Blast from The Past [10]

It was getting dark. Annisa peeked out through the café's window emblazoned with white lace of navy blue curtains. The wind was blowing hard against the branches of the trees at the end of the road. Soon, it would rain.

She rushed to eat up the special empanadas made by the cafe which is famous for its delicacy. It tasted almost the same as the country's pastel. What distinguished it was the spice herbs used and additional meat and cheese in it.

Annisa then drained down her cold horchata, a special local drink made from rice and spices, mixed with vanilla extract, cinnamon, and sugar.

She felt prompt freshness in her body after a long day's sightseeing with her tour group around Mexico City. Her stomach was already full, telling her it was time for her to return to the hotel.

Annisa asked the café waiter to count all the orders she spent that evening, and asked him to help order a taxi to drive her back to the La Luna hotel.

Annisa was satisfied to taste a special meal at Angel Café. At first, she just accidentally spotted a promotional board standing tall not far from that unique, cozy café door. The curiosity to taste traditional Mexican foods and drinks had taken her into the café and separated from her tour group.

Ella's urge to get back to the hotel was ignored. With a little anxiety, she encouraged to stop for a moment to the cafe. Luckily, the tour guide gave permission to Annisa not to return to the hotel along with a group for that afternoon. Annisa assured that she would return to the hotel before nine at night at local time and report to the guide at the agreed time.

The taxi reserved by the waiter at Angel Café had not arrived. Annisa waited impatiently at the café door. A long jacket that covered her body tightly was not able to warm her body at that time. The wind was blowing harder. She wrapped a scarf around his neck again for helping her get some warmth there.

Annisa wished her taxi to come before the sky poured rain on her body. She still had a few more days to go around in the exquisite exotic state of Mexico, and she didn't want to get sick just because of that evening rain.

Her attention was immediately drawn to a group of people at the end of the street by a yellow phone box. She witnessed two men were holding a young white man in a brown leather jacket and jeans trousers, unconscious. While another man was just on the sidewalk watching the situation around.

At first, Annisa had thought that a group of people wanted to rescue a young man who might be their friend, and would take him to a hospital or other place, because she saw that they lifted the unconscious body and wanted to put it in a car waiting by the sidewalk.

But somehow, they got panic once they knew that Annisa was staring at them with a sense of curiosity and they spoke in a local language that she did not understand.

The situation grew tense as the carried man suddenly groaned in agony touching his injured head. The two men got very panicked and left the wounded young man lying on the sidewalk. This group of people suddenly escaped by a car waiting for them.

Annisa reflexively ran to the young man. With a sense of humanity, she tried to wake the young man with the head wound, and put his body into her lap slowly and carefully. She didn't want to add to the pain that the man felt with her sudden moves.

Annisa got stunned when she observed the young man's face. It seemed she recognized him. But, somewhere she didn't know. Then, the shadow of this face slowly drifted away.

Annisa tried to grab it. Reached it. She mustered her hands to pull it back. Come back! She said softly to herself. But her efforts were in vain. The atmosphere was suddenly dark. And the shadow of the face gradually shrank and finally disappeared. Vanished.

Annisa awoke from her sleep with a gasping breath and her body got wet with sweat. It was all a dream.

She realized she was in his apartment room in Denpasar, right now. Then she got up from bed and walked to the sink to wash her face with cold water.

What a strange dream, she thought.

Why was the incident in Mexico City some time ago captured in my dream? Annisa wondered.

What sign was it? Annisa covered her face with her both palms and closed her eyes trying to concentrate fully, but without results.

Finally, she gave up and tried to sleep again but the thought of her dream continued to bother her.

It was really lucky Annisa and Dave got a table at Warung Putu that afternoon. After just a few minutes, the restaurant had been full with guests who want to get lunch. Near to the door, in front of the reception desk, there were a lot of people queuing up and willing to enter the waiting list to eat the special food served.

The special menu provided that day was Kedewatan chicken rice accompanied with Citronella Sweet Tea. Dave who loved tasting traditional Balinese food ordered this food package, of course with Annisa.

"What time do you have to come to the magazine office to discuss the task of your next article, Nisa?" Dave asked after eating his food.

"As soon as we finish our lunch, Dave." Annisa replied as she wiped her mouth with a napkin lying nicely at the end of the table. She then adjusted her rainbow-colored knee-length skirt combined with a white striped shirt.

"I drive you?"

"My pleasure," Annisa said with a smile.

"Okay, wait a minute, Nisa, let me pay our meals first to the cashier." Dave pulled out his wallet from the brown leather bag he wore everywhere. He then rushed to the cashier to pay for the foods they had eaten.

