CHAPTER 2: Always More Baroque Than Broke

Celine laid three bikinis on a bed in a small hotel she booked online two weeks earlier.

       Which one should I pick? Red… black… or leopard?

         Anything is fine, actually. She felt confident in everything she wears anyway. Besides, being alone on this island that barely has any tourists shouldn’t cause much worry about appearance anyway. Since she left the boat and set foot on this island, the atmosphere here was quite calming, part of her was glad to escape the hectic life of the university, but part of her was concerned that the island was so quiet. Perhaps, I’m scared of my own thoughts.

       Her Italian friend suggested her this island for a getaway trip. She flew to Rome, took a short one-hour car ride, and a small ferry to this place. All this hardship to forget. Does it worth it? It must be. It must be! I need to be happy!

         Celine walked out of the room after choosing a red bikini and putting on a white hotel robe. She spent an hour doing makeup. Even if no one would see her, she thought she still needed to look beautiful.       

         She confidently strolled to the beach. The sand here was white clean, and the water was turquoise blue and clear. The scene reminds her of a post-impressionist painting, and the thought made her smile. I can't remember the last time I was in nature. She thought to herself.

She was always in the city. She loves its energy and buzzing businesses. The noises and commotions jolt her to life. The pubs and bars, theaters and fashion shows, malls, and all the shopping districts. She had a great life. It would be considered a rare occasion to venture into a forest. The city has parks, so she often goes to parks. Her friends invited her to go trekking once or twice. Of course, she said no. If she wants to travel, she chooses the beach. Beaches have luxury resorts. And her family preferred Southeast Asia; they could more than afford a first-class trip there. Her parents were more than happy with this arrangement.  They wanted her to live a comfortable life. A life they never experience growing up. And she is an only child. Her whim and wishes are always answered. Whatever she wants, she gets. Whatever she wants to do, she can. There is no expectation of being first in a class or accomplishing anything great. Her Asian papa said he didn’t want any history of some tiger parenting in his household. And that was completely fine for her British mother; being kind and considerate is her motto, it seems. Her family gave her so much freedom that she couldn't remember the last time she was said no to.

Her parents gave her full support for choosing fashion. Their firm support is both a blessing and a curse—a blessing that gives her assurance to do everything her heart desires. She is more confident than most of her friends. But it is a curse that stole all challenges away. Life is too easy to the point it scares her. She didn’t have anything she could be proud of. There was nothing she did that was true of her own merit—her tutors probably helped with her grades, they helped with her college application too, she was decent at sport but nothing phenomenon, boys liked her for her looks, thanks to her mother’s kind brown eyes and her papa’s bright smile, they didn’t like her for her wits, though. You are too opinionated. She still remembered one of the comments.

Hence, the ex-boyfriend was only part of the problem. Most likely, the inestimable anxiety she had had something to do about the fear of the future. It felt like some boundless emptiness. What will the next step of life be?

Celine shook her head to chase away horrible thoughts and slowly walked into the cold and clear water ahead.

She swam for a while until her head cleared up, and she lifted her head out of the water. The first person she saw was that man—the same meddlesome man from the restaurant earlier.

         He still dressed the same. In a white t-shirt and jeans, he looked like a typical tourist on holiday; what an incredibly colorless and uneventful person, the type of man she had never seen in her social circle. A world of color and excitement that she came from.

         He was sitting far away and seemed like he was writing something on the sand. He had a forlorn look on his face. Even from this distance, she still could sense that he was a serious person. That scowl face was quite telling. And she thought she was the only one running away from problems.

         That frowned face abruptly turned and met her eyes. Celine took a sharp inhale, broke the eye contact, and dived away. She must have stared at him for too long.

         Only twenty seconds passed, and she felt she needed more air, so she put her head above the water surface once again. By then, he was gone.

         With curiosity, she walked to the area he sat and wrote something. She saw some numbers partially erased and a word that made her raise her eyebrows.

         “Soon.”

***

         What does he mean by soon?

         He wanted to rush home soon or what? Whatever. She didn’t want to think much about that man she disliked anyway. She never knew anyone so rude before. He didn’t even want to talk to her anyway. And the feeling was mutual.

         Celine casually strode back to her room. She went out for a few hours. And what she saw once the room was opened made her almost fall to her knees.

         The whole room was a mess—all cupboards were opened, things were scattered around the room, and most outrageously, her handbags and clothes were missing!

Celine stared blankly in shock before rushing to the small safe in the closet to find her phone, passport, and wallet. Well, if this necessary stuff was stolen too, her life was over. She was lost for words.

Shit! What a shitty day. Has hell broken loose or something? This was the first time she got robbed while traveling.

She was lucky she still had her phone and passport. Still, she felt unsafe staying in this hotel.

