05.02.2018: An Interesting, Interesting Day.

Something interesting has finally happened in this godforsaken town. This newsletter can finally be something more than a diary! The stupid ferryman has been murdered. To be honest he had it coming. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t get happy when people die (except when it is the ferryman, the ferryman was shit). Antonio only liked him a little bit and that means he was no good at all. Apparently, he was stabbed in his own living room. Ironic. I couldn't stop laughing when Antonio told me this, in these words. He doesn’t get it. Speaking of Antonio, he hosted one of his town meetings this morning that he keeps insisting I visit. I usually go because I know they make Antonio feel all big and important (which he is but that’s besides the point), but it was the first time today that I had an actual reason to go. I don’t like to admit it but it’s always a little intimidating to visit the town. I might act as if I am indifferent to all but I can feel the eyes on my back, constantly, and I don’t like it. It isn’t as if I’m hungry for the townfolk’s validation (because I’m not) but I think sometimes that it must feel good to belong. Anyway, that was too much about things that are unnecessary and stupid. I tend to go off on a tangent when I am given the freedom of writing, pardon me. Back to the meeting, then. I was the last to enter The Ant’s Nest (it’s a good restaurant but it’s far too bright for me). The scene in front of me almost looked like it was directly from a murder mystery, with all the ‘accused’ sitting in groups. I was standing near the doorway, ofcourse. Antonio was angrily pacing beside me and Harry was following him like a lost puppy, trying to apologise for something. José was sitting at the very front, trying to calm down a group of hysterical women who were apparently grieved by the murder. My goshdarn perfect sister was, obviously, one of them. She was a perfect picture of sympathy and sadness, saying her sorry’s and pulling out her best, most caring smiles at the perfect moments. A vomit-inducing performance, if you ask me. Erin and Akeno walked out of the restaurant kitchen, Akeno looking unreasonably happy while Erin was grumbling behind him, as usual. It is one thing that I relate to with that hunk of a woman. It’s a pity that she doesn’t like me. Akira, Mocair and George were sitting beside José and company. Akira and George were in splits looking at Harry. Yusuf and Drew were sitting at the back of the room. Somehow they always manage to find the shadiest part of every setting. I don’t know why Drew hangs out with Yusuf so much. He is just a creepy, old man who definitely gives off more bad vibes than necessary. There must be something more going on there than I want to know. Sariah Jacques, the archeologist, was sitting alone by the window, reading a book. After everyone had assembled, Antonio started the meeting. We don’t have many people on this island, so the death of one was quite jarring to everyone. Antonio, for one, was furious. Antonio reassured everyone that it must have been an outsider and calmed everyone down. He said that he was going to organise a search of the island to find out more about the situation. After that, he asked Drew what the body told her about the murder. To this, Drew replied that since the body had just been found today, the autopsy had not been done yet and so she couldn’t say much about anything at that moment other than the fact that the wounds on the body other than the fatal stabs were definitely deliberate and not results of a scuffle. Harry immediately piped up and exclaimed that the Rotting Sun never lies and that everything published there was based on ‘pure unadulterated facts’. Drew tried to argue but her retort was quickly shot down by the crowd’s general trust in Harry’s writing and its general opinion of Drew being incompetent. The discussion would have gone further but Yusuf interrupted and asked Drew to leave it at that. If I was Yusuf, I would have encouraged her to speak her mind, because that is what friends do (right?). Everyone then turned to Antonio who said that he did not know which one of Drew and Harry was right but what he did know was that Harry should have come to him before publishing anything in the newspaper. There was a general murmur of agreement in the crowd at that. Antonio then asked for volunteers to step up and join the search, after which the meeting ended.

Now if you ask me what I make of all of this, frankly, I’m amused by the situation and almost eager to see how things play out. I don’t know about you but I don’t mind some murder in my life now and again.

by Klaudia Kabot on February 05, 2018