Morning arrived to the chirping of little birds flitting from branch to branch. By midday, the warm sunlight streamed through the gaps in the windows and fell across Ailsa’s face as she slept soundly.
The girl stirred as the sunlight spread more freely across her face. She blinked several times. Her hand moved back and forth, feeling something smooth and soft.
Ailsa jolted awake and sat up, her eyes still narrowed. Her pupils gradually widened as they adjusted to the light. She scanned her surroundings with a confused expression, her brow furrowing as she tried to make sense of things.
She pulled back the blanket and discovered that she had been changed into a man’s T-shirt. The girl went pale as negative thoughts spun through her head like a windmill.
“Oh, God... where am I? And who changed my clothes?” Ailsa whispered fearfully.
She tried to remember the first place she had woken up in. Of course, this room was far more luxurious than that cramped little inn.
Ailsa walked over to the mirror. She stared at her deathly pale face. Her lips were dry, and dark circles hollowed out her eyes.
“Oh, Miss, you’re awake,” someone exclaimed from the doorway.
Ailsa flinched and turned around. She backed away, staring warily at the middle-aged woman in front of her.
“Wh-who are you?” Ailsa asked nervously. She pressed herself into the corner of the wall.
Mbok Darsih smiled warmly and set a tray of breakfast on the table. Then the woman walked over to the window. She opened the curtains and the window, letting the fresh morning air fill the room.
Mbok Darsih started toward Ailsa, but the girl pointed at her sharply.
“STOP! Don’t you dare come any closer. You must be in cahoots with the innkeeper to sell me, right?” Ailsa screamed in fear.
Mbok Darsih stopped and furrowed her brows. She didn’t understand what the girl was saying.
“What do you mean, Miss? I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” Mbok Darsih replied as she took another step forward.
“STOP! I said don’t come any closer!” Ailsa screamed again. This time, her voice carried outside the room and disturbed Raymond as he walked past.
The broad-shouldered man, a light dusting of chest hair visible, hurried toward Ailsa’s room. He stood there, staring in confusion at the two women of different ages.
“What’s going on, Mbok?” Raymond’s deep voice broke the tension. Ailsa turned toward him and lowered her pointed finger.
“I don’t understand, sir. The girl suddenly started acting like this toward me,” Mbok Darsih replied. “I only wanted to bring her breakfast and a change of clothes,” she added.
Ailsa frowned and looked back and forth between Mbok Darsih and Raymond.
“Who are you people? Why am I here? You’re a kidnapping ring, aren’t you?” Ailsa demanded, raising her voice.
Raymond rubbed his temples. Then he asked Mbok Darsih to move away from the girl.
“Sorry about this, Miss. I’m not a bad person or part of some kidnapping ring like you think. You’ve got the wrong idea,” Raymond said as he approached carefully.
“DON’T COME CLOSER!” Ailsa shouted, bringing Raymond to a halt. The man raised both hands. Mbok Darsih covered her mouth to hold back a laugh at the sight of her master.
“Okay... okay... I won’t come any closer. Can I sit here?” Raymond asked as he dropped onto the edge of the bed.
Ailsa lowered her hand. She thought for a moment. If she had been kidnapped, she would probably be tied up and gagged by now, just like in the movies. Instead, she was in a luxurious room with breakfast brought to her. Was this some new kind of kidnapping? she wondered.
“Do you still suspect us?” Raymond’s deep voice broke through Ailsa’s reverie again. The girl then sat down in the chair in front of the vanity.
“Can I explain everything first so there won’t be any misunderstanding between us?” Raymond asked politely. Ailsa only stared at him with a flat, cold expression.
Raymond let out a long breath and rubbed his hands together, trying to ease his nervousness. For some reason, the look in the girl’s eyes made his heart race within seconds.
“All right, then. I’ll assume you agree to hear me out,” Raymond said with a smile.
The man drew a deep breath and slowly exhaled, preparing to tell her everything.
“Yesterday afternoon, I found you passed out in the middle of the road. The road happened to be deserted, and there wasn’t any identification in your bag. So I decided to bring you here,” Raymond explained.
Ailsa furrowed her brow. She tried to dig through her memories of what had happened the day before.
“Do you remember anything yet?” Raymond asked, looking into the girl’s eyes.
Ailsa fell silent and lowered her head. Her eyes instantly grew misty.
Raymond held out a tissue to her. The girl stared at the tissue in his hand before taking it.
“Thanks,” Ailsa said as she wiped away her tears.
Ailsa looked at the man’s T-shirt wrapped around her body. Raymond gave her a faint smile, as if he understood what she was thinking.
“You don’t have to be afraid. This is Mbok Darsih, the person I trust to look after this house. She’s the one who changed your wet clothes,” he said.
Ailsa slowly lifted her face and glanced awkwardly at Mbok Darsih. She felt embarrassed that she had cursed at the woman earlier.
“Thank you, and I’m sorry for being so rude,” Ailsa said.
“It’s all right, Miss. I understand. You must have gone through something terrible to be that frightened earlier,” Mbok Darsih replied.
Ailsa didn’t answer and merely nodded. The girl looked gloomy as she twisted the hem of the T-shirt she was wearing.
“Just calm down here for now. Don’t let your thoughts run wild. We’re not bad people. Mbok Darsih will prepare everything you need,” Raymond said, rising from his seat.
“Thanks,” Ailsa replied briefly.
“You’re welcome,” Raymond said. “Mbok, please give her breakfast and the change of clothes I bought last night. I’m going to get ready for work,” Raymond said before walking out of the room.
Ailsa watched Raymond’s bare back disappear behind the door.
“Miss, come on. I’ll show you to the bathroom. There are clothes from Mr. Raymond in there. Oh, and may I ask your name?” Mbok Darsih asked.
“Ailsa.”
“That’s a beautiful name, just like you. Come, let me take you to the bathroom, Miss Ailsa.”
“I can do it myself,” she replied curtly.
Mbok Darsih smiled warmly and let Ailsa change by herself. While she waited, Mbok Darsih made the bed and cleaned the room.
A short while later, Ailsa came out of the bathroom looking much fresher. The girl walked over to Mbok Darsih.
“Here’s breakfast for you, Miss Ailsa. Please enjoy it. I’ll step outside for a while; I still have work to do in the back,” Mbok Darsih said.
“Sorry, Mbok, wait a moment,” Ailsa called out.
“Yes, Miss? What is it? Do you need something?” Mbok Darsih asked.
“N-no, it’s not that, Mbok. If I may ask, who was that man?”
“Oh, that was Mr. Raymond, the owner of this house. Mr. Raymond was the one who saved you yesterday. He was also the one who looked after you all night because your fever was very high yesterday. Mr. Raymond panicked and stayed up in this room all night,” Mbok Darsih explained.
“He looked after me?”
“Yes, Miss. Mr. Raymond is a kind man who can’t bear to see anyone suffer. You’re very lucky to have met him,” Mbok Darsih said with a broad smile.
Ailsa nodded and tugged the corners of her lips into a faint smile. She had met two strange men at the same time. Whether that could be called good luck or not, she wasn’t sure. At least this time, the man she’d met wasn’t a cold, gruff jerk like the one from yesterday.