Enigma (noun): a person or thing that is mysterious, or difficult to understand

The new assistant arrived at the research department several weeks ago, his appearance quiet and elegant. He was stationed to work under Lab Lune, the building across the street of Lab Soleil.

She had been researching at Lab Soleil for years. The two labs had been neck-to-neck against each other since the dawn of time, and she knew full well that he was one of their competitors.

Even the world of scientific research obeyed natural selection.

She’d spoken to him several times, a few times during department meetings and once at the local grocery store. Despite being from opposite labs, the two began enjoying their daily coffee breaks more and more. There was something about his patient brown eyes that relaxed her nerves.

However, she soon realized that she knew next to nothing about him. She’d been spilling her life stories to him, and she knew that he was… interested in Roman mythology. That’s all.

She had no clue what went on in his head.

Until today, when he asked her to meet him in the shadows between the two lab buildings, quietly handing her a rose with a note attached.

Unter der Rose.

Under the rose? What in the world could he mean?