02
Author: Meybulansafitrii
last update Last Updated: 2024-10-29 19:42:56

Resa sat on the bed with pain. He tried to take off the shirt which had a bloodstain on the shoulder. A lot of blood was still flowing, making his skin also have blood stains that were still wet and those that were dry.

He tried to clean the blood with a cloth that he had given a little water to. It hurt so badly, but Resa held it so Regina wouldn't hear him groans. He was afraid that the little girl would force him to go see a doctor in the emergency room to get the right treatment.

"Older brother?"

That small, hoarse voice made Resa turn around, he saw Regina standing in the doorway with puffy eyes. Her eyes radiated deep sadness. Resa gave a smile while gesturing with his hand for Regina to come closer.

"Why don't you want to go see a doctor?" Regina looked sadly at Resa's blood-stained shoulder, she took over the wet cloth and began to slowly help clean the blood stains.

"It's not a problem I don't want to or I want to see a doctor, Regina," Resa said quietly.

"Then what's the problem?"

"We don't have enough money to go. Mother is struggling to sell rice and donuts in various places. The money we get is only enough to pay for school, household needs, and food expenses for a month. We don't have money to go the hospital," said Resa. His gentle voice made Regina sober, and sad again because she just found out how poor she was.

Resa also knows they are poor, even very poor. But he is very grateful to God because he is still given the opportunity to laugh with his beloved sister and his own mother. He is grateful because he can still see the sun even though his family's economy is mediocre. It looks sad, but that's only how it looks because not everyone feels the suffering and happiness that he feels.

"If God gave us a choice, would you want to live like this?" Regina asked after being silent for a few moments.

"I will choose this family without a father, only the father needs to be removed. You, Mother, and poverty are unnecessary because I believe that effort will never betray results."

"But results often betray effort." Her expression was so flat, but did not sound annoyed when she spoke. Regina took a bandage, wrapped Resa's shoulder with a white bandage so that blood would no longer come out.

Resa could only chuckle, he confirmed Regina's words just now. "You're right, but we need action more than once, Regina. The effort that must be expended must be a lot, we must exert all our energy and time in order to get the appropriate results. You can't blame the effort or the time, and with God who don't think it's fair."

Regina was silent again, now there was nothing more she could do after tying Resa's shoulder with a bandage. She started to sit down when Resa started wearing new clothes that were cleaner, and smelled good. The boy gave a sweet smile after ruffling Regina's head.

"You're not going to sleep tonight?" Resa asked finally.

faul

"I don't feel like sleeping, but tomorrow I have to go to school because I have a test. What would you do tomorrow if you were me?" this time Regina looked at her interlocutor, she still gave that flat expression.

Resa was a little surprised at his sister because she hadn't smiled since earlier. He missed Regina's sweet smile, and to be honest he would rather see that smile than see his sister's sad face with puffy eyes. It hurt, but none of this was his fault.

"What do you think, Regina?" Resa hugged Regina slowly, patting the little girl's back with a smile that Regina couldn't see. "Why do you like to think about something that won't happen? Wishing is fine, but never tell someone else to choose."

"So what?"

"Not everyone thinks the same as you do. You'll feel hurt later because they don't match your wishes, and you'll feel like no one understands you."

Regina gulped, she just realized that. She also just realized that deep down, she wants Resa to choose what she chooses. Even though she didn't know whether Resa knew what her choice was or not. "I'm sorry. I was never aware of that part, I should have been more mature after everything that happened."

"One always grows in a different way. You will grow up to be a beautiful, smart girl one day. Patience is the right way so that your growth is neither slow nor too fast." Resa let go of his hold, the corners of his lips were still pulled up so that a row of teeth were now visible. He tucked Regina's long hair behind her ear, and then said, "Go to sleep, give Mother a warm hug!"

"I'll do it, good night to you, Dude."

"Good night, Regina."

****

Silva entered the kitchen playing with her cellphone, she was too focused on the device so she tripped over the dining table when she was about to sit down. Tengku – Silva's father, who was busy reading the newspaper, chuckled behind the width of the morning newspaper.

"Silva, did you play the piano last night?" Sofi asked after placing the boiled vegetables and the pecel sauce on the dining table.

Silva buried her lips as Sofi went to get some water. She had a bad feeling now, she was sure there would be a small showdown as usual.

"Why play the piano in the middle of the night?" Sofi asked again, this time sitting next to her husband. She looked at Silva without smiling, as if her daughter was annoying. "You don't understand or never knew that we all go to bed at ten in the evening?"

"Sorry, Mom," Silva said quietly, she was too scared to meet Sofi's scary eyes.

"Another bad dream, honey?" Tengku folded his morning newspaper into a fairly small section, then looked at Silva with a faint smile. "What dream again, Silva?"

