TWO
Apparently there was a modern sleek restaurant Claire didn't know existed. The ambience was calm and friendly. Bruno's car pulled over, and the two went to one of the empty tables.
"Didn't expect to see you so soon." A young waitress passed by, her blonde hair in pigtails. She smiled blushingly, making Claire stare at her stunned.
"Well, I'm as unpredictable as the weather," Bruno replied, shrugging heedlessly as Miss pigtails walked by with a tray of food.
He snapped a finger and another waiter made his way towards their table.
"You seem very popular here," Claire made a casual remark upon the gesture.
Bruno smiled and said, "That's because I live here."
"Oh, and what do you do around here? Photography?" Claire was bemused, her eyes squinted inquisitively.
"Um, I'm the restaurant owner," he replied.
Oh. Evidently Claire hadn't seen this coming. Well, he wasn't a weirdo after all, she thought to herself at the remainder of their meeting earlier.
"Congratulations. This place is terrific," she uttered, her eyes roaming around with admiration. The waiter inquired about their menu choice afterwards. "Chicken casserole, please," she replied.
"Thank you, I guess." Bruno's smile was brighter. "I'll have the same," he said, and then faced Claire. "Care for a drink? The cocktails here are to die for; not that I'm bragging."
"Oh? Is that true?" Claire asked the waiter. "I know he's your boss but I'm the customer here. I'm the King . . . No, the Queen!"
They all laughed.
"They are great." The waiter nodded in agreement, his smile assuring Claire of this grand allegation.
"Sure. Why not? Worst case scenario, I'll just not ever come back if you both scam me." She let the gentlemen win.
"So . . ." Bruno resumes his full, undistracted attention back to Claire. "Why are you around here? Because I know you're not from here." His brown eyes were blazing with wonder and playfulness, his smile boyish.
"Well, I just came to relax over the weekend," Claire answered with a deep sigh. "And to visit my parents." Her voice was low without ecstasy, and it seemed Bruno understood why.
"I'm sorry. I was also visiting my mother," he said in a similar tone of voice, reclining back in his seat.
"Really?" Claire uttered, and this turned to be an ordinary talk as Bruno talked of his dead mother. "I'm sorry for your loss," she breathed.
"It's okay. We're still surviving, aren't we?" Bruno enthused, his sassy mood restored.
"Yeah. Surviving." Claire's mind was back to her house in the city where her stepmother was always on her neck, turning her life a living hell.
It was time to maybe move out, she'd constantly say this, but the memories of her childhood would always hold her back.
"Are we on the memory lane?" Bruno snapped his finger on her face, chuckling at how lost she looked.
"Oh, come on!" Claire dismissed with a smile. She was indeed enjoying the moment, and so was Bruno.
"And where exactly do you live?" he asked after a short pause of laughter.
"Lisbay."
"Hmm . . . that's interesting."
"Why? I'd much rather live here if it weren't for other reasons," she said truthfully.
"I agree. I do like this place better than the city," Bruno said, running a hand through his funky curls.
Smiling, Claire's tummy started rumbling, and she eyed him blankly upon his small laugh. "I think food would be better than your teeth," she said, and now he laughed even louder. So did she.
"Wow! Big appetite, huh?" Bruno teased.
"What can I say?" Claire flushed. "I love eating."
And indeed, she loved eating. Maybe food was the best part of her life.
"Okay, beautiful." Bruno got up, so as to personally speed up their order.
"We can just wait, though! Don't pay attention to my rumbling." Claire tried to stop him, but he was too adamant. "Gosh!" She laughed, allowing herself to relax.
Between lunch and talking, time seemed to be going quite fast. Bruno was quite friendly, and it was impossible not to get lost into his ability to converse.
Claire had nothing much to tell, however, for her life had been a dull, empty page with nothing but her step family and the failed romance during high school.
Well, only Gena was her tale to tell. She was missing the Asian already.
As for Bruno, he was spontaneous and adventurous. He'd been to major cities of Europe, and studied in Barcelona. He was just a free spirit, enjoying life and the simple things it had to offer.
Photography was Bruno's biggest passion, and he loved it. He saw beauty in everything he took shots of, according to his own words.
Nevertheless, Claire never stopped staring at him, sometimes. He was handsome, charming and boyish in manners, with something special that makes one feel at ease with him.
He was probably in his mid-twenties or so, Claire reckoned.
