The abandoned house

Prinah closed her eyes and take a deep breath when she arrived at the abandoned house of her father. She roamed around the house and noticed how everything was fixed though it is filled with dust and cob webs. The cabinets inside the room was locked and all the stuff were orderly arranged. Pairs of shoes and slippers were put at the rack beside the entrance door. She notice bundled newspaper and CD's in the box in one of the room. Then she check in to the kitchen and notice the pots and pans were hang on the wall according to its sizes. Glass containers of coffee were filed at the table, plastic wares and a kettle.

"Oh, you really like coffee" Prinah think about her father.

Feel tired and hungry after roaming some part of the house Prinah look something to eat in the kitchen and find nothing but she never give up searching. She notice a door and opens it, surprisingly, lots of "saluyot" (Filipino term for jute mallow) growing at the backyard of the house. She smiles imagining how her father cultured that area as his garden. Obviously, there were withered vegetable plants, filed rocks in every side, dry branches of tress, charcoals and remains of burned leaves gathered in one place. Lots of fruit trees like rambutan, mangosteen, lanzones, mango and pummelo surrounds the house giving fresh air as the wind blows its leaves and even give shades. She's thinking how did her father preserve and work that area for plantation. Then she pick some "saluyot" leaves. Looking around, Prinah sees a dirty kitchen with dried branches of trees on its side. Thinking where to find water in just a few meters Prinah found a water well. Using a rubber bucket tied with a rope she used it to draw water from the well and pitch it to another bucket. Luckily she find a match in the filed dried branches and kindled a fire. She then washed the jute mallow leaves and boiled it in the pot mixed with a bit of salt. In a few minutes the jute mallows were cooked already then Prinah found a set beside the outside wall of the kitchen holding the bowl full of jute mallow leaves soup enjoy eating and sipping its soup. After gaining her strength she then get inside the kitchen toward the living room as the environment began to dark. Crickets and owls were now sounding as the moon giving its light at the clear sky. At a far distance Prinah heard the hissing sound of the flowing river. It's so quiet as she set down on a dusty couch chair and look up her face at the ceiling. While looking up she thinks about her father. Asking these questions:

"How could you live like this?"

"I know now how smart and well-organized kind of person you are..

.. but How you were able to manage this kind of life?"

As these questions puzzling her mind suddenly a wind from the open window blows the curtain that covers a door that she didn't notice when she arrived that day. She slowly stand on her feet grab her phone from her pocket and lighted to see it clearly. Then she walk towards the door and grab the knob but it was locked. She tried to push it but it's really tough. As she pressed her both palms and forehead on the door she spotted a white metal beneath the door edge. She pick it up and found out its a key. She quickly used it to unlock and perfectly opens the door.

"Thank God for letting me find this key"

When she come in the room is so dark. Using her phone to light her way suddenly the light reflects, to her surprise she found out a mirror in her front facing the entrance door.

"I know what you're thinking, you want to look yourself what is going on as you enter your room", Prinah thinks about her father again.

After seconds her phone warns low battery signal and so she quickly turn around her head to find something to light and amazingly a candle, a zippo (an old type lighter) and a gas lamp was put at the table. She then kindle the candle, charge her phone using power bank and check the lamp and spotted a little amount of fuel on it. Holding the candle she lighted the walls of the room to check anything that hang on it but find nothing only its smooth surface. One thing that draws her attention was the mark of the nails on the walls measuring same distance with one another. She thinks of certificates, picture frames and canvas pictures were hang on there before. She then wants to find it so she could look for details and information to access her father.

"Where did you put those stuffs?" She asked her father in her mind again.

She wanted to search something more in her father's room but the heat of the flame gradually consume the candle's wax. Feel sleepy and tired she had to find a place to lay only to find out a metallic bed frame. Instantly came up in her mind the mattress, pillow and blanket must be keep somewhere. She immediately open the wooden drawer cabinet using the key hang on its side and there she found it. To her surprise, the mattress, pillow and blanket were individually wrap with a gusset cello bag.

"Thank you father you just save me from my allergy" Prinah smiled

After unwrapping the stuffs she smells the fragrance of fabric softener. She then quickly clean the metallic bed frame using a duster and a hair broom on the floor she just found from a drawer. Prinah then washed herself using the excess water she just drawn from the well that day and changed her clothes. Feeling fresh and comfortable she then set up her bed and lay. She did everything fix while the lamp has its fuel. As she lay on her bed Prinah can't stop thinking her father.

"You know I would come here someday" Prinah think presumptuously and then fall asleep.