27 Can I Call You... (1/2)
12:16 PM - City Mall Bacoor Rooftop, Central Area
Mark comfortably sat on the metal roof eating sandwiches for lunch. At first, he thought of bring cardboard boxes to sit on thinking that the roof would be hot since it's just a little bit past noon. To his surprise it was the opposite. He thought of the reason and he looked at the sky by reflex. He thought that it's just a bit cloudy but now that he can see a wider view of the sky, the clouds are very far from being just a bit. Thick clouds covered the sky.
It won't be surprising if rain would fall anytime this afternoon.
Mei sat beside him hugging her knees that she inserted inside the jacket that she is wearing. Luckily, the jacket Mark lent her is too long and wide for her that the jacket covered even her toes as she sat like that. If not, her thin grassland would be exposed for Mark to see as she was practically naked. The clothes she had before, there is not a single piece is salvageable. It looked like that gangster took his time ripping her clothes apart, piece by piece.
Mark ate his food with great relish while watching the situation below which is very far from making his food appetizing. At the highway, blood covered zombies are moving at their own pace chasing after the few people who are still struggling as they try to escape. Blood splashed around as the people escaping are caught, bitten and eaten. Puddles of blood can be seen in different places and different sizes. The screams of frightened people can be faintly heard.
Seeing all those things, most people might have already thrown up what they ate before.
Yet…
Mark ate and watched like he was inside a movie theater.
Mark suddenly looked at the overpass to his left. Someone just jumped off. It seemed that that man unknowingly climbed up the overpass just to get cornered. Without any other way of escape, he jumped off over the walls at the side. Not the brightest idea.
The man successfully jumped and landed on his feet just to cry out loud. There is no need to guess, with that height, his legs would sure be broken. The man, not giving up, tried to crawl away dragging his broken legs.Well, of course, he can't even outrun the zombies with his fine legs, would he be able with those broken?
The man's cries echoed across the highway as he was caught and eaten by several slow moving zombies that are shambling below the overpass.
Mark calmly watched the scene while analyzing things. He concluded that the man's mind was clouded in fear. If he tried to carefully maneuver through the zombies coming from the southern side of the overpass and jumped a few meters south of where the man did, then he would have landed on the roof a bus parked, no, its abandoned, under the overpass with no particular injuries. Well, of course, none of what Mark is thinking happened.
He finished eating while watching all the things happening below.
That time, he opened his bag and took out a small black colored leather covered notebook and a gel ink pen. He always bring this notebook every single time he go out of the house and scribbling and writing things on it when he felt bored, though now, he decided to use it to record his theories, plans and findings about this zombie apocalypse. There's no particular reason why he decided to record those things, other than because he might forget as there are quite plenty of things to remember. As for the pen, it's just his preference.
While he was writing, he glanced at Mei who seemed to be a little fidgety. She seems to be trying to decide on something.
As she remained indecisive, Mark decided to ignore her and continued writing. It remained like that after a minute or two. He then heard her speak.
”Thank you.”
Mark looked at her and saw her staring at him.
”Thank you for saving me.”
She looked away from Mark and looked at the gloomy looking sky.
”I'm sure… It was the end for me that time. I already gave up on everything. I already thought that I'll just become a doll they would toy with and probably discarded like trash after they are tired playing with my body.”
She hugged her knees tighter while Mark continued listening and not interrupting her.
”At that time… At that time, I only wished that they would kill me sooner. I felt humiliated, dirty… I- I…”
Mei is already crying.
She then felt a gentle hand patting her head.
”Seriously… If you want to thank me, do it properly. I won't accept your thanks if you will just end up crying like that.”
”But…”
”Just forget everything. Everything that happened there, those things was just a nightmare.”
”T-Then, won't you also become part of that nightmare?”
Mark froze as Mei doesn't look like the type to joke like that. And that joke, how she delivered that is really familiar. He sighed.
”That joke… You shouldn't really try to imitate me. It doesn't suit you.”
”Is that so? You looked amazing when you saved the situation several times earlier. I- I made the atmosphere gloomy so I thought...”
”Also it won't really work the right way when you are the one that made the mood worse.”
”Is that so…”
”That's right.”
”Uuuhhh.”
She felt embarrassed. Mei also realized that she felt better, no, with just a few words, he changed her self-pity to embarrassment. Though feeling embarrassed don't really feel good, it's way better that the sad and dark feeling she had earlier.
”I want to ask something.”
Throwing away her embarrassment, she looked at Mark curiously.
”Sure, what is it?”
”Are you familiar with Chinese naming customs?”
”Chinese naming customs? Why do you ask?”