NADINE SINGH
"Congratulations, Ms. Singh, the project has been approved."
I stared at Dominic, the director of my department, not believing my ears. I just stood there like a statute, unmoving.
"Come on, Nadine," Dominic chuckled as he moved closer to me, "are you in that much shock? You're not even responding."
Around me, I could hear the rest of the teammates hollering and screaming and clapping in excitement while I just remained frozen.
What?
The project has been approved?
That was my aim; that was the end game, I've prayed for this, cried for this, all the sleepless nights of planning and planning and sketching and coming up with the modern city plan that the forest at the outskirts of the town was going to convert to, all the rejections and everything and finally, the project has been approved?
The project has finally been approved?
God! It felt like a dream and that was why I wasn't shouting or bringing down the roof right now because what if I start screaming in excitement only to wake up and realize that it's just a dream?
"Nah, this is epic," I heard Dominic's teasing voice close to my ears, "I've never seen Nadine this quiet and flustered before, can someone take a picture? We need to immortalize this moment."
Almost immediately, I heard snapshots and the flashes of the camera almost blinded me. That was what jolted me out of my reverie, what made me scream excitedly when I realized that this wasn't a dream.
It wasn't a dream at all!
My lifelong dream was finally going to come true.
"Oh my God! Oh my God!" I was hyperventilating because the happiness within me couldn't be contained.
I was too happy.
I was ridiculously happy.
"Yeah, you did it, Nadine, I'm so proud of you," Dominic praised as he pulled me in for a hug and the others started coming around and hugging me while congratulations keeps ringing from every corner of the room.
"Thank you so much guys," I told the team of seven, "this isn't about me alone, we all made it happen, we all worked hard for this, this win is possible because of all of us so congratulations to us all."
"Yaaaaahh," they all screamed excitedly as they hugged each other and the guys fist-pumped each other. I could see the glee and happiness on their faces which just mirrored mine.
I was too happy.
The development of Eden City started as far back as when I was in High School. The huge, almost useless forest on the outskirts of Crescent Valley had always called out to me whenever the school bus passed in front of it and instead of seeing the thick forest, the huge trees and all, I could always see a city, a very big and modern city with high skyscrapers, beautiful buildings, shopping malls, gardens and in general, the finest city we could have in Crescent Valley.
It never made sense to me why that forest was allowed to be when it could easily be converted into a modern city that'd depopularize the rest of Crescent Valley and also bring a lot of investors to Crescent Valley from all walks of life.
That was when I started planning, when I started plotting and drafting and drawing what I wanted the city to look like.
I've been at it since I was sixteen and now, 8 years later, I've redesigned the city and all but the architectural structures never changed. The initial plan that came to my head the first time I thought about the city 8 years ago was still the one in my head.
Strangely, I've never been able to think of a better plan, of the city looking better than it did in that first plan.
The plan for Eden City was what made me study architecture with a minor in estate development in college because I just knew that I had to make it into a reality no matter what it takes.
It did take a lot because from the minute I started working in Andron Homes, the best real estate development company in Crescent Valley, I've started pitching the idea of Eden City to my superiors but they always turned it down.
It never made sense to me why they wouldn't want to develop Eden City because it was the best thing that'd ever happen to Crescent Valley and I wasn't even joking.
It was going to be an Ultra-Modern City and it was going to put us on the global map as the best city ever but they just kept rejecting it, no matter how much I fleshened out my proposal and made it more beautiful, they always reject it.
There were lots of times when Dominic, my direct boss would advise me to just give it up and focus on more feasible projects but Eden City was so dear to me that I couldn't give it up, it was inconceivable for me to let go of my childhood dreams just like that.
So I just continued to work on it, to develop it more.