Caroline and Savitri were incredibly excited and blissfully happy. They were nineteen and waiting for the 'A' level results. What was so exciting was that they were doing one week of waiting in a beach resort in Cebu. Savitri laughed at her brother who always teased her for being such a 'kiasu' girl. She entered every lucky draw contest she saw. One might have called her neurotic instead of kiasu because when she saw coupons at shopping centre counters or in magazines, a little voice would tell her that there was no harm trying and that there was always a chance to win.
She had won three things through lucky draws: Half a year's supply of free soap (when she was fifteen), a charger for a mobile phone she did not have the time (when she was seventeen) and a free trip for two to Cebu at this beautiful beach resort. She had not pondered long before she decided whom to bring. Caroline had been her friend for as long as they could remember. But it did take slightly longer to convince their parents that they were responsible enough to go by themselves. Caroline's defeated mother had finally said, 'Okay, fine. But if you come back with a strange boy from over there hidden in your suitcase, just remember that I'll know.' Savitri's mother, without much thought, had just given a simple "O kay lah.' The place they were staying in was not a stereotypical hotel. It was literally a resort on the beach. There were little luxurious chalet like huts scattered all over the beach and if you were to take on step out of the door in your bare feet, you would feel sand in between your toes. Soon the fifth night of their free trip to Cebu, they had just come back from swimming all day and had rented a movie called Three of Hearts from the hotel's movies list. It wasn't very wide but then again, not many people made use to it. There were only about sixty movies in the modest collection. The movie had been okay and Caroline and Savitri had enjoyed themselves. They had both had their dinner and taken their shower before they watched the show and now it was time to turn in. (It was almost midnight by then.)
'So what do you owe me for the glorious trip?' Savitri asked, yawning. 'Well, it's not like you paid for it,' rolling her eyes in an exaggerated manner. 'Go die Caroline! yelled Savitri, playfully offended as she hit her with her pillow. Caroline could just laughed. 'Okay la, okay lah. Thank you Queen Savitri. But we should go to sleep now if we want to go jogging in the early morning.' So they said goodnight, deciding to make up in sleep what they had lost over the past few nights. Drip. Drip. Drip. Savitri opened her eyes and let them adjust to the darkness. She groaned as she turned over to look at the digital clock whose numbers glowed in the dark. It was half past two in the morning.
Drip. Drip. Drip. 'What the hell is that?' She moaned as she buried her face in her pillow. 'Huh?' Caroline answered, not really aware of what was going on. Drip. Drip. Drip. 'Argh! THAT! What is THAT?' She said in an aggravated whisper. 'That?' asked Caroline, slightly more orientated. 'The dripping you idiot!' 'Idiot yourself lah. You bathed last right? You must have left the shower dripping. Savitri groaned again and realized that she was right. She had bathed last and since the noise was coming from the bathroom, it must have been her fault. She turned to see Caroline fast asleep by the time she had realized this. So she tried to sleep too.
Drip. Drip. Drip. She turned again to try and get comfortable. DRIP. She lay flat on her back. DRIP. There was apparently no way of getting away from it and she guessed that she would just have to go and switch the shower off properly if she wasn't going to go crazy. She got up groggily, trying to remember what she had been dreaming of when she been so rudely awoken by the shower. The floor was cold and she simply could not be bothered to turn on the main light. This resulted with her almost tripping over her carry bag next to the bed. she swore as she regained her balance. She groped around for the switch next to the toilet door. Her eyes were still half closed. DRIP. Her fingers found the switch and they flicked it on. Light shone out from beneath the door and flooded the area at her feet. She instinctively narrowed her eyes as she placed her hand on the doorknob, to prepare them from the unwelcome light that would pour out at her.
She opened the door and jumped back. At first, she had simply seen a figure standing there. Her eyes had been narrowed and once she focused, she started to scream. In front of her stood a man. He wore a pair of blue jeans and a white T-shirt. He had no head. She started to hyperventilate and was paralysed for an instant. Standing there, she looked down faintly, away from in between his shoulders where his head should have been; where the clots of congealed blood were instead, where a gaping hole and severed pieces of flesh were. Then to her horror, she saw that he was carrying the head that should have been on his shoulders. He held it, blood dripping down from his cut up neck and dripping onto the floor. This had all happened within a few seconds. DRIP! She finally regained her senses but was still screaming. She turned and screamed even louder when she bumped into Caroline, trying to run. She had got up with a start when she heard her screaming.
'RUN!' she screamed in her face. 'Wha...' 'RUN!!!' Caroline saw the look of terror in her friend's face and just obeyed. They ran to the door and unlocked it as fast as they could. Savitri ran all the way to the lobby, followed by Caroline. There, she demanded that someone come back with them to check the room. A tall, rather reserved looking man followed them back and all three of them found nothing in the toilet. There was no man and there was no blood. Caroline still did not know what was going on. Savitri told Caroline to pack up. She would explain on the way home. 'Home?' 'We're leaving a day early.' Much to the disgruntlement of the hotel staff, Savitri and Caroline checked out of the hotel that very night. After a long wait, they managed to get a taxi driver.
With their luggage packed neatly into the boot, Savitri got into the taxi with Caroline. They were headed for the nearest hotel. Just as the taxi pulled out of the hotel driveway, Savitri felt something telling her to turn back and she did. A young man was walking into the lobby of the hotel. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans and white shirt. It was then that Savitri realized that what she saw was not an apparition of the past, but one of the future. Although she knew that the young man was going to die, she was too frightened to go back to the hotel and tell him. The taxi continued its drive into the dark night.
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