A Promise Of Romance (MewGulf AU)

🌻Chapter 4

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Walking down a squalid side street in a bad part of the city in the bitter cold, Gulf finally spotted the apartment he was looking for. The building was very old. It looked like it had been built long before Gulf was born. The inside was dim, and smelled of mold and dust. He lacked the courage to take the elevator, which looked like it might collapse at any moment, and climbed up the creaking staircase to Brenda's room on the third floor. He couldn't find a doorbell anywhere, so he knocked on the door hesitantly.

There was no answer.

He knocked louder.

"Quit that racket!" a voice yelled from inside.

The door swung open violently and a woman wearing garish make up appeared, causing Gulf to scream.

He was in a complete panic from the shock of screaming at a stranger. He struggled to think of something to say.

"I-I'm sorry," he managed to stutter. "Um, I-I'm a friend of Brenda."

The woman looked at Gulf angrily, pointedly inspecting him from top to bottom. "Are you a customer?"

Gulf nodded.

"We haven't got anything worth stealing," the woman said, speaking roughly in a thick, low-class accent that Gulf had trouble understanding. "The door's open, so you don't have to knock all politely like that. Just come in."

With that, she went back inside.

Unable to leave after having come this far, Gulf fearfully edged into the room.

Empty liquor bottles and discarded clothes were scattered everywhere, and the entire room was in disarray. The woman at the door was wrapped in a shawl and inhaling deeply from cigarette.

The room was unheated and was literally freezing cold. The heater must have been broken. It was almost the same temperature indoors as out, and Gulf couldn't bear to take off his jacket.

"Brenda's room is over there." the woman jerked her chin on the direction of one of the doors.

Apparently, Brenda shared her apartment with atleast one person, maybe more.

Gulf opened the door the woman had showed him.

There was no real difference in temperature here either. There wasn't even a light on. By the light coming in from the main room, he could just barely make out the shape of Brenda's body lying on her bed.

"Is that you, Gulf?" Brenda's voice came feebly back to him.

Brenda tried to sit up. "What are you doing here? Do you need help?"

Her cheeks were drawn and hollow, anyone could tell that she was wasting away quickly. Gulf looked away.

"I'm fine," he said. "But I noticed you haven't been coming to the pub these past few days. How are you? Did you see a doctor?"

"It's a fitting end to my life that I die here," she replied hoarsely.

"Brenda?" Gulf gasped.

"I'm glad you came, Gulf. There's something I want you to keep for me." Brenda slid a hand under her pillow and pulled out a thin chain. "It's something I never want my roommates to see."

She gave the chain to Gulf. At first glance, it looked like a necklace, but looking closer, Gulf saw that instead of a pendant, the chain held a ring with a transparent blue stone.

"God appeared before me two years ago and gave me that," Brenda whispered reverently.

"God?" Gulf echoed.

"Yes," Brenda answered. "Up till then, my life had been nothing, but suffering. My mother abandoned me right after I was born. Did you know that? And my father was a drunkard. When I was little, he would sell me to people for drinking money. He finally died when I was 17, and I was free. But I'd never really been to school, so I didn't know how to survive except by selling my body"

Gulf couldn't believe his ears. The story Brenda was feverishly telling him was incomprehensible compared to his peaceful upbringing in Thailand.

"But God didn't abandon me," Brenda continued. "He gave me this ring as a reward for surviving. He told me it would sell a lot of money. He was so beautiful, dark black smooth hair, almond-shape big eyes, it was like waking from a nightmare. I recognized him right away. He was God. So I told him, 'I can't sell your ring. I'll treasure it forever. So please come see me again.' And now, there's something I want you to do, Gulf."

"What is it?" Gulf asked.

"I want you to give his ring back for me. If he comes to the pub where you work, please---" Brenda was cut off by a coughing fit.

"Brenda!" Gulf cried out.

Her coughing showed no signs of stopping. And they were not ordinary coughs. They were throat-raking coughs, like bronchitis. When his older brother had a cough like this when they were children, it was due to asthma. Every time the asthma flared up, he was hospitalized and their mother would leave Gulf behind to go with his brother. Gulf was still very young at that time, and he had been jealous of his brother monopolizing their mother.

Brenda's roommate came at the sound of the coughing.

"I'm calling an ambulance this time, Brenda!" she yelled. "We don't want you infecting us with something serious."

Brenda didn't answer and only coughed painfully.

"Hey kid, you can't stay here forever," the woman snapped. "It's getting late, so you hurry on home now. I'll see what I can do for her."

The woman spoke quickly so Gulf had no choice, but to leave.

"Remember...Gulf..." Brenda moaned painfully.

Seeing her like this upset Gulf. He nodded firmly, hoping to comfort her. A look of relief came across her face.

The woman peered suspiciously at Gulf.

With great reluctance, he left the apartment.

That would be the last time he ever saw Brenda.

TBC