Lahat ng Kabanata ng Vampire of the New World: Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

They came down the gravel path and soon reached the entrance to the servants’ quarters. Maya went straight for the open door as Flora and Eva looked at the façade of their new home. There were huge columns of red concrete that held the roof, meant to mimic the red shingles that protect the house from the elements. The walls were of poured concrete but given accents of brown paint and mahogany to compliment the columns and the roof.Flora felt Nadi pull her hand to move forward and she yielded, climbing the few steps that led to the porch and the main door of the house. Maya stood inside, putting her weight on one leg and a hand on her waist as she waited for them to enter.“No need to linger on the porch. You will be seeing that porch everyday for the duration of your stay in this house,” Maya said.Eva was last to enter the house and followed Flora as she came to Ma

Flora set down her bags beside her feet and lay down on the soft bed. She felt very comfortable and lay still as she felt all her worries wash away. She would have liked to contact Perlita to tell her not to worry about her anymore, but without her phone it was not possible to do so. In other circumstances, Flora would have cried over the loss of her phone to the yacht crew. It was an old phone, something she bought for herself several years ago during a Christmas sale, but it still cost her money. However, it was also through that phone that Flora was able to confirm her husband’s infidelity. She would not believe what Perlita told her about her husband being seen in Malen with another woman. So, Perlita shared with her the photos that she found on Facebook.Feeling a bit of the stress returning, Flora tried to think of different thoughts. She returned to the time that she bought the phone. It was rare that she would buy something she considered luxurious

Flora got more agitated the more that Eva opened her mouth to convince her that the boat they were on was the boat on the video that was trending in social media.“How can you say such a thing, Eva! Surely this could not be that boat. Why would they want to ram small fishing boats?” Flora told Eva.“Who knows? We can’t really tell what their motives are from a short video,” said Eva.They were silent for a while and Flora bowed here head to look at Nadi who was still sleeping on her lap. She was glad that her daughter was sleeping as Eva spoke or she might also get worried with such horrible stories.Eva watched the rock formations as the yacht passed by them. Bored, she rose from her seat and went to the railing to get a better view. She chuckled as she remembered seeing the expression on Flora’s face when she mentioned that the boat there were riding could be the boat on the trending video. She did not really think mu

The cable car hovered above the treetops, suspended from a thick steel cable that extended from the dock to the mansion. The view of the sea was stunning and tiny islands dotted the seascape that gradually changed color from turquoise to deep blue. The mild breeze gently rocked the cable car as Nadi continued to point excitedly at the sea and the dock that slowly reduced in size as they ascended.Flora found Nadi’s excitement contagious and she tried to enjoy the ride with her. However, upon seeing the yacht from above along with its protruding ram, Flora could not help but imagine the plight of the fishermen who might have fallen victim to the speeding yacht.“You’re quiet. Aren’t you enjoying the scenery?” Eva asked Flora. “I only wish I had my phone with me so that I could capture this. Perhaps a selfie with that stunning view as my backdrop. My FB friends would die with envy,&

They came down the gravel path and soon reached the entrance to the servants’ quarters. Maya went straight for the open door as Flora and Eva looked at the façade of their new home. There were huge columns of red concrete that held the roof, meant to mimic the red shingles that protect the house from the elements. The walls were of poured concrete but given accents of brown paint and mahogany to compliment the columns and the roof.Flora felt Nadi pull her hand to move forward and she yielded, climbing the few steps that led to the porch and the main door of the house. Maya stood inside, putting her weight on one leg and a hand on her waist as she waited for them to enter.“No need to linger on the porch. You will be seeing that porch everyday for the duration of your stay in this house,” Maya said.Eva was last to enter the house and followed Flora as she came to Maya’s side.“Follow me,” said Maya and she walke

Flora set down her bags beside her feet and lay down on the soft bed. She felt very comfortable and lay still as she felt all her worries wash away. She would have liked to contact Perlita to tell her not to worry about her anymore, but without her phone it was not possible to do so. In other circumstances, Flora would have cried over the loss of her phone to the yacht crew. It was an old phone, something she bought for herself several years ago during a Christmas sale, but it still cost her money. However, it was also through that phone that Flora was able to confirm her husband’s infidelity. She would not believe what Perlita told her about her husband being seen in Malen with another woman. So, Perlita shared with her the photos that she found on Facebook.Feeling a bit of the stress returning, Flora tried to think of different thoughts. She returned to the time that she bought the phone. It was rare that she would buy something she considered luxurious

“Is he still looking at me?” Flora asked Eva as they ascended the few steps leading up to the main house.Flora looked back and saw that the gardener was still gazing at them. He stood motionless as a statue as he stood near the hedge with a pair of pruning shears in his hands. He glanced at the hedges that he was pruning and saw some branches that protruded above the otherwise uniform surface of green leaves. Then, the gardener returned his gaze at the women as he snapped his shears and cut the protruding branches with the sharp sound of sliding metal blades. The offending branches fell to the ground soundlessly as the gardener looked on. The result was an almost smooth and immaculate surface of greenery that bordered the gravel path towards the mansion.“So, is he?” asked Eva who pulled Flora’s arm excitedly as Flora turned and looked back at where she was stepping.

Flora held her daughter in front of her while Nadi clung to her. Nadi, not quite understanding what was going on, got the sense that she did something wrong and the strange man was somehow angry at what she had done. Flora caressed Nadi shoulder and bowed low to talk calmly to her daughter.“You should behave yourself, Nadi. You’ll get us both into trouble if you don’t behave yourself. Do you understand me?” said FloraNadi nodded and twisted her leg as she placed her tongue on her cheek. She avoided Pablo’s gaze and continued to cling to her mother’s arm.Flora stood up straight and apologized again to Pablo. “I’m terribly sorry, Sir. She’s just new to the place and doesn’t know what to do yet. She’s really a well-behaved child. I’ll talk to her again later.”“You should have held her tighter, Flora,” said Eva. “You know she has a tendency to run to just about

The women got to work at once and cleared the table under the watchful gaze of Pablo who looked at them with hawklike intensity. Flora observed how fine the porcelain was. The plates and cups were quite thin and flawlessly white. They were light and would issue clear clinking sounds like little bells when they hit each other. They were translucent under the light of the chandelier unlike the thick cups and plates that Flora was used to. At her house in Cardena, she had broken what little porcelain cups that they had when she was little and were content with eating using metal cups which later became dented and rusted that they were replaced with plastic cups. Her plates were of cheaper melamine that she bought from the market and were already discolored with plenty of scratches from use.Flora picked up the spoons, forks and knives and placed them on a metal tray that Eva carried next to her. The metal utensils were polished and reflected t

The woman entered the kitchen and closed the door gently behind her. Then, she surveyed the room and its three occupants, her eyes lingering on the little girl who seemed to be following her mother as she mopped the floor.“Now which one of you is Eva?” the woman asked.“That would be me, Ma’am,” answered Eva politely.“I’m Rosa, the cook. You will be working here with me,” said Rosa, her voice soft yet commanding. “And who would you be?” she asked Flora as she continued to eye Nadi.“My name’s Flora, Ma’am and this is my daughter Nadi,” answered Flora who had stopped mopping momentarily.“You may go. I shall call for you when I need you,” said Rosa nonchalantly as she turned to walk towards Eva.Flora did not know what to do but stood still with the mop still in her hand. After a while, Rosa turned her head and noticed Flora still standing motion