Sunken Fish - Chapter 66
Unable to sleep, he sat on the edge of his single bed and grumbled, "Sod's law, damn Sod's law!"
—If something can go wrong, it will.
Bahari's mind flashed back to Jumarin, her body bent over with only a towel barely covering her body, looking so ashamed. She pleaded to go back to the room with her daughter to wait. Esme remained standing in the hallway, silent and enigmatic.
An hour later, Berhali finished the last bottle of champagne, which he had bought at a high price from Heinrich—it was meant to celebrate the beginning of his love with Marlene.
He tossed aside the empty bottle and rummaged through his suitcase for the duty-free liquor he'd bought on the plane. Johnnie Walker Black, a companion on lonely nights from Scotland.
The Bodhi fishermen outside were clearly drunk to the bone; they began to roar in operatic voices. On the stage made up of lakes and floating huts, his serenade echoed loudly. To Berhali's ears, the melody sounded like the lament of all things in the world.
Walter assured them that the morning alarm would be worth it.
"The Christmas sunrise is the best gift you can give yourselves. We will take two small boats to a beautiful spot on the lake. Dress warmly and wear sturdy shoes. Don't wear sandals, as we will be walking quite a distance. After sunrise, we will visit various factories, including paper mills, textile factories, and cigar-making factories. Please bring your cameras and some snacks. If you cannot board the boat at 6:15, I will assume you prefer to sleep in a little longer, and we will meet here in the lobby during lunchtime."
Abandoned
It was another morning in the Kingdom of Lanna.
At 5:30, everyone except Berhali got up and ate breakfast. After listening to the drunken fishermen's songs for most of the night, Berhali finally fell asleep at 4:00 AM. He had too much alcohol in his blood and didn't wake up from his hangover until noon.
Around noon, at the other end of the hotel, Heinrich had just woken up; he always slept late and woke up late. He took a cold shower to refresh himself, put on silk trousers and a shirt, and slipped on his fine loafers as he walked into the restaurant to greet the lunch guests. To his surprise, the lobby was empty except for the "television star."
"Have they not returned yet?"
"Obviously not."
"I said bitterly, taking a sip of my coffee," Berhali said.
"You've fallen behind?"
"Obviously."
Heinrich went into his office and assigned the day's work to his three men. He glanced at the schedule Walter had given him: sunrise and morning shopping only took a few hours, and they were supposed to be back at the hotel by 10:30.
Did they buy more Christmas presents?
The guys told him about the fire last night.
"Did someone jump into the lake?"
Everyone laughed, but the man was indeed startled and jumped up. Fortunately, the damage to the room wasn't too severe; the burned section of the ceiling had just been replaced.
Heinrich scratched his head. He had intended to buy a fireproof tent. However, the owner's son insisted that he use a tribal-made tent—this was the third time the hotel had caught fire.
“Hang up the curtains, but take away the candles,” Heinrich said.
“There’s another woman in the ‘television star’s’ room,” the men told Heinrich, “a naked woman.” Then they chuckled.