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He sat there, nervous, impatiently pondering when his name would get called. He badly wanted to get over this interview.

“Daniel Matter,” shouted an old lady, bored and tired. Her voice was extremely squeaky.

“It's Daniel Matt you old oldy ! ” he muttered, mimicking her voice.

Daniel stuttered across the room and took a deep breath, before knocking on the blank, brown door. He twisted the rusty knob and lunged in.

A snowy, cold landscape revealed itself at the opening, reflecting on Daniel’s eyes, already collecting frost. A gust of wind slapped his face as he tried to digest what he now was gaping at. He could not accept his surroundings. He opened his mouth but no voice came out.

Surprisingly, from behind, a slow but demanding voice questioned, “How did you enter?”

All Daniel managed to phrase was “Huh?” He swung his head around, ready to accept an icy stare, for he was wearing a coat, suit, and a tie at a place like this. Instead, a young lady wearing a construction suit and a puzzled expression looked at him in astonishment.

“How did you enter? Are you the man stated in the prophecy?”

Daniel, firstly, somehow couldn’t relate to what she said and secondly, didn’t understand why she was wearing a bright, construction suit amid a cold landscape with nothing other than snow and ice. He was a lost ball in the high weeds.

Unable to control his emotions, a rush of words swam through his body and jumped out of his sealed mouth.

“Where in the world am I?”, he shrieked. " I only came for a stupid interview for a job to arrange documents! Where the hell have you taken me?!!?"

His blood was close to solid and his cheeks were pink, making him look like a frantic lunatic. The lady simply stood up, grabbed his hand and brought him through the snowy grounds. When they caught a glimpse of a broken house, she abruptly stopped.

“I am Kate and I investigate unexplained and mysterious sites. This construction suit is my disguise so that no one will suspect me of going around places that are banned from entry.”

“Ok, sure, but why did you bring me here,to this dilapidated staircase that I have no relation to at all!?” questioned Daniel.

“Firstly, chill dude! And secondly, just listen to me. This was the house the evil sorcerer lived in,” she explained, “He was known to cause trouble and consequently, had created a staircase which could allow horrible monsters to enter. It was the gateway to the realm of monsters. Now, the sorcerer is no more, but the staircase still stands. Monsters often enter our realm, causing loads of destruction and trouble. You are stated in the prophecy and our only hope to destroy the stairs. Please help us.”

Daniel had the urge to run, but at the sight of the lady’s face, he knew that he had to do something. He neared it in slow, cautious steps and positioned his soft palms on the rough, moulded wood. To his shock, the staircase crumbled in front of his very eyes and he was thrown, with high force, backward.

2 hours later, he regained consciousness and realized that he was lying in the old office, where he had come for his interview. The old woman, who called out his name, gently ambled over and said “Thank you for saving my realm.” Daniel could not believe what he went through. He closed his dangling jaw and stood up.