Invitation Card

October 10th, Thursday.

Catherine sat frozen on her scooter, staring blankly at the skyscraper in front of her.

Yes, skyscraper.

The original two-storey building that had been here up until just yesterday was now gone without a trace, with this dubiously modern skyscraper appearing in its place.

Unable to believe her eyes, Catherine pulled up the GPS application on her phone to confirm her current location once again.

There was no mistake; she was at the right place.

Naturally so, too.

She had been coming here every morning for the past couple months, so how could she have gotten it wrong?

But if she was at the right place, then were her eyes playing tricks on her now?

Or had she not woken up yet, and was actually still in bed while dreaming of work?

This situation was so absurd that Catherine was even considering the latter to be a serious possibility.

Catherine took a good look around her. But as expected, it was too early for there to be anyone on the streets. This naturally meant that there was no one she could ask.

A helpless sigh escaped her lips, though there was a hint of frustration mixed within as well.

It was her job to deliver bottles of fresh milk to the neighbourhood houses every morning. But even though the address was the same, was she really supposed to bring the milk bottles into this office building?

Would Mr Nolan even be there to receive the milk from her in the first place?

And should he not be there, who and where was she supposed to deliver the milk to then?

Ah, whatever!

If she hesitated anymore, she would really end up delaying her entire delivery schedule!

Catherine parked her scooter by the roadside, then took out two bottles of milk from the rear storage and put them into her messenger bag. After taking a deep breath to steel her resolve, she finally started making her way towards the unfamiliar skyscraper.

The front door slid open automatically and the nervous Catherine stepped right in, only to be greeted with a rather pleasant scene that even served to calm her down a little.

The interior of the office building looked elegant and classy, a matching design against its sleek exterior.

The front lobby was wide and spacious, with crystal ornaments hanging from the high ceiling. As the light passed through them, it inevitably resulted in beautiful rays of multi-coloured lights being cast across the entire lobby.

Near the centre of the front lobby was a reception table with a shiny black surface, designed in such a way that looked as though the table was a 3D extension of the black marble flooring.

"Welcome to the Orchid Corporation," the male receptionist greeted her with a friendly smile. "What may I do for you?"

"Hi…" Catherine approached hesitantly. "This might sound a little strange, but I'm looking for a Mr Nolan. May I know if he is here?"

With no better idea in mind, Catherine could only name the owner of the old two-storey house, who had always greeted her with a smile no less radiant than that of the male receptionist.

"Mr Nolan?" the male receptionist's eyebrows creased a little as he rubbed his chin in contemplation. "Perhaps you would like to check the name again? I don't believe there is such a person in our company."

"Yeah, he isn't here, is he? I thought as much..." Catherine forced an awkward smile before showing her phone screen to the male receptionist. "Can I just check if I am at the right place? I am supposed to deliver milk to Mr Nolan at this address, but it seems like I might have gotten it wrong somehow. Do you know how I can get there from here?"

After taking a look at her phone, the male receptionist blinked blankly before looking at Catherine in confusion. "You... hold on, I just remembered someone who might be who you are looking for. Please take a seat while I do a quick check."

"Eh? Okay, sure..." Catherine was surprised by the receptionist's sudden change, but decided that there was no harm in waiting a little.

As instructed, she took a seat on the sofa by the side and patiently waited. Even though the current situation was rather strange to say the least, it would not be too bad if Mr Nolan were here.

That way, she could at least get this job over and done with, then continue with the rest of the deliveries. When she had more time later, she could always come back here to clarify things.

It did not take long before a familiar face appeared in the front lobby.

"Mr Nolan!" Catherine exclaimed in surprise as she rushed up to the man.

Mr Nolan was a man who looked to be in his fifties, with a thin stubble and short brown hair that was greying at the temples.

He would usually be dressed in a set of casual t-shirt and shorts when Catherine visited him at his house, much unlike the fine black suit that he was donning right now. However, Catherine did not even notice that.

Due to how strange the situation was right now, all she felt was genuine relief in her heart when she finally saw the familiar face.

"Here is your milk!" Catherine took out the two milk bottles from her bag and handed them over excitedly.

"Catherine?" Mr Nolan spoke in his usual English accent as he received the milk bottles, though his face showed an expression of utter astonishment. "Ah, yes, thank you..."

"See you again tomorrow!" Catherine closed her bag in satisfaction as she prepared to leave.

Now that she was finally done here, it was time to move on to the next house.

"Hold on, is this it?" Mr Nolan asked in confusion. "Are you really here just to pass me these milk bottles?"

"Is there something else?" Catherine's smile froze. "Did you order more items today?"

She thought that she had already checked the orders properly, but did she actually make a mistake?

This is bad... she would never be able to make it in time for the other deliveries if she had to go all the way back to the shop to collect more items!

Seeing the worried look on Catherine's face, Mr Nolan turned his gaze towards Catherine's bag. With that, the look of confusion on his face immediately eased into one of composure.

"Don't panic, girl," Mr Nolan said. "Why don't you take another look in your bag?"

"My bag?" Catherine shook her head. "I only put the two milk bottles inside, so there is no way the rest of your order would be in there."

"Just take a look," Mr Nolan said with a knowing smile.

"But there's nothing else in there," Catherine sighed.

