The dinner started after the last of the guests had been seated. It was almost 30 min after I first stepped into the dining room and by then I was in full conversation with some of the guests who had arrived earlier. In total , there were 15 guests as I was told there were a few of them who left for the mainland that evening for personal issues and would be returning the next morning.

A man smartly dressed in a tux came in with cart full of which I assumed were our appetizers. Mrs Smith , who was sitting at my left side , whispered to me introduced me to our butler , Mr Johannas. It was the oriental bird’s nest soup and it was slightly tasted differently from the soup I had in Beijing the year before. Major Sholto , the gentleman sitting opposite of me , commented as such.

Mrs Smith , who was clearly not afraid of strangers , introduced me to the rest of the guests. There were businessmen , lawyers , doctors and  , surprisingly , an artist. The artist , Senior Goregio , I was told , had a heart attack was recommended by his doctor to the resort. He was in cheerful mood and we had several minutes talking about the art scene in Asia. Senior Goregio had been invited to be a chief curator of a gallery in Hong Kong and he was curious about Chinese art from me.

After some times , came the next dish , roasted duck. We wasted no time in parring the duck to the bone and soon , we were having delightful conversation with alcohol and drinks at the bar at the lobby. I was introduced to the rest of the guests and before we left to our respective rooms , there was no one that I had not talked to. Before long , it was close to midnight and we all bade each other good bye.

It was then that I received the first of the series of letters. I had just left the lobby and up the stairs to the bedroom when I was stopped by the butler. He was holding a sliver platter and on it , there was a white envelope with my name. He mentioned that he found it in the letter box by the gate when he was out to fetch the dinner from the boat that evening. He apologized for not handing over to me sooner and left.

I was surprised , to say the least , as I did not recollect informing anyone of my retreat in the resort. In fact , the whole idea was to have the time to myself from hustle and bustle of the city so I deliberately and discreetly left my home. So I was wondering when I saw Mrs Smith coming up the stairs as well. Then when she saw the envelope in my hand , her face whitened as if she was seeing a ghost. She stared at the envelope for a while and ran up the stairs faster than I thought she could.