"Another ghost dream?" Sofia added. Her eyebrows are quite deep together.

Silva shook her head quickly with an expression of disapproval. "No, there wasn't a ghost last night. I dreamed that I was chased by someone in the forest, but... it's like there's a spirit too."

Sofi, and Tengku sighed heavily while looking at Silva wearily. They both always feel worried about the state of the daughter, especially at bedtime. It's not only once that Silva has had to wake up early in the midnight because of nightmares. Or because she's been disturbed by spirits, this isn't the first time, but the umpteenth time. They also performed several exorcisms without Silva knowing.

However, unfortunately there was no result for their efforts. Exorcism never works, Silva still has dreams and disturbances from other realms. Sleeping pills from doctors never managed to make their daughter sleep soundly, sleeping only four hours at most. Then she returned to guard until morning, until her eyes turned black. Luckily it's not so obvious after wearing makeup.

"Silva, I have an acquaintance who can help you, so you don't have that ability anymore," Sofi said confidently. There was no word of giving up in her life since long ago.

"What are you doing, Mom?" Silva frowned in confusion.

"So that you don't see ghosts and have nightmares again, honey," Tengku replied, his tone so low that the daughter would not get annoyed with their plan.

"I've never felt that this ability that God gave me is a burden, Mom, Dad. I've never felt like that, instead I'm happy that I can help the ghosts, I can even know their dark stories."

Sofi and Tengku were silent without ever touching their breakfast, not even Silva. The girl's appetite had disappeared ever since her mother mentioned the piano. No, she didn't hate her parents who were always worried, but she didn't like the way Sofi and Tengku saw spirits asking for help. In their eyes the spirits are always disturbing, even though they are not.

They came while giving sad stories that must be heard after telling God. Asking for help so they can return to the afterlife because the human world is not their eternal home.

"You forgot that you were bullied just because you talked to a ghost in class?" Tengku spoke again with a flat expression. "Mom and Dad don't want that incident to happen again, Silva."

"Dad and Mom want the best, but now I've never talked to them openly. Dad and Mom don't need to worry about me, I'm an adult now. I'm old enough to protect myself."

"No, I'm not sure you can do that. You're still too small for such big things, Silva. Please listen to Mom and Dad just once!" answer Sofi.

Silva sighed heavily, she didn't know what to say to Sofi and Tengku anymore. Neither of them wanted to hear anything, not even to believe. Even though so far Silva has been fine, never had a long fever like before.

Not wanting to argue any longer, Silva chose to enjoy his breakfast which had been cold for a long time. Even her chocolate milk is cold, even though she likes hot milk in the morning before starting her daily activities. "The peanut sauce is delicious," said Silva, trying to lighten the mood.

"What are you going to do at school, honey?" Tengku gulped down the nearly finished black coffee slowly so the dregs wouldn't be swallowed up too.

"Later there will only be classes like usual, later there will also be a piano class after the last class. I think I'll be going home later in the evening if there's no extra hours anyway."

Sofi smiled happily at Silva's enthusiastic explanation. She added tempeh to Silva's plate, and said, "Eat a lot of it so you have a lot of energy when you practice the piano."

"Mom and Dad also used to like to eat a lot?"

"Of course, Dad eats all the food in large portions. To the extent that grandma tells Dad to diet even though Dad isn't really fat."

"How much did Dad really weigh until Grandma told you to go on a diet? I don't think you have ever gotten fat."

Tengku laughed out loud at Silva's question just now. He remembered again how big he used to be, even he was embarrassed to tell now. He shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment. "Dad was really fat when i was in elementary school, but i didn't know how much my weighed. But i played basketball so i was slim."

"Wow!" Silva was amazed, she even gave applause to her father. Exercising made her father's body much better, even now. His age which is no longer young does not make him look old, in fact he looks younger. "What is the main key to staying young?"

"If you eat vegetables and fruit, you can't be late, drinking lots of mineral water is also the main key."

"But you can't miss sports either," said Tengku.

"Uh, I'm even lazy. What if I don't stay as young as Dad and Mom?" Silva had a sad face, but her parents laughed at her expression.

"You are so cute Silva," Tengku said. "You are still very young, no need to be confused or afraid of getting old! Everyone will feel old at the right time. So now you better focus on health, focus on caring for your skin, focus on fun things!"

"The fun stuff?" Silva frowned in disbelief.

"Having a boyfriend and spending time with friends at school are fun activities. You won't be in high school anymore after graduation, enjoy your high school life before you regret it!"

