prawns and chicken hearts over fire. Putting aside all her cares and relaxing, Richelle savored the evening with her husband.

  The good feeling continued until they returned home. Miles and Richelle took turns teasing each other. And when she slipped into her lingerie, Miles w
as already in bed with a smile on his face. His wife followed the lines of his body with her eyes, noting a small tent had formed under the blanket where his hips rested.

  She smiled back at him. “We’ll keep trying.”

  “I love you.”

  “I know,” Richelle replied with a wink.

  But Miles happened to glance by their bedroom window. It looked like there was a shadow. And it moved.

  Miles jumped up and ran towards it.

  “What’s going on?” Richelle exclaimed.

  Her husband remained standing by the window, looking out. “I thought I saw a shadow move.”

  She began to get nervous. “A shadow of what?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You’re starting to freak me out.” But not one to readily cower, she dashed to the bathroom and quickly returned holding her hair dryer.

  “I’ve seen a large cat wandering in and out of houses on our street. Maybe that’s what you saw,” she surmised.

  “Could be,” Miles answered his wife while his eyes continued to scan the unlit driveway and street. “I think my eyes were playing tricks on me.”

  When her husband turned around, he noticed his wife standing by their bed. “Why are you holding the hair dryer?”

  “You jumped from the bed like a spooked cat,” Richelle explained. “I’m ready to hurl this at whatever it is you saw if it charges at us.”

  “Put the weapon down,” her husband managed to say before a grin spread across his face.

  “It’s not funny. It could’ve been a thief,” Richelle countered. “And hey, I may have had a weird dream. But you’re awake and saw a shadow that moved by itself. Now that is strange.”

  She was right, Miles thought.

  CHAPTER 11

  Driving to the resort, Miles and Richelle caught a glimpse of a secret blue lagoon as their vehicle made its way up the mountainside. They marveled at the beauty of clear sapphire waters against white sands. They would need to ride a local outrigger boat, a bangka, to reach the popular secret spot.

  “Are we going there tomorrow?” she asked Miles while enjoying the scenery.

  “Yup, the hotel package includes a one-day tour and I picked this one.”

  “Nice one, Miles,” his wife replied.

  “We could use the break, Chelie.” His voice softened, which alerted Richelle. “I figured we can just relax here this weekend and start looking at adopting when we get back.”

  Surprised at the statement, she assured him. “Miles, we can keep trying.”

  There was a peaceful smile on his face. “We will be parents. But seven years is enough. I’m calling it. Let’s adopt.”

  His wife nodded wordlessly before placing her hand over his. Miles took Richelle’s hand, raised it to his lips, and kissed it gently.

  They arrived at the hotel. Miles dropped off Richelle at the main entrance to check in while he parked the car. While parking, his phone rang. It was his mother.

  “We just arrived. Chelie is checking in.” He got out of the car while he continued to speak on the phone. “Listen Ma, after this trip, we’ve decided to start the process for adopting. It is the right time, and Chelie is okay with it.”

  Ana Penchant’s voice shook as she replied to her son. “I know it was difficult for you both. Your dad and I support your decision.”

  “Keep this between us for now. Chelie and I have a lot of work to do to get this process going.” Suddenly, Miles changed the topic. “Ma, do you remember that old woman who used to talk to herself all the time?”

  “Mamie Rosa? Why have you suddenly asked about her? She died over twenty years ago.”

  “There was one time I ended up at her house and she said something to me. I can’t remember what she said. Did I tell you about that? Do you remember if I said anything about her?” Miles pressed.

  His mother sighed. “Was it the time you said you played with her dogs?”

  Miles’ eyes widened as a light bulb in his brain released locked up memories, but his mother was not finished. “You know, I felt such goosebumps when I heard you mention spirits that I decided to drop that conversation quickly.”

  Miles asked, “Why the goosebumps?”

  His mother explained, “Back when we still lived in Grandpa’s house in Manila, when you were about three years old, you used to wake up at night. But instead of crying, your dad and I would catch you laughing. Laughing at something. And you would point to the wall in your room. There was nothing on that wall but paint. We didn’t know what to make of it other than you were interacting with something we could not see. It was unnerving. And you would not stop, same ghostly hour of the night. That’s why we left and moved to a new place a few months later.”

  “I don’t remember that, I was too young. But I remember the dogs.” His brain started mining itself for the memories of Mamie Rosa when suddenly, he heard the voice of Mr. Spock, his favorite fictional character, in his mind. It was a practice he developed whenever he juggled several thoughts.

