The Monster Café (2021)

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2

"WE LOST ANOTHER ONE TODAY." Napatingin si Haven sa gawi ng mga kasamang servers. One of them named Alivia fanned herself. "Sa sobrang 'bait' ng boss natin, he just let that man go. Kahit sinong babae naman siguro maiinis at magre-resign. We're customer-friendly, but not staff-friendly. Hay nako!"

Ipinagpatuloy lang ni Haven ang pagpupunas ng mga mesang ginamit ng mga customer kanina habang nakikinig sa kanila. Konti lang ang mga customer ngayon kaya naman may oras para makapag-chikahan at maki-chismis.

"Psst! 'Wag ka nga maingay, Alivia! Baka marinig ka pa dyan e. Mapahamak ka pa."

"Ewan ko sa'yo, Wilder! Ang tapang ng pangalan mo, pero ang duwag mo! Dyan ka na nga!"

After the incident earlier, no one knew what really happened. Basta ang alam lang ng mga staff ay nag-resign ang waitress kanina while the molester got out of the room looking smug. Kumukulo ang dugo ni Haven sa tuwing naaalala niya. And what kind of guy is the owner of this café, anyway?! Imbis na ipagtanggol ang empleyado, mas pinili pa ang customer. Ugh! Ganito na ba ka-ganid sa pera ang mga tao ngayon? That they would bow down to anyone as long as they have the money?

Mukhang hindi tatagal si Haven dito kung ganito ang pamamalakad.

"Idadamay pa pangalan ko. Tsk. It's not my fault my mom named me like this." Nakangusong bulong ni Wilder habang ipinagpapatuloy ang ginagawang paglilinis.

Hindi napigilan ni Haven na magsalita. "Maganda naman ang pangalan mo."

"Talaga? Salamat, ah!"

She chuckled. "Sure thing."

"Bago ka lang dito, 'di ba?" tanong nito.

"Ah, oo, hehe. Today's my first day." Haven smiled.

Tumango naman siya at nginitian ang dalaga pabalik. "Well, the incident earlier might have left a bad impression on you, but I hope you'll still see the great things in this café, Haven."

She nodded. "Thank you, Wilder."

Matapos magpunas ng mga mesa ay lumipat naman si Haven sa may bandang staff room. She was about to enter when her phone rang. It's Zech. Ano na namang problema nito?

"I'm at work, Zech."

"I know! But I want you to be the first person to know about this!"

Ano naman kaya 'yun? She never heard him so nervous yet excited at the same time. May offer na ba sa kanya na maging writer sa isang publishing house?

"Ano ba 'yun?" tanong ni Haven.

"Mnemosyne said yes!"

Kumunot ang noo nito. Anong 'yes'?

"Hindi ko masyado gets, Zech."

"Ang engot mo rin talaga, ano." Pumalatak siya. "Nag-propose ako sa kanya at um-oo siya, so we're engaged now!"

WHAT? Parang nabingi ang dalaga. Parang ang bilis naman yata!

"I can't believe it! May fiancée na ako, Haven!"

Ramdam niya ang galak ng kaibigan kahit na kausap lang ito sa telepono. Pero hindi ba parang masyado pang maaga? Zech's only 22 years old and a fresh graduate at that—ang dami niyang gustong sabihin o i-protesta, but... he sounded so happy. Haven couldn't help but let him be.

"Congrats, Zech."

"Oh, bakit parang hindi ka masaya? Don't worry, I'll still spend time with you."

Umiling ito kahit hindi naman siya nakikita ng kausap. "It's not that. I'm happy for you." Duda lang talaga si Haven sa fiancée ni Zech. She seems fishy for some reason, at nararamdaman ni Haven na ayaw nito sa kanya.

"Then what's the problem? Don't tell me... in love ka sa'kin?!"

Agad napigtal ang pasensya ni Haven. Nanggigigil na bumulong ito sa cellphone, "Damn you, Gonzales!"

Bago pa nito mapatay ang tawag ay rinig na ang halakhak ni Zech. Haven shook her head. Loko-loko talaga 'yun. He knows how to pull her strings so well.

She sighed in exhaustion. Itinago nito ang phone sa bulsa ng suot na uniform. Haven caught a glimpse of herself in one of the mirrors and sighed even deeper.

Unlike most girl employees in this café, she's not sexy. Mataba siya. She weighs around 70 kilograms and because of her small stature, her BMI tells her that she's moderately obese. Haven hates her body. She tried exercising para pumayat, but it never worked. She tried not eating pero takot siyang magka-anorexia so she ate again. Looking at her face, hindi rin siya kagandahan. She doesn't have many pimples, but her face isn't spotless either.

Haven is one insecure girl. Baka nga ito ang dahilan kaya hindi ito nagjo-jowa. Bukod sa walang nagkakagusto sa kanya, she's too afraid to let other people enter her life. Baka lalo pang yurakan ang pagkatao niya as if she doesn't have enough flaws already.

Bago pa siya lamunin ng kanyang frustrations sa buhay ay pumasok na si Haven sa staff room. She froze on her tracks when she heard a scream. What was that?

Napalunok ito sa kaba. Ngunit kahit ganun ay nagwagi ang kuryosidad niya kaya lumapit siya sa pinagmumulan ng ingay.

The scream faded and was instead replaced with muffled voices. Mahigpit ang hawak ni Haven sa cellphone niyang nasa bulsa, just in case na kailangan nitong mag-emergency call. Something is really suspicious here and she can't just ignore it.

"...won't leave unscathed." A voice said. "Actually, baka nga hindi ka na makaalis dito."

Nagtago ang dalaga sa likod ng isang malaking cabinet na nagsisilbing pagitan ng malaking silid. She's just silently thankful that there's one here. Medyo madali magtago.

"You really think I would let my employees get abused, huh?" Haven gulped when she heard a cold, but familiar voice. "And you really think you could hide your smell? Amoy na amoy ko ang pinanggalingan mo."

A loud scream pierced her ears. Sa sobrang lakas nito ay akala niya may mga taong bigla na lang papasok sa silid upang malaman kung ano ang nangyayari. But to Haven's surprise, the door didn't even budge.

Haven's insides started shaking when the piercing scream changed into a growl. She couldn't help but take a peek at what's happening.

What she saw was beyond her imagination.

The customer from earlier turned into a full-grown monster. He towered over Soul like a giant. Ang pang-ibabang katawan nito ay binubuo ng hita ng isang kalabaw, samantalang ang ulo hanggang leeg nito ay gaya sa isang baboy-ramo. Aside from that, his body was covered in a slimy brown substance. Halos nasakop na ng size nito ang buong silid. Sa sobrang laki nito ay pwede na niyang mapisa si Soul.

Alarmed, Haven grabbed the nearest thing she could find. Kahit natatakot ito, she knows she must do something to help Soul!

Ngunit bago pa ito makagalaw sa kinatatayuan ay biglang nagliwanag ang paligid which caused Haven to close her eyes. Ilang minuto ang lumipas bago ito natapos. The room fell into complete silence.

And when she opened her eyes, two blue eyes were boring into hers. They were foreign to Haven, but at some point, it seems like she knew whom those eyes belonged to.

"You saw something you shouldn't have, Haven Ibarra.

Should I eat you now, like what I just did to that monster?"