5 Chapter 5 (1/2)
TaeTae was looking through the window by the front door, while the rest were still gathered in the living room, not far from his left side. ”That man in military two-block cut is Santiago, right? He has been walking back and forth. He must be too worried.” Jeon had just returned the tape recorder to Maria when TaeTae suddenly commented. They all turned to him as Maria simply nodded in response.
”Bro, can you lend your pocket watch to Maria so that Santiago can come in here?” Jeon told Joony.
”Of course.” Joony quickly took out a beautiful vintage swiss gold pocket watch and handed it to Maria, who took it without questions. ”Just be careful not to break it.”
The Grim Reapers giggled at his comment. ”Look who's talking? You almost broke that watch like a hundred times.” Jinny said, still giggling.
”More like a thousand times.” Faith burst out laughing at his own statement.
”Cut it out, you guys.” Joony said, though he was holding himself from laughing. When everyone was quiet, he looked at Maria. ”Anyone who's holding a precious possession from a Grim Reaper can enter our place and see us.”
”Well, not just us. He can see anything out of this world. Even that lost soul. Which will be helpful on your end because you don't have to deal with him alone.” Jimmy said.
”She won't be alone. We're here and we'll guide her.” Jeon responded.
”The boy hates us, Jeon. Except for you.” Jimmy told him, then turned to Maria. ”The lost soul is a teenage boy. Maybe he likes Jeon because he's the youngest. He said he's willing to say Jeon's name thrice, but he will never say our names. But Jeon doesn't want that, he wants all of us to complete our mission and be reincarnated together.”
”Yeah, for some reason, the boy always looks at us with much resentment and we'd be grateful to understand why.” Yoon said, anxiously.
”Somehow, the boy's mom can see us from afar by the way that she's reacting whenever we look through the window. The problem is, we're stuck here, and she can't enter the premises, so there's no way to talk to her and ask. I hope that you and Santiago can help us.” Joony explained.
Maria took a deep breath then nodded.
~~~
Santiago had been walking back and forth and it was already midnight. ”What is taking her too long? She's not calling my phone, so she must be alright. She should be alright. I hope she's alright.” He uttered, scratching his head. His uneasiness finally came to its halt when the door opened, and Maria came to view. ”Oh, dear God. Thank you.” He said while looking up, then turned his focus back to Maria who was walking towards him. ”How was it? I'm glad you're okay.”
She smiled while nodding, then gave him the pocket watch. Santiago tilted his head and looked at Maria with his questioning eyes. He got more confused when she held his left hand while he held the pocket watch on his right. Then, his eyes widened with astonishment as they both stepped on the premises and continued walking towards the front door. ”Wow, is this because of this pocket watch?” Maria nodded. The door opened, but there was no one around. Santiago was flabbergasted that the three-story apartment building turned out to be a mansion inside. Mary led him to the living room and guided him to sit on the sofa where she sat before. ”Well.” He looked at Maria who sat across him, the spot where Joony sat previously. ”Where are the owners?”
To his surprise, white smoke filled the air as seven silhouettes started to slowly appear until the Grim Reapers became clearly visible to Santiago's eyes. They all smiled before him, and all that Santiago managed to do was scream. This shocked the Grim Reapers and Maria quickly rose from the sofa chair when he fainted.
After a few minutes, Santiago opened his eyes and realized that they were discussing what happened. ”That was uncalled for. You could've just let him see us the minute he entered. Why did we need to disappear and reappear like that in front of a human?” Joony said.
”But you said yes to the idea.” Jinny retaliated.