3 Chapter 3

It was January 19, Sunday, 10 p.m. Maria was seated comfortably in Santiago's silver car. Her face was calm, while Santiago tried his best to loosen up by taking deep breaths. There was no certainty that Maria would be able to accomplish anything, but it was better to try than not know whether he was just imagining things because he has gone crazy, or there really was an old woman ghost, and seven owners of the mysterious place that he couldn't enter. Nevertheless, he was scared to death, not only for him, but for the innocent-looking girl who rarely spoke. Will she be able to handle this supernatural assignment?

"Are you ready?" The question was for Maria, but deep inside, he was also asking himself.

As expected, she simply nodded.

"Since you don't talk much and we need to make sure we communicate everything we need to, and get a response tonight, I have recorded my voice, so all you need to do is give 'em this." He handed a small grey tape recorder. "You just have to press this button that says play. If they miss something I said, you can press rewind." He explained, pointing at the button.

Maria nodded with the kind of smile that was meant to let him know she wasn't dumb.

"Also…" He took out a Motorola MicroTAC 9800X, the first portable phone that could fit in a jacket's pocket. "Take this. This is a company phone and I have my personal phone as well. Do you know how to use this?"

She nodded, feeling embarrassed that Santiago had mistaken her for a dumb girl just because she wasn't the talkative type.

Dear God. Please help us and keep us safe from harm, he thought. "Okay, let's go now."

They stepped out of the car and walked the grassy path of Mystery Village, both with flashlights. It was more eerie that he had expected because it was nighttime, but at least there were lamp posts along the way that he hadn't noticed before. The sound of their tracks echoed until they passed by the abandoned office building and stopped in front of the metallic maroon gate. Santiago looked at Maria who didn't seem bothered at all with the eerie atmosphere, and found it weird that he, a man, was the only one whose knees wobbled at the thought of another paranormal occurrence. He started to feel very sensitive to his surroundings as he used his peripheral vision to detect if there was an old woman's presence; he felt relieved that there was none. He looked at Maria who was again sporting an all-white outfit: she was wearing a hooded long comfy jacket that was larger than her size, white top, white jeans, and white sneakers. Santiago didn't want to wonder why because there was no time. He looked at his watch which said 10:27 p.m. "It's almost time. Let me try first if I can get in."

Maria nodded and witnessed that the illuminated part had become more visible, until it reached the full moon stage. Santiago also witnessed it and at exactly 10:28 p.m., he kicked the left part of the gate. It hung open, while the right half stayed where it was. He stepped his foot and pushed his arms, but he had the same failed experience. "Who the heck am I kidding? Of course, it wouldn't work." He looked at Maria who was not confused, nor amazed. "See what I mean?"

She nodded.

"Try it. Let's see if you can…" Before he could finish his sentence, he was slack jawed as Maria nonchalantly entered the premises. His eyes grew and he couldn't stop his mouth from opening wide. He had a huge hope that it would work, but he didn't know it would be that easy. He was thinking it would happen just like in the movies with slow motion effect and a triumphant music once she entered, but that was just all in his imagination.

Maria didn't give him time to further express his astonishment. She walked the grassless front yard until she reached the front door of the three-story building. She smiled at the sight of a doorbell on her left and turned to Santiago whose anxiousness had been replaced with optimism, waiving at her like a dad waiving at his daughter. Without further ado, she cheerfully pressed the doorbell.

~~~

Seven Grim Reapers were playing Uno cards in the living room at the ground floor. It had an old-style fireplace, vintage furniture, upholstered set of sofa and table, and unique paintings hanging on the Victorian wall. They had the same dark eyes and black curtain hair, and they all wore black and gold modern Hanbok.

Joony, seated on the left sofa, was the leader of the group. He had a face that was somewhere between oval and heart shape, almond-shaped eyes with puffy monolids, and deep dimples with a heartwarming smile. He was intelligent, but his brothers referred to him as the 'God of Destruction' because he always broke things.

Jinny, seated across him, was the oldest. He had the perfect face to match the golden ratio which is 1:618, making him the most handsome of the group. He had beautiful pumped lips, puppy eyes, and oval face. Despite his handsome look, he was a dork who loved to make corny jokes.

From left to right, the five Grim Reapers seated at the big and long vintage upholstered sofa were Yoon, Faith, Jimmy, TaeTae, and Jeon. Yoon had a small round-shaped face with no prominent feature that he could've been easily mistaken as a girl if it weren't for his voice. He had thick, low set brows, deep set eyes like a cat's, gummy smile, thin lips, the palest skin amongst them, and a petite frame. He was the grumpy, inactive Grim Reaper who didn't like to sweat, but he was genius with words, and he gave the best life quotes.

Faith had the most perfect pointed nose, diamond face, narrow chin and forehead, and smiley eyes. He, along with Jinny and Yoon, were the most cowardly Grim Reapers, though he was the most likely to have the loudest scream. The best thing about him was his cheerful personality and that he was the cleanest Grim Reaper with the most addictive scent.

Jimmy had a petite frame like Yoon. He also had a small face, squishy cheeks like a mochi, defined jawline, doe eyes with single eyelids, plump lips, small hands, and amazing abs. He was the sweetest, most caring and thoughtful Grim Reaper of the group.

TaeTae had very proportionate and manly facial features; he had a tall nose, glaring eyes, and a boxy smile. He also had a four-dimensional personality and the other Grim Reapers just simply referred to him as the 'weirdo' of the group.

Jeon had a square-shaped face with his jawline as the most prominent feature. He had low set brows, partial monolid eyes, thin lips, and a bunny smile. He was the youngest, most playful Grim Reaper of the group, but he was also the calmest during sticky situations. He was also referred to as the 'Golden Kid' for having the ability to do anything because of his bold personality.

They were all enjoying their card game until Faith stopped laughing. "Shhhhhh. Did you hear that?" They looked at each other, confused. The doorbell suddenly rang and made him jumpy that he instantly lifted his feet and placed it on Yoon's lap. He didn't look happy with his legs' weight, so he pushed it and gave him an annoyed expression. "Why is the doorbell ringing?" Faith asked anxiously.

"Yeah. This is the first time someone rang the doorbell." Jeon said calmly.

"But no one can enter our place, so how can someone ring the doorbell?" Jinny uttered with a nervous tone.

"Should we open the door?" Jimmy asked, looking at Joony while the rest of them waited for his response.

"Someone's ringing the doorbell, so we have to, but who's going to do it?" Joony responded. Clearly, he didn't want to be the one to open it.

"I'll open it." Jeon, the bravest of the group offered.