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    The girl walked with a sense of turmoil, the uneasy feeling lingering until she stepped foot in the school. She felt annoyed at herself for not setting an alarm last night, and went to bed immediately after turning off the television. Tengku had done the same, even the man himself had told Silva to clean up the mess they had made in the morning. Breathing in slowly, her attention turned to the scene to the right, but the figure beside her startled Silva greatly. Fortunately, she did not scream, but the man burst out laughing. Tama had always been the most annoying person after Resa. "Good morning, Silva," Tama said, his laughter stopping as soon as he looked straight ahead again. "Did you stay up so late last night that you have bags under your eyes?""Yes, I woke up at noon, and mom scolded me.""Was it because you were chatting with Resa that you forgot to sleep?""Oh my gosh, why are you saying things that are unpleasant to hear? Of course it's not like that, I was watching the s

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    Taking sports scores as a plus for next month's written exam made Silva sigh heavily. She stood leaning against the wall of the gymnasium, today it was tennis that almost all the students in the class chose, while the other option was basketball. However, unfortunately many chose tennis just because it felt the same as playing badminton. Adi's voice echoed through the room only to call out to Silvana who had been daydreaming in place. The girl was stunned, and quickly went to her place after receiving the racket. Silva held her breath with a surprised expression when she saw Tono standing across as her opponent this time. This was like a nightmare for Silva, as Tono was not an even match for her.Tono was one of the smartest students in sports, especially basketball and volleyball. He was good at tennis, but the few times he participated in tennis competitions he never won, not even the runner-up. Even so he was the best for this sport after Zikra. "Just relax, Silva!" Tono said wit

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    "So... where is it?" "I don't know either, it's all full of weeds," replied an equally confused Resa. Both of them were still standing at the threshold of the tomb gate. The view in front of them was only weeds as tall as an adult's elbow, the tombstones were not clearly visible from a distance. The tombs here were not taken care of as they should be, but Resa thought they were not taken care of because no one paid someone specifically for that. As in other places, there must be a caretaker to clean all the graves, and guard the graves against thieves. There are rumors about the theft of pocong ropes, grave land, the bodies of virgins who have just died, and tombstones are often stolen because they are said to be sold at high prices, but for other stolen items, they are used as tools in order to gain power from magic. Many people want to live forever with unquantifiable wealth.Resa sighed heavily before finally looking at Silva who was still busy with her own thoughts beside Resa.

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    "I just fell when I did the second lap," Tere said, her eyes red with puddles that couldn't come out like a normal human. "I didn't know that guy, but he was so mean to me. I hate my stupid self, but I'll still die if I don't comply.""I didn't mean to make you sad, I'm sorry.""It's okay, I really have to tell you this so you won't be curious. I don't mind if you give this story to Silva later.""Oh, about Silva. She and I will go to the tomb, and try to clean up the place so you can feel comfortable." Resa looked both sad and happy now. "I'm not sure if this part will work or not, but it seems like the chances of getting home are slim. You have to turn positive first, and Silva said white lilies should be placed on the grave every day.""Why white lilies? I prefer sunflowers.""I don't know either, but I'll buy sunflowers for you too. I'll buy so many that the grave looks beautiful, and smells good."Tere smiled while wiping her tears that would never fall. She was happy to hear Res

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    The tall boy dried his wet hair with a white towel while standing in front of the mirror. From there he could see a woman in a shabby school uniform standing in the doorway. Tere's facial expression looked so sad, and Resa gave a warm smile when he turned his head as if everything would be fine with that smile. Tere felt uncomfortable, but he had to be brave to do the apology ceremony this morning. He quickly approached, and then sat on the edge of Resa's bed with a lot of guilt. She didn't know what else to do, so ashamed of Silva who she had made cry last night. "Last night was so scary," Tere finally said. The silence that the woman's spirit broke made Resa pause, and he remembered Silva. That beautiful girl who endured all her fear just to help Tere, but ended up crying for so long that her eyes were swollen. "I didn't mean to do any of that, I really didn't have any intentions. I didn't realize that I'd end up negative, and it's obvious that I'll never be able to go home easi

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    43

    Resa sighed deeply when he saw his house was so quiet. Guilt was clearly visible on his face, he came home at 12pm, and didn't give any news to the people at home. There was actually a sense of fear when he entered his house, but inevitably he had to face all the problems that existed, and listen to the scolding of his mother. It was okay for her to be naughty today, for the first time to be more precise. Previously, he never came home late, was always on time after school, and helped people at home do work that could be considered quite rough. Resa moved the curtains to cover the kitchen door, he saw Regina still busy in front of the stove to fry the donuts that had just finished rising perfectly. He smiled sweetly when Regina turned around, the little girl was happy to see Resa back home. "Where have you been?" asked Regina, moving from her spot to sit beside Resa now. "I had some sudden business earlier, I'm sorry I didn't give you any news. Where's mom?" Resa looked around the