I Can Hear Your Heart

16. The Lost Memory Chain

"Thanks, God finally your wake up." She greeted me. Sit right on my side of the bed. I looked back at the relief on his face when I saw my eyes open. He stood up from his seat and left.

"Good morning." I greeted her with a smile, she turned her body around and looked at me silently like keeping a secret in silence. While I rise from my sleep. "Auw." I felt pain all over my body.

"Why?" her question and her legs sped like a bow towards me as I was just about to check my skin. There was a lump on my forehead that when I pressed it still hurt, flipping the bedcover I found there were some bruises on my right and left arm as well on my legs. It still hurts.

I looked up at him who was standing on the side of my bed. Now I'm still staring at what I'm doing.

"There's a lot of bruises on my skin. It's very strange, isn't it? My body hurts too when I don't even do anything." He said nothing, sitting by my side. He grabbed my face blowing a lump on my forehead, then went down blowing inertly on my right and left hands. I know it won't cure. But I love it when he gives me all his attention.

"Didn't there be any belief in humans, if you woke up and found my skin was inert it means that a ghost kissed you last night? And I kissed you last night." I could feel my face blushing because of her words. I've heard that myth. But I didn't like the fact that I felt a change in the hue of my face because of his words. "Sorry."

I can still honestly feel the hot sensation in my body just from imagining our kiss last night...

I shook my head when I realized the stupid thoughts were swirling in my head. I hope he doesn't read my mind anymore.

Focus, Emely, focus. I remember myself while getting out of bed.

"I have to shower and work."

He's nodding. "I won't peek at you." She said it before I even took out an ultimatum and somehow I just realized that it was so rude to say it every time I wanted to take a shower like I really didn't believe it.

I grabbed the clothes from the closet and tiptoed into the bathroom. "I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable with what I say."

"It's not... Sandwiches and milk will be ready when you're done bathing." He moved quickly before I could shout at him to cancel his intention. It was morning and I couldn't imagine what would happen in the kitchen if the kitchen crew saw the ingredients or the glasses and dishes flying.

I ran after him to the hotel kitchen. Shouting his name in my heart. And dug... I hit his body which also ran frantically towards me from the direction of the hotel kitchen. He hugged me tightly as if making sure no one would hurt me. Weird right?

You can't prepare breakfast in the kitchen, the kitchen crew is already there. I forgot to tell you that.

Then his face calmed down.

I can have breakfast at the hotel restaurant later.

He nodded in understanding, grabbing my finger. Feels weird. We walked hand in hand together in the corridor that connects the kitchen and hotel restaurant, to the hotel lobby which is still quiet. I talked to him all the way to the elevator, certainly in my heart.

Do you know what your name is?

She shook her head.

Do you mind if I give you a name?

"What do you want to name me?" He asked seriously and seemed very interested in my idea.

"James? Jon's? Jo's? Alex? Raphael's? Michael?" I was so tired of saying so many names to her that we got out of the elevator. Then my eyes whistled with the eyes of a pair of guests in the corridor of the hotel room who were staring at me with a horrified look at feeling I was talking to myself. Too old to find a logical reason I'd chalked up dozens of boys' names if I was just a twelve-year-old schoolgirl and even fifteen-years-old people could think I was being punished by a teacher memorizing names classmates. I snorted annoyed at him.

Look at you they think I'm crazy. You should have picked one of those names. Hopefully they don't know I'm one of the hotel managers here.

My protest was met with laughter from him.

Okay, he's right. Maybe I'm as easy as**** and she's more because I'm a woman and a woman is never wrong.

"Ckckckck." He's clucking.

Shut the fuck up, Alex! my hardship in heart made him fall silent in shock. I looked at him with a triumphant smile as I opened the door of the room and ran ahead of him entering the room.

"From today I will call you: Alex!" I said sure right as he closed the door.

***

"Manager Li!" A group of colleagues came running to me when I just got out of the elevator and set my feet on the ground floor of the hotel.

They hugged me. "Is the manager okay?"

"When are you back?"

"How did you get back?"

"We are worried about you. We called the police immediately after the man took you away."

Yes, I remember yesterday morning when I was talking to Larisa, Rosta came with a face full of emotion. He asked for the file I took from the hotel room where he was staying. I remember he beat up everyone who tried to stop him from taking me. I remember him taking me in his black BMW. I remember how I thrashed and tried to stop his car. I remember when the car hit the road and stopped, and his hand caught my arm when I was about to open the car door. I remember him banging my head against the dashboard of the car. I remember all that and then it was all dark.

"I'm doing fine. Thank you for worrying about me and calling the police to save me. Maybe I arrived late at night, but I'm not sure either. I don't remember anything."

Cedar, the personnel manager approached me. His eyes were glazed with glasses minus three point forty glared at my bidat. Slowly I felt his fingers squeeze a lump in my heel. I grimaced in pain.

"Did he bang your head until you forgot your memory?"

I wanted to say that, but I also had no explanation about what happened to me yesterday when I was taken by Rosta until my head was smashed in the car dashboard. It's all gone like a thick fog in the labyrinth of my brain.

I tried to remember it slowly when I started working, but nil. Trying to get rid of all that, I chose to immerse myself in my work. Then my steps stopped on the television screen in the hotel lobby which was airing television shows instead of hotel promotional ads. I don't know which of the receptionists I underlined did this sloppiness.

"Breaking news's. Back with me Carita Angelita in newstv. This morning police found a rotting body in the remains of the long-unopened Lamara Hotel building. The discovery came after some residents reported hearing screams and noise from the direction of the empty building of the former Lamara Hotel last night. The Lamara Hotel building has a creepy history according to the surrounding community."

The hotel is a comfortable place to relax, enjoy the holidays and pamper yourself. The safest place without deadlines for guests, that's why in hotel rooms are not fitted with a wall clock. And the most comfortable place does not require heavy news in the general area of the hotel. I rushed towards the long table of hotel reservations.

"Who posted the news?" my question made my subordinates bow down. "Get the remote." I raise my hand. Cindy rushed to find what I meant in the reception desk drawer. Pretty long. Actually I didn't even intend to stare at the news, but something on the television screen made me turn my head.

The room where the body was found. Somehow I feel I know him. I don't know when, but I feel like I've been there, but not with happiness.

"In the backyard of Lamara Hotel was also found a luxury car with a Jakarta police license plate. Based on the allegations of police after seeing the condition of the body that has been very rotten, it is likely that the victim has been killed and hidden long enough elsewhere and then to remove the traces of dumped back in the former Lamara Hotel building. Police are still looking into who the owner of the luxury car is and the body found. This is the latest info from us. Congratulations on getting your routine back and meeting you again in the breaking news for the next hour."

"This is the remote, ma'am." Cindy put that thing in my hand. Staring at me who was silent for a while. "Mom? Is mom okay?" He's pinching my upper arm.

Looking at his face, I threw a smile. "It's okay." I played back the big screen television and replaced it with a hotel promotion video. "Don't change this event, even if there are fewer guests. They come for comfort not terror. It's our job to make sure of that."

"Good, Mom." I heard the simultaneous answers from my subordinates. It's always nice to work here.