And that was the start of her quarrel with the hotel manager. She had to argue in her small swimwear under the hotel robe that couldn’t shield her from the chilly wind. She asked for compensation and access to footage from the security camera (which she later found that it was just a dummy camera). This boutique hotel didn’t have any CCTV. Worse yet, the hotel manager blamed her for not locking the door before she went out. She talked to her mostly in Italian, and she suspected that was intentional. No one really listened to each other. Loud noises of her argument rang out throughout the small lobby area. And Celine bet that people outside the hotel could be able to hear.  

         She was so furious her face was numb. She yelled out so much her throat hurt. The notion that the hotel would not take any responsibility and that she couldn’t do anything was infuriating. She felt her face turn red from rage.

         Eventually, the demonic middle-aged lady of a manager didn’t say a word and walked away into her office. Celine heard a lock sound.

         “Hey! You must come back! You can’t do this to me! Come back and talk it through! You need to pay me back. Bloody hell!”

         But more yelling was pointless. She couldn’t hear any more sounds from that room. Her brain was numb. Celine didn't know what to do. She couldn’t think straight. Anger still rushed through her vein. She walked out and returned to the beach near the hotel to calm down. She sat down and hit the sand repeatedly and screamed.

         What is all this nonsense? Why is my life such a mess? What does life want from me? I couldn’t even relax on holiday in peace.

         After she ran out of breath, Celine, a university graduate to-be, a confident woman that used to think she could control the helm of her life direction, cried. She cried out like when she was in pre-school. Her voice was loud without any shame. She couldn’t care less if anyone judged her expression. No one would help her anyway. She couldn’t even help herself in this situation.

         “What are you doing?” Someone with a familiar voice asked a question. The voice startled her, who had closed her eyes to cry like a kindergartener, and so she shut her mouth and immediately looked for that mysterious someone. Even though her eyes welled with tears, Celine saw his face clearly... that man again.

         “Please don’t accuse me of meddling with your business, but do you need any help?” Celine looked at him innocently as if this was the first time she had met this man. He no longer looked indifferent. That once expressionless face showed genuine concern.

She didn't know if she should tell him. She didn't know if he could help. But she has nothing to lose. So, she told him the story. Her belongings in the room were stolen, and the hotel staff tried to evade responsibility and refused to speak to her.

The tall man was now sitting in the sand, listening to her intently. He frowned at times. She cried while telling the story, not from any sort of grief but from rage. Once she finished telling her story, the man immediately stood up. Celine could only blink his eyes because she didn't know what to do next. She sat still until the man who had been silent for several minutes extended his hand to her. Their eyes met, and he spoke in a stern tone.

“Get up. I will help you talk to them.”

         ****

         That quiet man, that was almost a stranger to her, called the police and reported her case. He asked her to list all her stolen belongings and their price before walking her back to the hotel.

         “According to Article 1783 of the Italian Civil Code, hotel-keepers in Italy are liable for any damage to, destruction, or loss of property brought by clients to the hotel. Hotel-keepers are to compensate a maximum of 100 times the daily hotel fee. That’s why you need the list of things you lost. It serves as evidence I can negotiate with the hotel.” He explained unemotionally.

         Wow. That’s so precise.

         “Huh… Really? How do you know that? Are you a lawyer?” That explained why he seemed so uncompromising and serious. But the man in front of her shook his head.

         “I only read something useful off the internet and remember it. I don’t have to have a degree in that discipline to know it.”

         After she heard him, she pursed her lips. She wanted to compliment him, but what a stuck-up man. Still, he was a stuck-up that helped her.

         She didn’t know how he did it. This man, whose name remained anonymous, convinced a police officer to come to the hotel. Once the manager saw the police, the woman’s face lost all colors, and she spoke to her politely in English. Whoa, now, talk about a big change.

         “Yes, you need to be responsible and pay me for the damage!” Celine complained brashly. But she immediately fell silent after the tall man turned around and gave her a stern look.

         “I will deal with this. Don’t complicate things.” And he did just that. After he asked her to sit and wait on the lobby sofa, that man negotiated with the hotel manager for her.

He gave the manager a harsh look, and every word she listened to and understood was defending her case, pressuring them to pay for her damages. The police have promised that they will try to track down the culprit. But she knew the chance was slim. The tall man, the man that helped her although he didn’t know her, now walked towards her. She stared at him in amazement. What kind of work did he do that train him to have this incredible negotiation skill?

             “The hotel will take time to assess the damages, what was stolen, to accurately refund your money and then investigate to find the thief. But during that time, your room where the crime scene is located will be closed. They must plan to look for fingerprints or something like that… Is there an alternate place to stay you have in mind? I will give you a lift.”

Again, she looked up at him and blinked her eyes.

And again, he raised an eyebrow at her in question without saying a word.

But this time, Celine was not upset. She was in no mood to be angry. She just shook her head quickly. It caused the hair that had just been dried from swimming to spread, and her hair was unforgivably messy.

Sigh…

The man sighed softly and closed his eyes, contemplating something.

The only thing she could do was just sit and wait in silence.

“If you don't mind, you can go take a shower and change clothes in my room first and then think about where you want to stay.”