The Workplace

It was exactly two months ago when we moved from the old makeshift office to this fabulous well-lit, well-ventilated and well-organized one. The old office looked like a small studio–type bedroom with a private bath and toilet in it. But instead of a bed and a work table, computers and printers were all over the place. We were like sardines in a can when all of us were working at the same shift.

The sad thing was, the air conditioner was not that good also. When there were many of us in the room, it felt like we’d been in a sauna when we leave the office. So when we learned we were moving to a new office, we got very excited about it and couldn't concentrate on our work.

The new rented office room looked like an office alright with a small kitchen area just in front of the door where cupboards and a fridge were located, a small square space with a dining set at the middle, a small bookshelf near the wall right under the air conditioner, and of course, our wonderful work area where new computers were already installed in our very own cubicles. Wow! That really amazed us. We had our own cubicles!

Anyway, all of us were very agitated to start working and it was only been a week when a strange thing happened.

It was during a rainy, or rather, a stormy night when something very unusual happened. There was a storm coming up and it was raining really hard. We could hear the loud clap of thunder and the splatter of rain on our windows inside our office. I thought the thunder would go into my headset and electrocute me. I was fortunate enough that it didn't happen.

During the storm, our lights flickered out but it went on after a few seconds. We thought it was because of the storm so we didn't mind it. However, when the rain stopped, it happened again. But this time, it took longer before the power came on. All the computers were making those irritating beeping sounds which caused us to panic. Several of my colleagues were very concerned about their work because they weren't able to save it before the lights went out. So, my boss told us that she's going downstairs to check it out and ask the guard what happened when, all of a sudden, the lights turned on and the computers were buzzing softly now.

Two of my colleagues, who were scared of ghosts, remarked, "Maybe there's someone in this room that we don't know."

Everybody stood still but dismissed the idea. A ghost? No way, Jose! Everyone just laughed and ignored whatever that was said.

Two days after the mysterious light incident, another event occurred and this time it involved the dining table at our small area. It was lunch time and April wanted to eat lunch by herself. She was preparing her things and food when she heard a loud bang coming from that area; as if somebody lifted the table and dropped it. She looked around. Nobody in the office heard it except her. I do remember that they were five inside. This really shook her up. Instead of eating at the dining area, she preferred to eat her lunch in the cubicle. She didn’t ever mention it to anyone else.

Monday night, a week after the two incidents. Everybody wase doing their usual stuff at the office when we heard an ear-piercing shriek coming from outside. The door suddenly opened and saw Jean breathing heavily. She looked really frightened and she was very pale. My boss assisted her, let her sat on a chair in the dining area and asked what happened. She said she was walking in the corridor when she sensed that someone was walking along and staring at her. She looked around and saw a young girl with long straight black hair and a pale face looking straight at her from the mirror! Nobody moved or even spoke. We were all stunned by her tale. We didn't know whether to believe her or not. But she looked really scared and she was shaking. Whatever it was, I’d decided to "investigate" about it. That night, nobody was able to work properly.

The next day, as I was climbing up the stairs towards our office, I felt my hair from my body stood up. It really freaked me out and I remembered Jean's story. Curious and scared at the same time, I turned around and found myself looking at the same girl that she was telling about. A beautiful girl with long black hair and I felt her big brown eyes staring right through me. I was so stunned that I couldn't move my feet!

As I continued to stare at her, she opened her mouth and she was trying to reach me through the mirror. The scene frightened me and I suddenly sprinted into the office. Catching my breath and still holding the door open, I looked back and wondered if what I saw was real.