MEETING FOR THE FIRST TIME

A month after Bradlix met his father, he started to go to work. It was his first time walked into the office after his wife disappeared in the thin air.

He got a memo early in that morning from Hannah, the secretary. He needed to interview a new archaeologist-fresh graduated from the college.

Bradlix slapped his face with his both hands. He tried to wake himself up from his emptied staring. He could not be focused after his wife went missing. There were many hypothetical events in his mind.

He tried to calculate but at the end, everything was disappointed, given no clue at all. He looked back at his wife's journal. Only few he could understand.

What had written inside was belong to the wife. It was sort of secret code. Even though it was secret but the wife made the signs in his office with the secret code. Everywhere in the office. He was regretted didn't try to learn them from hers.

He started to walk to the window and leaned against the wall near the 3x4 feet window. He flipped the journal to find anything the journal.

At the same time, Bora drove her mini car to the company. The company situated just 20 minutes from her house. It was only two buildings attached to each other on L-shaped. The company was in-charged to study human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artefacts and other physical remains.

From far she saw the inside 1st building just like a storehouse where all the small artefacts were gathered in one corner. She could see many stones with various sized in that building. The other building kept all the drawings and some other artefacts nicely arranged in the big glasses.

A tea lady called up for her from the kitchen. Bora was happy to see her. It was her old friend, Petrina.

"Oh my God! You are here. Its been a while I didn't see you! How's life?" asked Petrina when Bora was getting closer to her. She hugged her immediately after she entered the kitchen. They both were so happy to see each other. Before she could reply to her, they heard the sound of a woman who was trying to clear the throat.

"Hmm! hmm!" They looked up

"Miss, the boss wishes to see you." a lady's voice disturbed them suddenly.

"Oh okay," Bora replied to the secretary.

"We'll catch up later!" said Petrina to her and smiled to her.

"See you later," said Bora. She followed her from the back. She fixed her shirt. She was wearing a collar white shirt with a dark legging in the high heels. Lately, she gained weights and she was walking uncomfortably in that high heels. It made her ankles hurt and blisters. She needs to endure the pain at least until the interview. When she was walking at the alley of the building to boss' office, she saw the signs and most of them are short sentences but she could not see them clear enough until she stood in front of the door.

She almost burst out of laugh looking at the sign. "What an obvious," She said it in her heart.

While in the office Bradlix was waiting and was sitting in the chair facing the wall.

Suddenly the door was knocked from outside and a few seconds later the secretary came in.

"Boss, She's here." Said Hannah in low voice.

"Okay." He answered in one word. Hannah knew what had happened to the Boss, but nothing she could offer to help. At least she just has to keep the company in order, she's thought to herself.

Hannah, the secretary opened the door and asked her to go inside. She just nodded to the secretary and walked into the room. She found it was hilarious to see all the signs in the office. She already tried hard to control her laugh before she came into the office.

Another sign was on the desk.

Then at the back of the chair,

She inhaled deeply to avoid laughing. There were no signed people in the room. She started to look around to find the boss in the room.

Not long after that, she stopped, she saw a reflection of a man from the big rectangle mirror which was attached to the wall. She saw a perfect figured man was sitting with his elbow on the armrest and his palm supporting his head. The position was beautiful. With his spike and dark-haired in his fair skin, he was flawless. With his long eyelashes and straight eyebrows made her thinking she was looking at the angel.

But it was too bad for the man, as far as she could remember, all her life she hated a handsome man or a man with a flawless face. She was thinking to step back and cancelled the interview on her own.

"Why do you want to work here?" Suddenly a voice penetrated her ears. From the voice she heard a broken person was spoken. She didn't sensed any arrogant nor proud in the voice. He even asked her without looking at her.

"What should I do? To step out or.." The thoughts were fighting to each other.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Bradlix was saying his thought out of his mind.

"What is he's talking about?" Her thoughts to disperse was gone immediately.

"I want to work here Boss! Umm..I just want to be near my family.." She said it honestly. She had forgotten to escape from the room after listening to the voice.

Bradlix didn't respond nor replied to her explanation. Suddenly his tear rolled down. Hurriedly he wiped his tear.

From the mirror she could see he wiped his eyes with his hand. Then she saw he was inhaling hard for some air.

The situation she watched just now making her heart disquieting.

"You can come here tomorrow sharp at 8.00 am." said Bradlix at last.

"That's it?" She murmured it in her heart. She was silent for a moment. "Thank you Boss." she said eventually when no further instruction from the boss. She immediately walked out from the room. She was confused with the scene where she witnessed the tears just now.

When the new employee walked out from the office. Bradlix hurried up went to the washroom in his office and washed his face. He washed his face under the running water. He was totally not in good condition to work now actually. He locked himself in the washroom.

"Boss, are you okay?" Hannah knocked on the door from outside.

He tried to stand up and wiped his face with a small towel. There was a printed bubble on the towel as well. He could not read them and just able to looked at it. He threw the towel to the wall and he was so angry to himself as not able to read nor understand the clue left by his wife.

After a while, he opened the door. He saw Hannah was standing quietly. He didn't look her by the eyes and he just walked away from her.

"I'm going home. Anything just sends to my house." He grabbed his car key and went away. Hannah just nodded. Suddenly his handphone was beeping. He looked at his handphone. It was a reminder. He opened it.

It was from his wife. He paused and froze. His heart stopped for a second.

"She knew this might have happened."He looked at the date, it was one week before the incident.

Another beep.

He didn't know what to do. He sat in the couch and had mixed feelings about it. It almost 4 weeks of her missing. He was still couldn't figure out what was happening to the wife.