Bitter Medicine

"Lia informed me that she will no longer rent this place anymore. She seemed to be in a hurry to leave that she didn't even pack her luggage. Her clothes and other stuff are still inside. The only things that were taken away were her identification documents from what I saw." The elderly woman explained.

After waiting for Antonio's response for a few minutes, she faintly smiled. "This young man, you still haven't answered my question. Are you here to see this available apartment or not? Right now, it might look the way Lia left it, but I will have someone come and throw out her belongings. If you are worrying about her items, then it will not be a problem at all." She brought up the previously unanswered question she asked him.

"...You said you are going to clear her place up? Why would you do that? She said she won't rent it anymore, but what about her stuff? She could come back for them later." He refuted with a frown on his face.

"Well, I spoke to her over the phone. I received permission from her verbally to throw out whatever that belonged to her after today. Besides, her friends came over and took her identification documents already. She said she will not be back for these items. What is the use of me leaving it here? No tenants will want to take her old clothes and used items right?" The nonchalant tone sounded casual and carefree that it brought frustration to his ears.

"She didn't even come here to get her stuff? Then have you checked her friend's identity? You just let someone come in to take her personal belongings and watched them leave?" Antonio found himself slightly annoyed by how careless the elderly woman acted.

"Young man, I saw Lia on facetime through that phone call. I also double checked with her to make sure this was what she wanted to do. I cannot force her to change her mind, correct? Besides, it is her freedom to do whatever she wished to do with her purchases. Anyway, if you are not here to check the apartment out and here to waste my time, then please see yourself out. You're not interested, but others will be."

The elderly woman blinked twice before turning around slowly. Taking out a stick from her purse, she swung it forward. The short stick unbent and formed a walking cane. Before she could make another step away from him, Antonio stopped her.

"I want to check this apartment out first, is that okay? I want to see it before I decide whether I want to rent it or not. That should be fine right?" Antonio sounded moderately uneasy when he replied to her. When he saw the elderly woman's back, he somehow felt a sense of loss as if this was his only chance to see what was behind this door.

A smile curved slowly on the elderly woman's face, one that quickly disappeared before she turned to face Antonio. After giving him a somewhat unwilling expression, she took out a batch of keys and made her way to the door. As if she had purposely played around with him, she even dropped the keys in the process and spent another minute or two looking for the right key!

"Here you go. You can go in and look around to see if you like the way things are arranged. Of course, you can always change it to your preference. Lia was a very neat girl, so I never had to worry about how she kept the apartment. There is a living room, bedroom, restroom and a small open kitchen." She leaned her back against the door while Antonio stepped foot into the apartment.

Nothing seemed to have changed since he had last been to her apartment. 'Right..That time I was drunk and we...After that, I don't remember seeing her much. But when I did...I...' His fist clenched subconsciously as he reminisced the past months of interactions with a hint of regret.

"Young man, there are some things in this world that cannot be reversed. Often times, these become regrets. Just like Lia, I expected her to stay until at least the contract ends, but she left much earlier. So, if you really want something, you must work for it. You can't wait until the right time comes because there will never be a right time. You need to take action in order for that right time to exist. Obviously, when some things are missed, it is missed. Time does not reverse."

Antonio's back was facing her when she said these words. Hence, he missed the mocking smile she had on her face. Once she was finished speaking, Antonio walked into the bedroom. Likewise, the elderly woman followed, maintaining an appropriate distance between them.

"Why does it sound like you know what I am going through? Did you hear something from Lia?" He questioned her words, which oddly made sense to him. If she was only the owner of this place, the only logical explanation would be Lia telling her about certain things.

"Young man, what do you mean? I am trying to tell you that once you miss this right time to rent this apartment, you will regret it because I already have a list of people who are interested in this apartment. If you don't have the idea to rent this place in your mind, then don't waste my time." She tapped on her phone a few times and showed him a screen of text messages from unsaved numbers about this apartment.

"Oh, then I must have thought too much. I want to rent this place. Can you prepare the contract for me? I want to move in right away." Antonio said as his arm stretched to touch the soft bed in front of him.

"Of course! I will have my assistant draft the contract and send it to you. Leave me your contact information, and I will tell you when it is ready. It should be done within today. You can stay here to sort out what you want to toss out and I will have cleaners come to take it away." She cheerfully clapped, slipping her phone back into her purse.

"No. There is no need for anything to be rearranged or changed. I will keep it the way it is. I'll sign the contract whenever it is ready. Thanks." Antonio answered, his mind sinking deep in thought about something else.

"Then, I will leave you alone for now." She didn't bother giving Antonio another glance, and walked out the door. After she closed the door, she walked down the hallway and hummed a victory tune.

"Chatterbox, what's your point in doing this?" A man's voice rung in her ears, making her stop midway.

"Number 1, we both know clearly that Lia deserves more than what this jerk can give. If I don't give him a taste of one of the world's most bitter medicine called regret, how can I calm the fiery flames in my grim reaper's soul?" Number 2 ripped the fake skin mask off her face, followed by stretching her long slouched back. "Ahhh, this feels so nice!" She cracked her back a few times while straightening it.

"Lia sacrificed a lot of everyone, but he...isn't part of our plan. We shouldn't interfere with her business." Number 1 muttered, not entirely disagreeing with her actions.

"Lia's business had long been my business. Without her, there is no us. She is my family, and I will never let anyone take advantage of my family. Anyway, I just need to send a text to the landlord, and forward his information to her. Just need the contract signed and wala! Done." Number 2 clapped her hands together.

"But the landlord never saw him before. How would she-" Number 1 replied.

"She did. She saw him before." Number 2 smiled deeply as if she knew something he didn't know.