Seeking Sabina (Completed)

Chapter III: Anticipated Chaos

"Hop in girls!" Sabina hollered as she open the door of her White Prado 2016 model. She turned on the sound system and patiently waited for her girl friends to get in.

Margaret and Patricia threw their big bags on the vehicle's back most seats and happily got in the huge SUV. The skinny photographer took the shotgun seat while the bubbly model settled on the back seat. They just finished a photo shoot and decided to have some girl bonding time.

The three chatted animatedly while cruising the streets of the Metro on the way to their favorite coffee joint located near the bay of Manila. It was almost sun set and Sabina was itching to watch the big ball of fire sets on the horizon.

Dusk was the woman's favorite time of the day. She loved the colors of the dusk, indigo, purple and golden yellow. And the memories that often came with them.

Sabina parked her vehicle on the first slot she saw and they hurriedly went to the most popular chain coffee joint in the country. She and Margaret immediately found a beautiful spot while Patricia went inside to order their cups and to get something sweet to nibble.

Chocolate chip frappe for Margaret, Caramel Macchiato for Sabina and Café Latte for Patricia, all venti and 3 slices of chocolate cake.

The photographer grabbed their food and rejoined her friends. She put down them down on the table and took the empty seat next to Sabina. "Pick yours, ladies!" She spoke merrily.

While sipping on their coffee Sabina began to talk. "I really need a job." She whined as they watched the sunsets. The orange tinge of the sinking sun was happily merging with the bluish green color of the water and the fusion of colors simply took her breath away.

"What happened to the diving stint?" Margaret asked worriedly, thinking how hard it was to find decent-paying jobs these days.

Patricia looked at Sabina and answered the question for her. "It's just a part time job, Maggie. What she's talking about is a stable job. A job that could pay rent, buy coffee and buy ridiculously expensive dinners." She explained to their new friend.

Sabina pouted as she put her hand under her chin. "Just like my previous job." She butted in. "I used to work at a South Sea pearl farm situated in Bugsuk Island at the Southern region of Palawan. It was a whole island with 100 employees. There, I worked as a Marine researcher, together with four more others, 2 males and 2 females. We were responsible in monitoring the natural parameters of the pearl farm like salinity, temperature and other factors that could affect the level of survival of the oysters carrying their precious pearls." She rambled.

The marine biologist couldn't help but miss her old job and her former colleagues. She missed the dives, the water ski trips and the breathtaking waters of the West Philippine Sea.

"English please!" Both Margaret and Patricia yelled while sharing a confused look.

Sabina rolled her eyes. "We are responsible in making sure that the oysters will survive so they could harvest the pearls inside them." She stated, simplifying her words.

"The pay was great but the nature of work was quite tedious. Imagine, if it rains at 2:00 in the morning you have to dive right away to check on the salt content of the water and fix the salinity difference. But I enjoyed every minute of my stay there." She sighed and grimaced.

"Then what happened? Did they fire you?" Margaret queried, the topic gained her full attention right away.

Sabina shook her head. "No! A close friend of the farm manager became a persistent suitor of mine. He was so persistent that I lost my patience. He became my stalker and his ways began to creep me out. And since it's an isolated island, let alone well secured and secluded, I was forced to resign to get away from him. So here I am, in between jobs and bored to death. The rainy days are coming and soon there will be no more diving lessons." Sabina drew a long breath and exhaled loudly.