4 Raven's Cove
Her Dad's perfume was lingering on the jacket that she's wearing. The same with her brother's menthol shampoo in the cap she's wearing. The scents of the men in her life floated in her nose, reminded her of all the happy, annoying, and sometimes sad memories of them together.
She kept the golden bracelet her mother gave her this Christmas. That piece of jewelry on her wrist reflected that special connection between them.
She could feel that her entire family was with her. Her tears and snot were all mixed up, and she's too sad to care.
"Oh my gosh, what do I do?" she asked herself repeatedly. Isabel didn't want this to happen but yet she's in the situation. She desperately wished that this was just a nightmare.
She rested her head on her seat's dashboard and eventually fell asleep. It exhausted her brain that it shuts itself down.
Isabel woke up several times, felt nauseated for no reason she just doesn't feel good. The whole situation tired her so much. Her dreams were as scary as her waking life.
After a heart-wrenching and tiring twelve-hour flight. They're now landed in Borres.
The resort sent girls that looked younger than she was. The other one looked like a teenager in a suit, and the other one was just a regular kid wearing jeans and a jacket. They're holding a huge board with her name on it, decorated with rainbow-colored LED lights.
Maybe it's now a thing in Borres to greet people at the airport with rainbow-colored led lights because she saw other girls holding a replica of the board the two girls used to greet her.
"Hi, I'm Alex and this is Sonia. We will be your guide and attendants during your stay in Raven's." The one that introduces themselves and wears a suit is Alex.
She handed Isabel a paper that had a list of all her activities in the resort until she finally couldn't do anything.
It's like a detailed explanation of what the Resort would do during the extent of her stay. They'll nurse her until it's time for her to leave the world. They would cremate her body and send it to her family.
The Raven's Cove was a secret facility that admits terminally ill patients.
Built by the Raven family, the institution was being sponsored by rich companies to finance the dying wishes of the patients.
The facility chooses only a few, and the criteria for admission were unknown.
She remembered answering some questionnaires such as believing in an afterlife, and if she believes in aliens or parallel universes, but really had no time answering such stupid questions, so she just passed it all with no for an answer.
In one question during the interview, they asked if she believes in God. She tried her best not to look annoyed and bored, because why on earth these people would want to know what she believes in? It made little sense.
After a few more weeks, she received an invitation. She only had to pay the membership fee for a few thousand dollars, but with the benefits, its value was several times more than she paid. The recommendation was by her oncologist; it was a random offer, nothing special between them.
Alex and Sonia lead her to a van that has Raven Cove's name all over it. Isabel looked at her activity schedules. She had listed a tour in Africa and Europe if her time will still allow it.
"Here is the radio transmitter-receiver. You can call me or Sonia when you needed anything." Alex's voice was friendly, but businesslike. She hadn't heard Sonia speak yet.
Just about the time, she reached out for the walkie-talkie. The van's door pulled open and three more patients and their guides came in.
"How long will it take us to get into the resort?" An old female patient asked the same question in Isabel's head before she got distracted by the walkie-talkie.
"Three hours the most." The lady's guide answered quickly.
"Everyone," said Alex in a slightly modulated voice. She must be the team leader of all these guides.
"There will be no phone signals on the Island, so now is the time for you to say your last goodbyes to your families. I hope you understand what you had written in the agreement form."
No one was in the mood to answer. Some actually nodded. But Isabel just stayed quiet. The moment she stepped on the plane, she accepted the fact that it was her last holiday with her family.
She once again closed her eyes and recalled her memories with her family. Her brother and dad loved to tease her. She remembered how angry she was when he wore her denim shorts and tube top blouse.
Her brother would steal her things and keep them away until she would cry in annoyance. Her mother would normally scold the two men in the family and cook her chicken noodle soup with a soda on the side.
She fell asleep in the car and dreamt that she was wearing a lavish dress, preparing to seduce a king. She couldn't dance. Whenever she does, it looked awkward. So in her dream, she was a little anxious. What if the king won't like her dance and he would execute her? But soon, Alex called her out, so she awakens.
"Oh, good." Thankful that it was just a dream.
They stopped at a small dock. There was already a yacht waiting for them. The boat also had Raven's Cove written all over it.
"Come on aboard ladies and gentlemen, it's going to be an hour ride." The captain announced.
The warm sea wind was brushing Isabel's face. Choosing how she dies was probably the best decision she had made. The beautiful clear blue ocean was the exact manifestation of beautiful death. She forgot to be regretful.
She noticed the walkie-talkie one more time. It had a smooth, modern design. She wondered what its mechanism was, so she pulled up her iPad and searched in her library for the two-way radio. It's amazing how complex her database was. She had more on her phone and computer.
A few more minutes have gone by. The huge signage of the resort was now visible from the boat. The sign was a vast arc carved in wood, polished and looked elegant. It also looked rustic. She would want to have the same material in her house.
Small huts surrounded the resort, and each has its own fences, beautifully designed like a Spanish villa. Close by, at the back of the small houses, was a mountain that was landscaped with buildings. Some were beautiful, and some looked weird.
Soon the boat stops at the resort's dock and they were all assisted out by their assigned guide.
"Isabel, follow me." Alex's tone was like a teacher calling out a grade school pupil. Isabel was a little taken aback. This girl had some superiority complex.
"I will give you a tour first, and then we will lead you to your own villa. " Her guide's condescending tone was a little odd to her, but she nodded her head.
Alex was just confident. She simplified.
Alex first lead her to a flat and huge crystal building that looked like a dome. Inside was an empty hall. She had already guessed what this place was. But Isabel was tired, hurting, and didn't really want to be on this tour. Would it be too presumptuous to refuse what they offer?
It's not a good idea, she thought.
"This is the ballroom. This is a fully air-conditioned hall and the sound system is all hidden underneath the floor and above the ceiling"
Alex showed the remote control system and discussed how it works, it's as if she was doing this on purpose to annoy Isabel, but she knew it's impossible. Isabel just squeezed her own dress not to show impatience.
How and why she needed to know how to operate the disco ball lights and the sound system was not her priority. She just wanted to be honest with herself. Who had time for this when you were dying, anyway?
The next stop was a circular platform surrounded by pillars with no roof. They built the entire platform with granite.
"We call this the sacred stone garden." She pondered why they called it a garden when there were no plants in it, but she stopped herself from asking. It didn't matter.
