2 Chapter 2

The project manager, senior architect, and two designers were already huddled in Santiago's small cabin when he arrived at 7 a.m. He had an off-the-peg L-shaped desk fronting a black leather sofa set: there was a three-seater couch, and two individual sofas facing each other with a chocolate-colored tea table dividing them. The brown and black theme matched Santiago's desk and stood out against the cream wall. He made sure his office space always had a clean and comfortable but manly aura to represent himself, but he wasn't so sure if that would still be the case after the meeting. He placed his black duffle bag beside his desktop computer and sat on his black ergonomic chair. "I sure hope you've all had a good breakfast, and that you're ready at what I am about to tell you." He rested his arms on his table. "Good morning."

"Well, good morning, Santiago. Your introduction seems interesting. Did we get the big project?" Seated on the left side of the sofa was Senior Architect Daryl. From head to toe, he was a James Corden replica without the British accent.

Claire and Mandy, the two middle-aged designers in Santiago's team, were seated on the long sofa; they showed a little excitement over Daryl's query. Linda, the project manager seated across Daryl, anticipated Santiago's response.

"Not yet. But I believe we can if we trust and support each other." He responded.

"Of course, we do. We've nailed small residential projects over the past years. But this year, I hope we land on a big one." Daryl said.

"Which is why instead of Linda, I took the liberty of going to that property in Siwar that Luke wanted so much for his business." From Daryl, he turned his eyes on Linda. "You were racking your brains with all the budgeting and scheduling and I know you're a single mom, so I went ahead and checked the location myself. You'll still be in charge though of making sure this project runs smoothly once Luke signs the contract. But for now, it's quite a long shot to make that happen unless you're all going to be very open to what I am going to say. I mean, I don't exactly know how to explain it perfectly without you thinking it's full of shit, but I do need you now more than ever." He suddenly realized his team was missing one person. "Where in the world is our new intern? Does she know she's included in our meeting?"

"She is? Oh shoot, sorry. I'll go get her." Mandy responded and instantly went out of the room.

"Just so we're clear, there is no small position in this firm. Everyone's role is important. We're all busy, but I had enough time to observe that you're all treating the new intern as if she's not part of the team. Making coffee and cleaning your desks aren't part of her job. She's supposed to do clerical tasks and help you on your designs, so give her that kind of experience and don't make her feel like she's less important than us." Daryl, Claire, and Linda looked embarrassed. Their eyes were on the floor by the time Santiago was done with his fatherly sermon.

Claire looked at both Daryl and Linda, then Santiago. "To be honest, I do feel guilty at times but she's just so super nice and I guess we did kind of abuse that. I mean, she offers help on everything. We're not the ones asking her to do things. And she never complains."

"Yes. She never complains. Remember last week when I brought Ella with me and I couldn't concentrate on what I was doing? The minute she started talking to my kid, she stopped throwing tantrums. It must've been her voice or maybe how she looks because she just looks so pure, like an angel maybe." Linda explained.

"She looks innocent, like a virgin." Claire said with a wicked grin.

"Oh, that's none of our business, Claire." Linda responded then turned to Santiago. "But she does look like an angel with the purest heart."

"Yeah. I guess, she does. I mean, she wears white all the time. Wait, why does she wear white all the time?" Daryl suddenly looked curious.

Santiago's brows lifted and his face went brighter. He thought, I don't have to tell them what really happened. I only have to talk to the new intern.

"She's here. My gosh, I was looking for her everywhere and it turned out that she was just petting a lost white cat at the terrace." Mandy explained as she came in with Maria.

Maria was holding a big tray with five cups of coffee and a plate of cookies that she placed on top of the tea table. She carefully held one and handed it to Santiago, then bowed politely to everyone in the room as she silently settled in between Claire and Mandy. Santiago stood up and placed the coffee in front of Maria. "You can have this; I've already had two cups before coming here."

"Thank you." Maria said in a soft angelic voice.

