My Sweet Superchef

Chapter 9

Lucien has still not chatted or called me. An hour has already passed since I last called him. I let another hour pass before I went out from the office so I could call him again. Still, no answer. I was getting really worried now. It was already 10am, so it should be 9am there. He can't still be sleeping inside his hammock in a forest. Sun is already up. Usually, he wakes up between 7:30-8am.

I told my close friend at work about it. She got worried too. She knew Lucien. She met him when he was in the Philippines. She told me maybe his battery went empty. Yeah, I hope so. She asked me if I knew any of his friends that he met in Cambodia that might know his whereabouts. I said none because he's travelling alone. Though he's met some tourists and travellers along the way but they'll go their separate ways at the end of the day. That night, he was camping alone in the forest.

The whole day that I was at work, I waited for his chat but there was none. The moment I got off work, I called him again but still got no response. The problem with app is that it will just ring though the phone is off. So you don't know if it's empty-battery or what because it's ringing. I didn't know his local Cambodian number. I didn't think of getting it from him. Anyway, we had Messenger and Whatsapp. I arrived home and I still haven't heard from him. I was becoming anxious. This is the first time that we didn't have communication at all the whole day. When he lost his phone, he was able to contact me the same day because he was able to buy a new phone that same day he lost it.

I was ready to sleep that night when my phone rang. It was already 10:30pm. I quickly picked up my phone and was happy when I saw the name on the screen. It was Lucien. I answered it right away.

"Baaabbbeee!" I screamed.

"Sorry babe, I know you're worried," he started, then continued, "But I'm alive! My battery went empty. You know I was in the forest. Got flat tire. I had to walk with my bike looking for a motorcycle repair shop. It was a long stressful day. Now, I've found a guesthouse and was able to charge my phone. So nice to take a rest in a comfortable bed," he explained.

"What's important is you're safe, babe. You can't blame me if I worried about you. I'm not used to not chatting or talking with you the whole day," I told him.

"I know, babe. That's what I was thinking... that you'll worry about me. Don't worry, babe. See, I'm still alive. No wild animal has attacked me while sleeping," he said laughing.

"I'm so happy, babe, really," I said.

"I'm moving again tomorrow, love. Going north," he said.

"Okay. Always be careful on the road, babe. Drive safely," I told him.

"Always, love," he replied.

"Okay babe, I'll let you take a rest. Me too, need to sleep. Got work tomorrow. Goodnight, love," I said.

"Yes, baby I need some rest. Out the whole day, trying to fix my motorcycle. Okay, love... goodnight. Bisou," he said.

"Goodnight, love. Bisou," I said and hung up.

The next few days were just routine. Chat every morning, call at night. Update on each other's activities.

A few days later, I announced that I already booked my ticket from Hanoi back to the Philippines. He was happy about it.

After 3 days, he told me his Cambodia trip is over and he's going to cross the border going to Laos.

Him: "Hey you! I am making my bag. Driving to Laos later."

Me: "Hi babylove... oh, crossing the border today! Good luck, babe. Hope it goes well."

Him: "How's your night? Did you sleep well?"