Accidentally, Annisa spotted a pink wallet lying under the foot of the chair where Dave's brown leather bag was.

Maybe it's Dave's wallet which accidentally fell off, Annisa thought.

She then leaned over to pick up the wallet which turned out to be a woman's purse. Suddenly she choked, her face got pale, his mouth gawked, out of words. Immediately, she saw what are inside.

Annisa found a close-up photo of herself, her picture with her father, mother and younger brother when she was a child, an ID card, and a peso coin money which was still intact and complete, just like before she lost her purse in Mexico some time ago.

Her mind raged. How could my lost purse in Mexico be with Dave, now?

Dave walked back to the table. He found Annisa silent and stupefied. Dave instantly sensed that something was wrong there.

"What's up Nisa? Are you sick?" Dave asked cautiously.

Annisa pulled out a pink purse from under the table and showed it to Dave.

"Why is my missing wallet when I had vacation in Mexico with you now, Dave? Who are you? What do you want from me?" Annisa poked Dave with a barrage of questions.

Dave was astonished. He had no idea that Annisa would find the purse before he told her everything about it.

Before he could explain about everything to Annisa, she ran and left him out of the restaurant.

"Nisa, wait! I'll explain." Dave shouted. The guests in Warung Putu turned to Dave.

Dave still had to tidy up the paperwork lying on the dining table. So that as Dave ran after Annisa, she had disappeared somewhere.

Dave stumbled back to his hotel. He still had business appointments to attend in Canggu area. After meeting Raka in his horse stable, he planned to go to Annisa's apartment in Denpasar. Hopefully Annisa had been calmer, Dave wished intensely.

Dave and Nico arrived at the stables of the Swastika family located in Canggu, just before Raka completed his lap by riding his shining brown and white-parted horse. At that time, Raka wore all-white jockey shirt and pants, black hat and boots. In his hands, he held a white whip that he occasionally swung it into his horse.

Dave and Nico didn't mean to upset Raka and chose to wait for him on the sidelines. But suddenly the housekeeper of the Swastika family rushed up to them, and asked them to wait for Raka in the spacious room like a meeting room used for large banquet parties located next to the horse stables.

"Please wait inside, Mr. Dave and Mr. Nico. Mr. Raka will immediately meet you soon." The housekeeper told them to wait in the cool room.

The room was filled with trophies won by Raka Swastika for its success in the horse riding competition every year, lined neatly placed on an ancient brown wooden table that looked well-maintained.

Nico chuckled in amazement as he stood and looked at each of the trophies.

"It seems you are dealing with a real man, Dave," Nico stated his thought.

"We'll see how the real Raka is, Nico," said Dave didn't want to lose.

"Why is Raka so long? Didn't we see he was almost done already?" Dave said angrily.

Dave then walked to the front of the door and opened it slightly. It looked that Raka was at the end of the field with a beautiful girl. She hugged the girl tightly, stroked her hair gently and kissed her forehead just before the girl entered the car on the sidewalk near to the racetrack.

Dave narrowed his eyes in the sunlight that afternoon. He seemed to recognize the girl who was with Raka. The beautiful girl in a white shirt which was perfect with the rainbow-colored knee-length skirt she was wearing.

"Hey, isn't she... Nisa ???" Dave screamed as if he didn't believe what he saw with his own eyes.

"What business does she have with Raka? And why is Raka hugging and kissing her so tenderly?" Dave's blood boiled and bubbled inside. A churning heat shook his chest.

"Be patient, Dave, be patient..." Nico tried to calm his friend's heart down. "Maybe Raka has a logical explanation for that," Nico patted Dave's shoulder trying to calm him down.

Dave skimmed Nico's hand off his shoulder. He opened the door and stormed out half running toward Raka who was walking toward them both.

"What did you do with Annisa? Why are you so close to him? What relationship are you with Nisa?" Dave asked as he half-shouted.

Dave clenched his fist preparing for Raka attacked him first, if necessary he was willing to fight to avenge Raka's treatment to Annisa just now. He was not willing if Annisa was treated like that by arrogant and snooty man of Swastika family's descent.

"What do you care about Annisa?" Raka glared at Dave's face and looked him up and down disdainfully.

"Why did you dare to touch her like that?" Dave's patience was running out facing Raka.

"Dave, be patient! Remember your family business agreement! Remember your father, Dave!" Nico whispered firmly in Dave's ear as he blocked Dave's body with his sturdy hands, just in case Dave suddenly lost his minds and moved forward fighting Raka abruptly.

