A Meet

Being purged in the darkness and confined space, fear slowly crawls in. It wraps Reis tight, too tight like a suffocating embrace. A familiar feeling, which is not a good memory for her to remember, haunts her soul like a nightmare. At this crucial moment, even a little gasp has stuck in her throat.

The darkness makes her super aware and sensitive of her surroundings. Worst, she is aware enough a presence of another person in that elevator.

A man.

Oh no! No...

Reis presses her back against the metal wall. Her hands automatically shield her face. The panting sound from that man only adds more fear in her. She felt like nineteen years old again, when she was trapped, sobbing loudly under a man that she trusted the most. In the darkness, on that day, everything was a nightmare that she kept locking inside her for years. No one knows. No one should ever know.

'You'll be fine,' he said. 'Just relax,' he said.

Nothing ever makes her fine after that!

"Are you okay?" Reis stumbles when she feels the man is trying to approach her. Her hands tremble as she swats away the man, making him step back a bit.

"Hey... It's fine. The help must be on its way... "

"Don't get closer!" Reis starts to get hostile.

"Okay... Okay... I was just checking-"

"Don't! I'll kill you if you get closer! I mean it!"

The man blinks, looking at Reis with a confused mind. He stands there in silence, being respectful of her demand as he tries to figure things out. As they are stuck in the position, the emergency light illuminated the elevator.

That's when he finally sees Reis clearly, along with the fear in her. She is in a mess.

***

At the same time...

"Welcome to The Bubble, Mr Parapat!" the receptionist greets Gi with a wide smile on her face.

"Thanks. I'm here for Miss Ratchana," he replies politely. The girl checks on her monitor for a while to confirm the appointment.

"Please wait at the lobby, I'll reach out to Miss Ran," Gi nods as he excuses himself to the lobby. On his way there, his eyes catch a glimpse of a group of technicians. They casually walk towards the elevator with some tools and a ladder.

"Shia... I think, I have to use the stairs today!" Gi sighs as he flops onto a black leather sofa. As he is about to reach his phone, a call startled him.

"Yes, Ran? Can I go upstairs now?" asks Gi.

"Ah... There's an issue, Mr Parapat..."

"What did you do again, Ran? Did you forget to relay my message again, huh?" Gi feels slightly annoy as he is familiar with Ran's forgetfulness and her clumsiness.

"Miss Ratchana is not in her room. I thought, she is already in a meeting with you because she's aware of it. But, when the receptionist called me, I started to get uneasy. She's nowhere to be found!"

Gi frowned as he springs up off the sofa.

"Are you sure? Maybe she's at the toilet—"

"I just came back from there. It's empty," Ran replies, there is a panic stains in her tone. Gi takes a while to think, when he suddenly takes a glimpse of the maintenance who are gathering in front of the elevator.

Could it be—?

"Ran, you better come downstairs now! I don't wanna think the worst, but perhaps the worst is yet to come..." With no further explanation, Gi dashes towards the elevator. He silently prays earnestly for the safety of his sister. Because he knows, she won't survive in that dark and confined space.

It's between life and death situations.

***

Reis's face soaks in sweat. Those eyes stare lifeless at him. Both of her hands cover her face totally. She's almost hyperventilating, but maybe her alert mode made her in control by now.

"I'll kill you! I mean it! I'm not joking!"

"Yes, I believe you can do that..." the man calmly replied to her.

"Don't come closer!"

He halts at once after the scream. Tears brim from Reis's eyes as she frowns, looking at the man with her eyes enlarged, filled in fear.

The elevator suddenly waves side by side. Reis screams as she almost slams her head against the wall. Had not the man jumped to save her, she must crack her skull with the impact. But, the incident brings only a worst fear out of her. She starts to get hysterical as if something is holding her down.

"Calm down! Please calm down!"

"Let me go! Please! Don't do this to me! Let me go!"

The man lost in words. He takes some time, breathing calmly as he composes himself and musters all his energy and will.

"Hey... Calm down... Look at me... Look at me!" he shakes Reis's body as the woman cries her eyes out. "I'm helping you, don't worry. You're safe now. Trust me. Open your eyes and look at me. It's fine.."

Reis slowly snaps back into reality. She opens her eyes as she locks her gaze with the man. The sincerity in his eyes melts her fear away. He looks so calm and trustworthy. There's no malice in his look.

The door suddenly rattles from the outside. The man pulls Reis into his embrace to shield her, just in case something bad happens.

Somehow, deep down inside, Reis feels safe, for the first time after so long.

"Cè! Are you okay?!" Gi shoves his way inside. "Who are you?! Let go of my sister!" he pulls Reis away from the man. They all stand up at once. Gi keeps checking on Reis, just in case she got hurt.

"Boss! Are you okay—oh? Mr. Harit? You're here too?"

Ran peeks out her head from behind Gi as she frowns. "You know this man, Ran?" she asks.

"Oh. Yes. He's the one who your father recommended as your personal assistant... " Ran points her finger at the man.

"I believe you're Miss Ratchana? My name is Felix. Felix Harit."