I pushed open the majestic brown wooden door and was greeted by an unfamiliar figure sitting far away at the end of a long rectangular dinning table.
“Welcome my dear friend! Glad you came.” He said, with a deep and hoarse voice.
I was told to sit at the other end of the table. The distance between us was so great, that I could hardly see his face.
Suddenly, the dimly lit place began to fill with music played from an organ. As grandeur as the music sounded, it still carried a sense of eeriness. I don’t know why I am here in the first place, but I have a premonition that something bad is going to happen.
I tried to act brave and nonchalant.
“Please, do enjoy my specialty. I haven’t thought of a name for it. Maybe you can help with the naming after you tasted this steak.”
Right in front of me was a beautifully decorated plate of steak. It looked delicious. I was tempted to try but at the back of my mind, I thought this could be a trap.
My hands did not listen to my brain. Without me knowing, I am already cutting the steak into bite size pieces. Succulent juice oozed out with every slice of the meat.
I sent one piece into my mouth.
The juice of the meat burst and filled my mouth as I slowly munched and savored the sensation of eating.
“Damn, this is really good.” I thought.
With the second and third pieces, tears filled my eyes and started to trickle down my cheeks. I don’t know. I was filled with a sense of guilt, remorse and uselessness. All the negative emotions emerged. I furiously cut the steak and sent them into my mouth. I picked up speed and stuffed my mouth full of meat. I felt so painful with every munch but I kept munching. I could not control my actions anymore.
I dropped my utensils on the floor and burst into tears. I slapped myself on the face repeatedly, so hard that my hands felt the pain too.
“Retribution…! Is this retribution?” I shouted at the top of my voice in disbelief.
“Ahh… Retribution sounds like a good name for this dish!” He proclaimed excitedly, insensitive to the pain I am in now.
“I have done nothing to deserve this! Why are you doing this to me?” I cried, in considerable amount of emotional pain.
He did not reply but I can see him grinning from far away.
I felt thirsty. There was a glass of red wine at the side of the dish. Should I even drink it? Again, I don’t know why, but I got my hands on the glass and gobbled down the wine in one go.
Seconds later, I became nauseous. My stomach felt weird. My gut was burning. I felt like throwing up.
I vomited.
Oh my… I vomited blood, lots of them. The projectile of the blood was enough to stain the white table cloth in dramatic fashion.
In the next instance, my body felt weak. I struggled to stay conscious. I grabbed the table cloth so hard that I pulled it down with me to the floor as I collapsed.
I am beginning to lose it. My body felt light. I thought I was poisoned. My hands slowly lost grip of the cloth. I felt so tired, so sleepy and at the same time, so scared and miserable.
“My dear friend, isn’t this what you wanted? I am just trying to help.” The old suddenly sounded genuinely concerned about me.
“Thank you.” I finally understood what he was trying to do.
I closed my eyes and smiled.
-dakepaike-