Santiago observed her as everyone else started munching on cookies. She had an oval-shaped face with soft jawline, a deep set of monolid eyes, and rosy-pale skin; she did have that strange but tranquil aura. And she did look like an angel with her all-white outfit.

"So, what was it that you were going to tell us?" Daryl asked after taking a sip of his coffee.

"Well, first, the unknown property in Siwar actually has a name. It is called Mystery Village." Santiago said with emphasis on the last statement."

"Really?" Daryl asked.

"Yes. Really. It doesn't look like a real village though. It has two buildings; one is an abandoned office building then the one next to it is an apartment building. Just imagine the entire land as a small forest with two buildings. I am yet to convince the owner next week when we meet, so until then, you can all go back to your desks, except for Maria." He said, quickly ending the meeting.

"That was it?" Daryl looked confused. "I thought you were going to say something that will blow our minds."

"Well, I did say it's called Mystery Village."

"Where is the mystery in that?"

"Oh, you have no idea, Daryl. But for now, you can all go back to your desks. After all, I did say this was a quick meeting. I just wanted to give you an update, that's all. But hopefully, we'll have good news by next week."

Everyone took their coffee and headed out while munching cookies as if they were kids who just finished a talk with their dad. Maria stayed with an expressionless face. Santiago settled where Linda sat during the meeting, then pushed the plate of cookies to Maria. "Here. You can finish this. There are two more cookies."

"Thank you." Maria responded with a slight bow, then took one cookie.

"There's a reason why I asked you to stay and hopefully, you'll trust me when I say that this conversation that we're about to have should be confidential." He said, quite nervously.

Maria nodded, still munching on her cookies.

Santiago noticed that she hasn't touched her coffee. "You're not drinking your coffee."

"I don't drink coffee."

"Oh. Well, then I think I need one now. Let me have it." He took a sip and looked at Maria who was staring blankly at the window behind his desk. "Will you be able to keep a secret?"

Maria turned to him, still with a blank expression, then nodded.

"You look trustworthy, which is why you're the only one who has to know this." He said with a careful tone.

Again, Maria nodded, almost choking on the cookie she was eating.

"Hold on a sec." Santiago stood up and went outside for a moment. When he came back, he was holding a glass of water. "Here. Drink this."

Maria bowed as a sign of gratitude, then drank the entire glass of water.

"Are you feeling okay, now?" Santiago felt like he was talking to a nine-year-old kid.

Maria nodded.

He took a deep breath then started talking. "I had the strangest experience yesterday and I didn't know how to explain it to anyone, but I'll explain it to you. Again, this is confidential." He paused while Maria once again confirmed by nodding her head. "There is a reason why that place is called Mystery Village. It's literally a mysterious place. When I went there, I met an old woman who later on turned out to be a ghost. But that's not the only strange thing that happened. I was able to open the gate to the apartment building where the owners live, but I couldn't enter the premises. I learned through the old woman…or ghost, that only someone with a pure heart can enter during full moon, and that's where you come in." He waited for a reaction from Maria, but she just listened attentively to the whole thing without disbelief. "Maria, do you believe in the supernatural?"

She instantly nodded, this time with excitement glowing from her face.

Santiago smiled at her reaction. "I was scared at how you would react, but now I'm glad I'm talking to you. I sure do hope that you speak from time to time."

She nodded.

"So, here's what we're going to do. Tomorrow is January 19. At exactly 10:28pm, there's going to be a full moon. I know it's Sunday and you're supposed to take a rest. Heck, we all need a rest, but I really need you to be my partner on this project. We need to close this deal by talking to the owners to convince them to sell the property, and if I'm not mistaken, you're the only one who can do this. Would you be able to partner with me on this task?"

Maria gave out an angelic smile. "Yes."

Santiago relaxed on the sofa with a huge hope that the old woman wasn't lying, and that Maria could really enter the apartment building on full moon. At the back of his mind, he was thinking, Let's see what happens tomorrow and I'd better not be a crazy man.