"I'm sorry. How did I not know this place existed?" I smacked my friend Maggie on the arm in amazement.

The moment we walked in I was greeted with the sense of familiarity. It smelled similar to that of an old library with aging books. Immediately upon walking in, we were graced room with a grand master staircase crafted with a beautiful rich redwood. It winded in both the left and right to meet in the middle, a singular and beautiful focal point of the room. I turned in circles looking at the rest in awe. I couldn't imagine, considering the level of artistry, how long this entire room had taken to build and craft.

"I knew you would love it. I walked past this place the other day. I can't believe I'd never seen it before." Maggie replied.

"This, this is a museum?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes, Evelyn. It is. Why is that so hard to process? There are dozens in New York we haven't visited."

"That you haven't visited maybe." I corrected her as I bounded toward the staircase.

Running my hands along the smoothly finished banister, the staircase creaked loudly beneath me. I grinned wholeheartedly.

"Do you hear that? This place is stunning, absolutely stunning."

"You are ridiculous," Maggie responded while shaking her head at me in disapproval.

"What? I'm an architect. This is my life. This is my thing. This is my love."

"Old rotting wood is your love?"

"He's not rotting." I sighed emphatically while leaning my head against it. "He's polished, handsome, and will never leave me. How can I look for anyone better?"

Our friendly banter ended abruptly at the sound of padding footsteps approaching quickly above us. Almost instantaneously a man appeared with a furrowed brow. He was medium height with a stocky build. His bald head paired perfectly with his serious expressionless face.

"I assume you both are here for the 4:30 tour." He said standing at the top of the staircase.

Both Maggie and I turned to look at one another, caught off guard by his abrupt manner.

"Yes," Maggie began to respond but was caught off promptly.

"Very good. Follow me." He turned and walked back toward the direction he had come from. It hardly gave Maggie and I the chance to process what had happened.

"Come along." His voice echoed throughout the large lobby area. It was if he could see we didn't know what to do."

Maggie scurried up the wood structure tugging me by my arm, "If he murders us, I blame you and your damn love of wood."

"This is 50/50, Mags. You brought us here." I whispered harshly.

At the top, we found him waiting for us, clearly impatient for this to be over when it hadn't even started. He moved quickly in front of us, with no intent on stopping for introductions.

"I'm sorry. Shouldn't we wait for other people?" I suggested breathily, trying to keep pace with him.

"No, there will be no others. Just you two."

I felt my face tighten in disapproval as he continued walking down the long hallway in front of us toward yet another staircase. He was giving me no time to look at the artifacts we walked by nonchalantly nor the time to appreciate the layout or craftsmanship of the place. But, I did have time to process what he was wearing. Rather than shoes, jeans, shirts, or jackets like Maggie and me, he was wearing something decidedly more traditional. At least, traditional for the Eastern part of the world, hundreds of years ago. His dark woven robe wrapped around his body tightly matching his tights and moccasin-like shoes.

"What are you wearing?" The question flew out of my mouth effortlessly.

He stopped and turned halfway to face me as soon as the insult had been inserted into the air. I cursed myself silently and wished I could take it back.

"I am so terribly sorry." I stammered. Touching his arm in an apologetic motion, I felt him tense under my touch.

"Please forgive me that was so rude. I'm Evelyn and this is Maggie." Letting go of his arm, I extended mine once more but this time to shake his hand. It was the most formal situation I had been apart of in years if not ever.

I continued, "This place is absolutely stunning, will you please tell me all about it? Why haven't I seen this advertised or listed along with the MET or History Museum? There's no reason it shouldn't be filled with people all the time."

His face and body relaxed the longer I continued to speak and spurt out question after question. He sighed thoughtfully before taking my hand and responding, "My name is Wong. Follow me this way, please."

We began our journey once again. The room we entered this time was filled with many objects in glass cases. The ones that weren't were hanging on the wall, not out of reach but definitely too intimidating for one to touch. I was afraid to even move in fear of hitting anything.

"There are many relics in this room. Some are believed to have ancient powers beyond our capability or understanding. They are apart of a private collection owned by someone who wants others to see them but has no desire for it to be so infested with people that the objects are broken, stolen, or worse. That is why you will not find us in any guidebook to the city. My clothes are too reflect the time and area of the world in which we believe these priceless artifacts to have been made."

I heard his speech, I truly did. I didn't know why he used words like infested or insinuated that something could have been 'worse' than these items being stolen but I couldn't concentrate on whatever else he was telling the two of us.

Standing before me was an architectural marvel. To be fair, I could see the glass window from outside when we walked in but it was much more impressive in person. It had to be at least 20 feet tall and ten feet wide. It was an imperfectly perfect circle, with strips of wood curving throughout it's middle to meet the outer lines. The view from it was spectacular, you could see the larger part of Manhattan standing in front of it.

"I'm sorry, she does this with certain things. We can continue on without her. She might need a moment alone with it." I heard Maggie making mocking excuses for me to the stoic Wong.

"I love it here," I said barely above a whisper.

I turned to find Maggie rolling her eyes at me and Wong possessing what seemed to be a nano-second of a sly smile.