"Just check it!" Mr Nolan seemed to be getting slightly impatient.

"Okay, okay. You don't have to be that fierce..." Catherine muttered under her breath while reluctantly opening up her bag.

Deep in her heart, she already knew that there was no way she would be able to find the rest of the order.

She did not know why Mr Nolan was being so pushy. But since he was this insistent on it, there was no harm in going through the motion just to appease him a little.

Or at least, that was what she initially thought.

However, what she saw next caused her eyes to light up in absolute astonishment.

No, she did not find any more milk bottles in her bag.

Instead, she found a strange envelope that was giving off a dim green light.

"This..." Catherine took out the envelope and examined it closely. Unfortunately, there was nothing written on the envelope that could provide any hints about its origin.

Catherine recalled how this envelope had come into her possession.

When she was leaving home this morning, Catherine had found this envelope lying outside her door. Since she was already running late for work, she simply chucked it into her bag without a second thought.

She had intended to take a look at it after she was done with her deliveries, but why was it suddenly glowing?

Catherine was sure that when she was putting the two bottles into her bag earlier, the envelope still looked just like any other normal envelopes!

"Why don't you open it and take a look?" Mr Nolan asked with a smile.

Catherine nodded.

Even without Mr Nolan telling her to, she would have opened it anyway.

After all, how could she not be curious about a random envelope suddenly glowing inside her bag?

Catherine gently opened up the envelope.

Only then did she realise that it was not the envelope that was glowing. Instead, it was the card within that was emitting a light that permeated through the thin material of the envelope itself.

Apart from its strange glowing property, the card's design was rather simple.

There was a lone orchid printed on the front cover, and only a few lines of text were written inside.

"Dear Esteemed Guest, we would like to invite you to the annual Orchid Exhibition. Please bring along this card as a proof of invitation. The details of the event are as follows…" Catherine read out the contents of the card.

Is there going to be an orchid exhibition in the city?

And to think that they would add such special lights to their invitation cards, the orchid exhibitions nowadays sure are fancy!

Wait a minute, the address stated on the card...

Isn't it this place?

With a quick snap of his wrist, Mr Nolan took the invitation card from her hands.

"As I thought, you have the invitation card," Mr Nolan said with a smile. "This gives you the right to enter the Orchid Exhibition!"

"Eh?" Catherine exclaimed in surprise. "I'm sorry, Mr Nolan. Actually, this is someone else's invitation card. I found it at my doorstep earlier, so the owner probably dropped it accidentally."

"Since it has ended up in your hands, it naturally belongs to you," Mr Nolan said with a smile. "Well then, follow me in. I shall bring you into the Orchid Exhibition."

Mr Nolan turned around, ready to lead the way deeper into the building.

"Eh? Wait a minute, Mr Nolan! Erm... I'm sorry, but I don't think I will be going to the exhibition," Catherine stood right where she was. "I still have deliveries to make. So, if your order is complete, I would have to get going now."

From the looks of it, Mr Nolan had not ordered anything apart from the two milk bottles.

Since that was the case, Catherine was certainly more interested in completing the rest of her deliveries than visiting a flower exhibition. Then again, even if she was not in a rush, she would not be interested in visiting a flower exhibition anyway!

"Hmm?" Mr Nolan was caught by surprise by Catherine's reaction. "Weren't you fascinated by the invitation letter just now? Considering that, aren't you curious about what the actual exhibition itself has to offer?"

"I might be curious, but I still have a schedule to meet. If I don't complete my deliveries on time..." Catherine's voice trailed off halfway because an impossible matter was now happening right before her very eyes.

After Mr Nolan waved his hands lightly, the invitation card in his hands suddenly floated up and started hovering in mid-air.

"How is it? Are you interested in following me in now?" Mr Nolan said with a smile when he saw the look of awe on Catherine's face.

Catherine's eyes were shining brightly, her gaze constantly moving between the floating envelope and Mr Nolan.

A magic trick!

Since young, Catherine had always been fascinated by magic tricks, so what Mr Nolan just did had indeed piqued her interest.

However, why did this situation feel so familiar?

Right, it was exactly the same modus operandi mentioned in police awareness campaigns, specifically those that warned the public about tricks used by kidnappers to lure kids away!

How could she, an 18-year-old junior college student, ever fall for such a cheap trick?

And even if this was not a trick but a genuine invitation, that would not change the fact that she still had several deliveries to make.

If she really went along with Mr Nolan to the flower exhibition, how would she ever be able to complete the rest of the deliveries on time?

It might just be a part-time job, but it's a job nevertheless. Without it, she would never be able to pay her bills.

No matter how interested she was, she needed to hold back.

Hold back!

As a young adult, she had to keep her priorities straight!

"I'm sorry, Mr Nolan. I- wha?!"

Perhaps realising that Catherine was about to reject him again, Mr Nolan finally lost his patience.

Before she could even finish her sentence, he had already stepped forward to grab her by the arm, dragging her along as he headed straight for the elevator.

"Just come with me already!" Mr Nolan said impatiently while trudging forward with Catherine in tow. "You have already come all the way here with the invitation card, so why are you still pretending to be reluctant? There's still somewhere else that I need to be, so I don't have all day to waste here with you!"