  “Wasn’t it your goal to enjoy this weekend with your wife?”

  He took a deep breath and agreed with his brain, putting the memories of Mamie Rosa and what she said aside. After ending the call with his mother, Miles removed his shoes and started walking towards the resort’s private beach, unaware that Lucifer had been tracking him.

  The white sands were nearly powder under his feet. It was relaxing to feel its warmth. He inhaled the salty air deeply. He saw children playing near the water while their parents sat in cabanas and looked on. He felt a load had been taken off his shoulders after talking with his wife. It felt like he had made the right decision.

  Miles turned around, remembering that he had not pulled their luggage from the car. As he made his way back to the parking lot, he met a bellman who was walking the opposite way.

  “Hey mate, is there an entrance on the side of the building to get to the hotel lobby?”

  The young man stared at him intensely for a second before breaking into a smile. “Yes, sir. To the left, go into that path and it will lead you to a pond that is right across the hotel lobby.”

  “Thanks.”

  Miles resumed walking, but he felt the familiar uneasy tickle in the center of his stomach. The unease directed his brain to look everywhere until it settled on a certain direction or spot. This time, he stopped and turned around to look at the young man walking away from him. Miles dropped the bags where he stood and started walking fast towards the bellman until he was near enough to tap his shoulder.

  The young man turned around, startled. “Yes, sir?”

  “Sorry, I thought you meant go around the hotel.”

  The young man looked confused. “Around the hotel?”

  “You said there’s an entrance to the hotel from here.” Miles answered.

  “Oh, just around the small pond right there,” and he pointed to the sign for the pond.

  “Thanks.”

  There was nothing unusual about the young man. Miles shook his head. Maybe he was still pre-occupied with his mother’s revelation about Mamie Rosa and his nightly antics as a baby at his grandfather’s house.

  What Miles did not see just before he tapped the bellman on the shoulder was the confusion on the young man’s face. It was as if he had woken up. The last thing he remembered was sleeping in the car. He was not sure how he ended up walking back to the parking lot.

  Through the bellman’s eyes, Lucifer had a good look at Richelle’s husband and analyzed the situation. If Luc could not convince Richelle, he knew who could. He found the spirits of a thief and a fraternity master and combined them to form one entity.

  CHAPTER 12

  Miles watched Richelle walk out of the bathroom with an open travel pouch in hand and a slightly irritated frown on her brow. “I forgot my toothbrush,” she announced. She walked to the bed, picked her wallet from her bag and headed to the door, stopping briefly to say, “I’m going down to the sundries store.”

  Miles covere
d the mouthpiece of the phone. “I’ll be in the shower.”

  The scent of ylang-ylang hung lavishly in their hotel suite and permeated the air. After their conversation in the car, Miles did not see how content and excited Richelle felt. And Miles had planned a special evening for them, which was confirmed when his wife heard him on the phone.

  Toothbrush in hand, Richelle went on the elevator to return to their room.

  The elevator doors opened. Richelle’s foot, which was ready to step out, was left in mid-air. Miles stood in front of her wearing only a robe. His eyes pierced through her even though his face wore a smile. For a second, it affected her in a strange way but it was over as soon as she saw it. Miles’ face transformed with one of his handsome smiles. She stepped out and he immediately took her into his arms.

  “At last,” he whispered, “I can kiss you the way I want, with no intent except to enjoy the moment.” He swooped down and captured her mouth, kissing her deeply. Richelle barely had a breath in as she savored his kiss, pressing her body to his. She felt his desire.

  He raised his head after a long moment that left Richelle breathlessly asking, “Where has this been hiding all these years?”

  Miles paused. When he spoke, his tone changed. “Glad you liked that surprise. I have another one for you.” He took her hand and they started walking. Miles opened the door to the stairs, and like teenagers doing something forbidden, they sprinted up three more floors to the penthouse suites. Without hesitation, he turned to one of the suites and opened it. He stepped inside and turned around with a mischievous grin on his face while Richelle remained by the door.

  “No one’s here, my darling. The resort is still in its soft opening. This floor is not yet occupied.”

  Darling? But he was smiling at her with a smile she had not seen in a long time that she decided to go along for the ride.

  Miles extended his arm out to her. She took a step inside the suite to take his hand. And Richelle found herself wrapped in his embrace, their mouths locked, while their bodies hurriedly made their way on to the bed. There was impatience as her clothes were removed. Miles himself easily disrobed as he bent down and kissed his wife.