Anthony's Forbidden Melody

Chapter II

Rosette took off her sandals and controlled her steps until she was near enough to reach the doorknob. She pushed the door slowly, to minimize the creaking sound, and searched for a man's figure inside.

The door was already half-opened when her ears caught the flipping of papers. Her head tilted as it followed where the sound came from and sighted the man at a corner, sitting on an old wooden chair opposite to where she saw him last time. He was scanning through a page with his hand, trying to read the raised dots on an embossed paper.

Rosette knocked twice, stealing his attention.

"Who's there?" Anthony put the papers on the center table and raised his head, but his eyes remained steady.

"Hi! I noticed the door wasn't locked, so... ahm, I tried to look inside." She wore her sandals first before sneaking in, leaving the door unclosed. Her eyes scanned the room as she took some steps towards the small sala set.

Anthony's room was like a compact living space, complete with living room and space-saving dining area which was separated by a bookshelf. Rosette noticed how the dim lights gave the room a different ambience. And there's this hydrogen peroxide-like-odor that she constantly whiffed.

"How are you?" Rosette asked as she sat.

"I'm fine, thank you." Anthony's dimple brightened up his face when it showed up, freeing his aura from the negative vibe that Mang Rolly had mentioned. No sign of displeasure even.

"It's good to know. I am Rosette Tagimacruz, by the way." She raised her right hand and pulled it back awkwardly after perceiving his unmoving eyes.

"Thanks for coming here, Miss Tagimacruz. I already forgot when was the last time that a guest had visited me." His lips drew a beautiful curve once again as he blindly offered his hand for a shake, which she happily accepted. "Anthony Andrade."

"It's my pleasure, but just call me Rosette or Rose for short." Rosette regretted that she did not bring neither her pen and notebook nor her cellular phone. Now, she had to memorize all the things that would come to her mind while talking to Anthony.

"Sure, Rosette."

Her eyes examined the face of the man in front of her. Besides his milky eyes, the shape of his face appeared to be feminine like the Koreans that she saw on TVs. His nose was on average size and his lips still had a pinkish glow despite his pale appearance.

"Anyway, ahm, would it be okay if I ask why you always lock yourself in this room?" she inquired.

"As you can see... I can't move outside with this disability." The smile on his face remained.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean that." She bowed her head a little as she apologized. "But you could still live a normal life, though," she added.

"Are you a psychologist?" Anthony asked in return. "I've heard you asking everyone about their personal lives."

"Actually, I am a ghost writer. And talking to other people is my way of brainstorming," she explained.

"I see... not literally though."

They both chuckled at his joke. The next second, Rosette caught sight of the papers that Anthony was holding a while ago.

"What are these?" She attempted to hold one when the guy stopped her.

"Don't touch it!" he snapped and his smile became timid.

But Rosette did not see it. Her curiosity deafened her and disregarded his restriction. Especially, when she noticed the handwritten musical notes above each line.

"You're composing songs, aren't you?" She stared at the sequence of dots and notes, that she hardly understood, on the paper.

One page ignited her attention — a page with the same characters as the others but had a readable title. She squinted to focus her sight.

"For-bid-den..." she muttered the first word as her hand slowly moved to get the paper while she was trying to read the cursive letters. "Melody?"

"I said don't touch it!" Anthony's voice filled the room as he rashly grabbed all his compositions, accidentally tapping her hand before it could even touch the paper.

"Get out!"

His sudden outburst made her heart flipped. Gone his friendly vibe.

"Sorry..." was all she could say. Her voice trembled a little as she caressed her right hand with the left. She was about to stand when the lights were cut off and darkness followed.

"My goodness, I forgot the power outage!" She gently slapped her forehead as she stood up. "Till next time."

Rosette started groping the things within her reach and evaded it. She tried to process in her mind the way out and how many steps would it take to reach the door. But she lost her focus when a voice bleded in her thoughts.