But that was all. She had no time to crush over some guy she'd just met in the cemetery. However, she liked his company quite well. Her phone buzzed suddenly, and it was none other than Gena.
"Hello," Claire answered while looking at Bruno, who was also looking at her with a small frown.
"Hey, where are you?" Gena replied from the other end, her voice ballistic.
"Um, with a friend," Claire replied, smiling. "Why? Do you need anything? Or you just miss me already?"
"Which friend that I don't know about? Spill it, have you met some cute guy over there?" Gena asked her in a naughty way.
Claire rolled her eyes. "Is that the only thing you could think of? We'll talk later, be there soon!"
"You better, because I can't wait, you know. And I'm bored to death here," Gena lamented and it was the end of the call.
"Oh God!" Claire exclaimed.
"What?" Bruno abandoned his mobile.
"It's already six and I am still here! I've got to go, Bruno." Claire collected her bag in frenzy.
"Alright, but—" Bruno chuckled at her haste moves. "Take it easy, Claire, it's not the end of the world."
"Yeah, right! Talking to someone who lives right here."
Bruno couldn't hold his laughter as he stood up. "I can give you a ride if you don't mind," he suggested.
"No, you've done enough. I don't want to trouble you anymore. But thanks for the nice lunch, really," Claire assured, her smile grateful. "I've completely lost track of time from the talk and all, and maybe I should blame you." Her pink lips pouted cutely.
"Me?" Bruno uttered, wide-eyed.
"Yeah, you." Claire grinned, fixing her wavy, golden hair with her fingers. "Bye." And then she kissed him on the cheek.
"But—" Bruno started, but she was already striding off, waving at him in child-like manners. "But it seems like it's going to rain soon," he muttered apprehensively.
The weather changed abruptly. The sky was too dark as if a very heavy rain was going to crash. Claire didn't care, however, because she had an umbrella inside her backpack.
Ten minutes passed but there was no sign of any taxi on the main road. She decided to walk, hoping to find one on the way.
After a short while, the rain started pouring. Claire fished the umbrella and opened it immediately. Not having a choice, she decided to walk through the rain that was increasingly heavy.
She tried to call Gena but there was no signal. Her jeans and sneakers were all wet, for it was quite windy, and the cold had started to get into her skin.
"Crap!" Claire snapped. "I'm so damn tired, and this stupid umbrella is totally useless!" It was already dark, and about fifteen minutes had already passed.
Still there wasn't a trace of any car, bus . . . or even a taxi. She kept walking.
The geography of the place was terrible as far as heavy rainfall was concerned. It would easily get slippery, and tremendous erosion would take part thitherto. She had to walk carefully, but one can't always be careful enough.
She suddenly slipped and fell, without noticing that she was walking onto a little slope. There was an eroded part that formed a temporary reservoir in which rain water collected and cascaded away. Claire slid straight towards it, and only managed to grab the tree branch which supported her balance.
Looking down she felt terrified. She tried to hold onto the branch tightly, but it was hard. The rain water kept rippling past her heading onto the little railing bridge.
Damn it!
Claire tried to pull herself up, several times, but still couldn't. She screamed for help but there was no one there. Not even an animal passing.
It was so strange and sudden. Coming from a perfect nice day, and in a blink of an eye she was fighting for her life, in such a stupid manner. She even had to laugh a bit. She was cold, and the water wouldn't leave her in peace.
What the hell was happening with her life? Was this real or some kind of a bad dream? Was she really hanging by a tree branch amid the rain? Claire wondered inside and the fear began consuming her little by little.
"Ugh!" she bawled, trying once again to push herself up, her heart beating fast at the speed of the running water cascading vigorously.
Was she going to die? Was she even afraid of dying? If she thought better, there was nothing major to live for in her life. Could this be the sign for her eternal salvation? Perhaps it's her ticket to see her mother, and her father as well.
And maybe ask him why he neglected her like that.
Claire began laughing. She was laughing between the tears, thinking of her horrible life so far; the life filled with longing and loneliness. She was tired of holding on, in both this moment and all those times she'd forced herself to do so.
Perhaps it's time to let go, time to be free from this cruel world.
However, just as she's about to give it up, willingly and free, something happened. Like an angel shining from afar, Claire glimpsed the double lights approaching from a distance. It was a car, she thought, and perhaps her final moment wasn't yet.