Unfortunately for me, he pressed on with the tour, without giving me much time to linger on my newfound favorite hideaway. The next twenty-five minutes were filled with factoids about what looked to be ancient torture devices, weapons, chalices, idols, and anything else one could imagine.

He led us out with haste, giving me only a moment to thank him and shake my hand once more. We dropped money in a box by the staircase as a donation although I didn't recall seeing it there previously.

As soon as the door shut behind us, Maggie gasped for air.

"I think I was holding my breath for that entire tour. That might have been one of the most socially awkward experiences of my life. Could you have made it any worse with your ogling of inanimate objects?

"Damn." I cursed loudly searching through my pockets vigorously.

"My keys, I think I dropped my keys in that place. I'd better go back in before he locks it up for the night. I didn't see a phone anywhere."

Maggie's eyes narrowed, "You're going to look at that window, that dumb piece of glass."

"Maggie, I will be so quick. Just give me fifteen minutes." I begged, grabbing her roughly by the shoulders.

"Ten. If you take any longer and you're caught, they will never let you back in. That guy will have no problem getting rid of you I'm sure."

"Me and Wong? No. We are good. We are best friends, you'll see."

I rushed back inside despite Maggie's complaints as I left her standing on the street. The lobby was once again empty, no sign of Wong. The odds were in my favor. I attempted to take each step quietly and cooly even though it's noises would have given me away had anyone been nearby. It was completely quiet as I moved through the long corridor and up the second staircase to the grand window.

"Wong, we're done." My heart stopped beating at the sound of another man's voice.

"The last master of this sanctum thought it was a good idea to remain open to the public. As did the Ancient One. It makes us look less obvious. No one will notice us if we look like we have nothing to hide."

I reached for the keys in my jacket pocket, holding on to them thoughtfully for a solid excuse if I was caught. Edging up the stairs, I stopped as I saw Wong. The other man had his back turned to me. All I could see was a deep crimson cape flowing behind him. What the hell was this?

"We do have something to hide, Wong. I'm sure there's a spell that can accomplish the same." He retorted.

"Strange, you are the Master of this sanctum. You do as you wish."

"You think I'm wrong?" His voice conveyed more judgment than thoughtful consideration of Wong's thoughts on the matter.

Wong said nothing.

"Fine. All the same, what should we do with this money from today, hmm? Dinner on everyone else?" I watched as the man waved the small box around containing the cash that had been donated just minutes ago.

Again, silence from Wong.

"Oh come on. I will make you laugh again, Wong. You'll see." Just like that the box disappeared from view, not from him concealing it. It was just gone. It magically disappeared. My mouth dropped open. I covered it quickly to make sure I didn't make any noise. It was time to leave.

I escaped back the way I came. I didn't understand what I just seen or rather, not seen. One moment the box was there and the next it was gone. I could feel my breathing intensifying and my chest heaving in trying to rationalize what had just happened. The beautiful staircase came into view quickly as did the ground. Suddenly my body jolted forward. I hadn't tripped. The wood felt like it had shifted under my weight and I was propelled toward it so fast I didn't have time to reach for the banister to steady myself. My center of gravity was gone and I was about to roll down the staircase I loved so much. Without a moment too soon, I felt a tight grip form on my arm stopping me from the collision.

I was pulled upward to meet the face of the man I had seen upstairs talking about things and doing things I didn't comprehend. He had no cape this time and was dressed similarity too Wong. He had a distinct look about him. Not unpleasant by far. His hair was dark with grey in patches at the sides and his chiseled face serious and annoyed. He had a steady grip on both of my arms now. I couldn't have been held much closer to him.

"What are you doing here?" His voice was low and taut.

"I was here for the tour," I said nervously.

"We're closed." He said it so simply but there was something else. I watched his dark eyes analyze me up and down. It wasn't in a desirable way but it was evidently clear he was searching for something.

"How did you," I stopped immediately. I wanted to ask how he had gotten to me so quickly. I had been so edgy that I had looked several times behind me when heading back to the doors. Not to mention, I wanted to know where that stupid box of money had disappeared too but I thought better of it.

"I'm sorry." I feigned an apology. Taking a deep breath to relax my body under his strong grip I started again, "You scared me, I dropped my keys earlier. I just wanted to come back in and get them."

"The ones that are in your hand now?" He didn't need to smirk at his pointed question but he did.

"Yes," I raised my hand slowly between the two of us, giving my keys a lighthearted jingle, "found them."

His grip loosened on me slightly. As fast as I could, I moved away from him and to the door. He stood on the steps looking at me curiously.

"Beautiful place." I gestured with a sweep of my hands. "You're very lucky to work here."

I saw the faintest hint of a smile, similar to Wong before I was out the door and gone. Maggie was there to greet me as expected. I paused looking right through her, still attempting to let my brain process what had happened.

"Evie? What's wrong?" Maggie's demeanor instantly changed from jovial to concern.

I pushed past her and kept walking taking only a moment to glance up at the window. I felt like all the air had been kicked out of me as my eyes met the man who was holding me seconds before. I broke our gaze, staring at my street and the welcoming sounds of cars, people, and protests of Maggie behind me.