Dave tried desperately to keep up his behavior and buried deeply his raging feelings. There were only two choices, indulging in a furious anger or being patient and succumbing to the honor of the Moreno family.

"Nisa came to see me, she got broken-hearted and cried. And I comforted her because I do love her," Raka said with a grinning smile at Dave and his eyes glittered naughtily at Dave's face. Dave raked his teeth.

"What!" Dave blasted out immediately.

"How dare you to approach her! She is mine! Stay away from her!" Dave threw his entire disappointment at what just happened.

"What's your deal with Annisa, huh?" Raka snorted roughly.

"If Nisa really loves you, she certainly will not come to me and run from you!" Mocked Raka with a big smile triumphantly.

"You ...!" Dave couldn't speak anymore.

The emotion has peaked to the crown. He wanted to beat up the man who had taken it for granted.

Nico immediately broke the mouth fighting and pushed Dave's body away from Raka before the physical fighting started.

"Sorry Raka, maybe it's not the right time for us to talk about business. Next time, we'll come to see you again if all circumstances are possible." Nico apologized politely to Raka.

"Just set it up, Nico. But, next time, please teach your best friend to keep up politeness when visiting someone else's house." Raka snapped back and then left them both.

Early in the morning, Dave had visited Annisa's apartment. He had been waiting in the lobby of the apartment on the ground floor since dawn. Dave couldn't sleep all night thinking about what happened the day before.

He glanced at his watch in his left hand, already at seven o'clock. Annisa was usually awake, Dave mumbled to himself.

Dave stood from the couch in the lobby of the apartment to go to the third floor of Annisa's room. He threw a slight smile at the receptionist at the front desk who recognized him and nodded politely to him.

Once Dave arrived in front of Annisa's apartment room, he knocked on the door slowly three times.

Knock ... Knock ... Knock ...

No answer. Dave repeated knocking on the door. But nothing heard from inside of the room.

Dave rushed back to the apartment lobby and asked about Annisa to the young man who was at the reception desk.

"Sorry sir, I work here today for the morning shift. So, I do not know whether Miss Annisa returned to her apartment or not last night," the young man at the reception desk answered Dave's question promptly.

"Maybe, the security guard in the front door know better, because he got a shift from the night. I'll just ask him, sir."

He approached the old security guard at the front door of the lobby and asked him something. Then the young man returned to Dave and explained that Annisa hadn't returned to her apartment since the night before.

Grudgingly Dave thanked to him and immediately left from Annisa's apartment. He heart was upset while thinking about where Annisa was. He couldn't understand why Annisa avoid him and even came to Raka and be affectionate to Raka as he saw yesterday.

Dave really didn't understand what had happened and he desperately needed an explanation from Annisa. He held his chest getting painful, as if there were thousands of needles poking inside his heart chambers. His heart was sore, seemed to be sliced ​​by a nil. He didn't think that broken heart was very bitter. It was like drinking a double hot espresso without sugar, in a hot day of thirst. Strong and stuck in the throat.

Annisa stopped her steps when she saw Dave went out of the lobby of her apartment that morning. She chose to avoid him and hid behind a large white pillar in the corridor connecting her apartment tower with another one.

She saw Dave walking slowly outward with blank eyes. It indicated that his mind was traveling somewhere. Dave didn't see a parking barrier in front of him that had just closed because there was a car coming out of the parking lot. The parking barrier hit Dave's head hard enough to break Dave's thoughts instantly.

Dave groaned in pain as he grabbed the back of his head slowly. Lucky, he didn't get hurt.

Annisa watched it from a distance. She accidentally noticed something. That young man. His moans. The way he held the back of his aching head. Her memories brought her back to Mexico as she helped a young man of the assault victim and took him to a nearby hospital.

Annisa pulled out her pink purse from her bag. It was fallen out of Dave's brown leather bag the day before. She stroked her purse gently, staring at it thoughtfully. It all made sense.

The young man was Dave. The unfortunate man I helped out in Mexico was Dave.

What are you doing in Indonesia Dave? Annisa murmured to herself.

What do you really mean? Annisa wondered.

Meanwhile two men watched Annisa from a distance. Both looked at each other and nodded with a suspicious laugh.

"Hola, Boss, we find the girl alone right now. She is hiding from Dave. They're quarrelling apparently," reported the shiny-haired man wearing a blue check shirt to his boss through his cell phone.

He then told his bald-headed friend about the next instructions from their boss.

"The Boss said, if we can't bring Dave to our headquarters, we make Dave come to our headquarters by himself. Let's take the girl away!"