"Do you want me to escort you? You know, I'm already used to darkness."

Anthony's voice became toneless, too far from the voice he used when he was nice and when he was angry. His coldness seeped into her skin and made her shivered at the thought of getting next to him.

"No, thanks... I'm okay. I could still picture the way out with my mind," she refused and went on. She was thankful that Anthony did not insist.

Rosette breathed a sigh of relief when she felt the hardness of the door.

She continued to grope the wall until she reached the corner of it. She then turned to the direction of her room. And when she passed by the first door, another hand gripped the wrist of her right hand, the one that she used on touching the walls.

She chirped in horror and was freed in an instant. She could still hear the thudding of her heart when a door creaked. Seconds later, a light struck her eyes blinding her for a minute before it was pointed off her.

"What happened?" The couple next to her room came rushing with flashlights in their hands.

"S-someone was here." She looked around as she run out of words to say. She could still recall how hard the grip was.

The girl moved to her side and caressed her back, while the guy directed his flashlight in different angles, never leaving a spot unlighted.

"Do you think it's him?" he asked as he pointed the light to the closed door opposite to their room.

"I don't know..." Rosette shook her head, but she did not totally disregard the possibility of his hunch. "I didn't see him. I just felt a hand that gripped my wrist."

"You better go inside now. We will just ask him about this tomorrow. This is your room right?" the guy asked as he took some steps towards the door of her room.

"Yah," Rosette nodded.

"It's not locked?" The guy faced with her raised eyebrows after turning the knob and the door was opened easily.

She shook her head in response. "I got a habit of leaving the door unlocked if I have no plan of staying outside longer than ten minutes," Rosette explained.

"Well then, let's check it first for your safety." The girl pulled her arm gently as she dragged her into the room. She then handed the flashlight to her.

Rosette examined her things if anything was missing. The couple, on the other hand, helped her check if there was someone under the bed, inside her closet and all the possible places to hide, but they found no one.

"Is there something unusual or did you miss anything?" the guy inquired as he stood beside his wife after announcing that there was no one inside.

"No. I think nothing is missing in my room. Thanks for your help, really." She couldn't imagine what would happen to her if they did not come out.

"No problem. We're just a few steps away if you ever need us." The girl motioned the way to their room. "I know it's not a good timing to introduce ourselves but... my name is Clarisse and this is Joven, my husband."

"Rosette." She gave them a handshake.

"Are you gonna be okay if we'll leave you now?" Joven asked in an apologetic tone.

Her head moved up and down as she smiled to give them assurance. She accompanied them to the door and waved her hand to them.

"Don't forget to lock your door," Clarisse reminded her.

The rays of the sun forced Rosette to get up. The feeling of being watched in the dark made her restless. Now, she had to begin a new day filled with thoughts.

After fixing herself, she slid her cellphone, door key, wallet, pen and notebook into her sling bag. She took the bag with her as she walked outside her room and locked the door.

Rosette caught a glimpse of the door opposite to the couple's suite, she paused for a while and observed for any movement inside. She wondered if the couple already asked the middle aged man about the incident last night.

Her cellphone rung, reminding her the time. She sped up her steps to get to the dining. She had to meet Clarisse and Joven there to talk about the incident.

The dining area was consisted of five square tables and ten chairs. Every table could only accommodate two persons, so the two of it were connected by the couple to accommodate the three of them.

"Good morning!" Clarisse stood up and greeted her with an embrace. She did the same.

The two woman chit-chatted as they seated while Joven was busy. He helped Sally in putting their breakfast on the table.

Clarisse was telling her their love story when they both silenced by Joven's voice.

"Hey, bro! Join us." He was waving his hand to the one who just entered the dining room.

Rosette moved her head and saw the man next door. She guessed that he was around 5'8" tall, with a well toned body. With his appearance, she dropped the idea that it was him. She thought that the hand that gripped her wrist was smaller than his.