The two men were already in the room when Zip finally arrived at the door. He slowly walked himself inside and sat on the chair situated right in the middle of the square white room. There was a glass of water on the table which he took and drank it to clinch his thirst.
I must have walked long enough to feel this tired, he thought.
I must have walked long enough to feel this tired, he thought.
He couldn’t think clear enough to ask any of the men standing on both his sides. When he put the empty glass on the table, his head started spinning again. The two men just looked at him without saying anything. Zip started groaning, trying to remember how he ended up being there. While he slowly ran his fingers through his hair, pulling it, as if the answer lied in between them, a man entered the room. Zip recognized him right away.
“Professor Z?” Zip sounded, half confused. He was trying to get up from his chair when the man asked him to sit.
“How are you feeling, Zip?” He asked.
“I… I don’t know… What’s going on, Prof?”
“I’m sorry you had to go through all this. I think it’s time for you to know everything now..”
The man was standing not far away from Zip, clear enough to reveal his strong features. He had an overly tanned skin. White hair was all over his head. He may looked old, but as far as Zip knew, Professor Z was the wise old man. The wisest, perhaps.
“First of all, about Elle…” The man looked straight into Zip’s eyes when he said ‘Elle’.
“Prof, she doesn’t know anything about…”
“Let me finish.” The man insisted. It sounded more like an order to Zip.
“Elle knows who you are, she knows you are not John... She knows about NationalMuseum and what you have been doing all this while, Zip.”
“What?! How? I didn’t tell her anything! Nobody else knows! I kept everything to…”
“I told her,” the man said. Zip was puzzled. Nobody knows about Elle but KingKong and Raoul. But how could he have told her about me? Do Professor Z and Elle know each other? How? Why? His head was spinning again.
“I don’t understand, Prof…”
“Here. This might help explaining a bit,” the man answered before he took out a file from his briefcase and put it in front of Zip. Zip’s eyes widened when he saw the file cover. It was an image he recognized.
An image of a goat, but a bit different.
It had no tail.
*********************
“I don’t know what you’re talking about” Elle responded.
Raoul took a piece of earphone connected to a device in his pocket and gave it to her. She took it and put it in her right ear before listening to something that sounded very familiar…
“Elle?What?Who?”
“Why, Kong.You look so confused.Oh, ok..let me just help you a little bit here although I really hate to monologue..”
It was her earlier conversation with KingKong. She looked at Raoul but he did not even turn his face towards her. She wanted to ask how did Raoul manage to record the whole conversation, but she knew Raoul would definitely ask her again about what happened to KingKong. She didn’t want Raoul to ask. She needed more time to come up with a lie. A twist to the real story.
“Take off your pants” Raoul said.
“What..?!”
“The tattoo” He said.
“Oh…”
As she slowly got up and zipping off her jeans, her mind wandered. How do I tell him? How do I explain? How did he know? How can he be hiding things from me when I’ve been doing the same thing to him? Who is Raoul actually?
Raoul took a piece of paper and started tracing the tattoo. He didn’t say a word to break the piercing silence. He could only hear her breath. It was a nervous breath... he could almost hear her heart beat. And it was fast, faster than the beat when she was with him.
Elle closed her eyes. She was hoping to say a prayer. But I don’t believe in God.
Raoul took a piece of earphone connected to a device in his pocket and gave it to her. She took it and put it in her right ear before listening to something that sounded very familiar…
“Elle?What?Who?”
“Why, Kong.You look so confused.Oh, ok..let me just help you a little bit here although I really hate to monologue..”
It was her earlier conversation with KingKong. She looked at Raoul but he did not even turn his face towards her. She wanted to ask how did Raoul manage to record the whole conversation, but she knew Raoul would definitely ask her again about what happened to KingKong. She didn’t want Raoul to ask. She needed more time to come up with a lie. A twist to the real story.
“Take off your pants” Raoul said.
“What..?!”
“The tattoo” He said.
“Oh…”
As she slowly got up and zipping off her jeans, her mind wandered. How do I tell him? How do I explain? How did he know? How can he be hiding things from me when I’ve been doing the same thing to him? Who is Raoul actually?
Raoul took a piece of paper and started tracing the tattoo. He didn’t say a word to break the piercing silence. He could only hear her breath. It was a nervous breath... he could almost hear her heart beat. And it was fast, faster than the beat when she was with him.
Elle closed her eyes. She was hoping to say a prayer. But I don’t believe in God.
Her mind thought about KingKong. I’m sorry, Kong. Her mind thought about Zip. I’m sorry, John... or Zip. Her mind thought about Professor Z. I’m sorry, Granpa.