DARK NOTE

Part 4's. Ghost of a Little Child

The next morning they woke up late, Adel did not have time for breakfast. Diandra entered the day shift, so there was still time to fill the stomach after dropping off Adel. Arriving at the school, the gate has begun to close, but thanks to the negotiation of Diandra and a homeroom teacher, Adel is allowed to enter and follow the flag ceremony that will soon begin.

"Ssttt ... Why is it late?" whispered Zahra next to Adel who snoshed.

"Wake bad luck. Later I'll tell you, deh," Adel replied while tidying up his slanted tie. Zahra held up her thumb.

Finishing the ceremony, Adel held his belly wrapped around it. No time for breakfast and sunbathed for 30 minutes made him almost fainted.

"No breakfast, huh? He ate my bread, hunted before the teacher came," said Zahra stuffed a packet of bread into Adel's grasp. The girl ate three bites.

"Drink .. ," he murmured. Zahra giggled, then gave her a box of chocolate milk.

"Alhamdulillah, full," said Adel smiling. "Thank you, Ra. Hehe,"

Adel followed the lesson calmly. He forgot about last night and focused on learning. This hour lesson knows the names of provinces in Indonesia. When the teacher said the island of Java, Adel's blood rippled. He remembered the Javanese script he had just learned. The message was ringing in his ears.

Suddenly the class was crowded. Strange whispers appeared, the air in the room was hot and stuffy. Adel circulated his gaze, all his friends were silent. Everyone listened to the teacher's explanation. Who was that whispering?

He turned to the corner of the room, on the empty back bench. That figure! The grim-faced little boy with a snare wound on his neck, looked at him blankly.

Adel turned. He did not want to look into his eyes as if asking for help. But now the figure was nearby, on the left facing directly into his ear.

'To .. long .. ka .. kakku, ' he whispered. Adel felt the cold blowing on the earlobe.

'Don't come any closer, ' muttered Adel almost shouting.

'To..long ... .' The figure drew his lips closer to black and dry. Adel felt like last night was going to happen again. He felt all the energy evaporate, shedding the joints in the body and suffocating the lungs.

"Don't ...!"

His body collapsed along with a loud cry that made the entire class rowdy. The teacher who was removing the blackboard immediately carried it to the UKS.

"Mom, let Zahra accompany Adel, yes," pinta Zahra was concerned.

"alright. You pack your things first, put your bags in. Then follow mom to the UKS."

Zahra wiped the sweat off Adel's forehead. UKS guards apply wind oil on the nape and back of his ears. Five minutes later there was a response, Adel rattled his lips.

"Del, Adel .. ," call Zahra. Adel opened his eyes in doubt.

"Why? Still laper, huh?" whisky Zahra.

Adel nodded slowly. He gave a view around the room.

"Thank God," he murmured. Zahra was confused.

"What's up, Del?" urge Zahra to be curious.

"Later on, wait for the UKS guards to come out" whispered Adel. Zahra knitted her brows.

"Well, you're conscious? Then go to the teacher's room first. Don't forget the tea is drunk" said the guard teacher of UKS. They nodded in unison.

Adel told Zahra to come closer. He whispered something.

"What's? So you can see that?" zahra shouted stuck. Adel nodded. But he didn't tell me when he started meeting the ghost of the little boy who was following him. Maybe not yet.

"My grandfather teacher njai. If you want, let's ask you why you can do it" Zahra asked.

"Yes, I'll tell Aunt Dian first if you want to play at your house. I'm gonna get picked up tonight just to get home from work. Scared at home" Adel complained. Zahra patted his back.

"But ... here how? Is there something?" Zahra circulated the view to the UKS room. Even under the bed he peeked curiously.

"Nothing is spooky" said Adel.

"Seriously?"

"Hmm, there's a mbak-mbak with a sad face. But he looks like a pale commoner. His eyes are on our classroom" said Adel Lirih.

"Where?" Zahra frowned while grasping the end of the bed sheet.

"Now behind you."

Zahra jumped into the bed where Adel was lying.

**

Diandra receives a message from his mother Zahra, Adel will be there until he gets home from work. He breathed a sigh of relief, because since then it was Adel's mind if he had to wait for him to come home from work alone.

"Why, Di?" Sekar scattered his daydream.

"It's okay. My niece wants to play with her friend's house. Well, I'm sorry actually that gini work, he's often at home alone."

"But you're great, loh. Can ngasuh that little child while working," praise Sekar. Diandra smiled wryly.

"How else do you want? I'm the only family. And I only have her."

They are again busy serving buyers who queue endlessly. The only self-service in the city is always crowded. In addition to providing wholesale prices, there is a fairly wide children's playground. Diandra immediately comfortable when first accepted work there.

As the queue subsided, Diandra tidied up the money in the drawer. And now do the same.

"In, I'm a money taker five thousand dong." Now I hold out two red sheets.

"In the meantime" said Diandra counting the sum of five thousand as many as forty pieces. "There are only one hundred and fifty thousand" he continued.

"It's okay."

While receiving money from Sekar, Diandra saw the girl's hand hurt. Some are in plaster.

"Why hands?"

"Ah, just got the scissors," said Sekar who immediately pulled his hand and did another activity.

"Ear?" mummy Diandra astonished.

"Mbak .. I want to pay," said a voice from the queue. Diandra immediately grabbed a box of cereal, milk and some bread packs and scanned them.

"The total is sixty-five thousand. Uh, Sandra?"

The girl was surprised. He also realized that the cashier was the person who had come to his house at that time.

"Ah, yes. Ma'am works here?"

"Yes. You're not in school?" Diandra observed Sandra's clothes wearing only a jacket, jeans and a black hood.

"No. I was about to move to my grandmother's house in Jakarta" Sandra replied while counting the change.

"Loh, you want to move? Why?"

Sandra did not answer, but she gave him a phone number that she hastily wrote down on a piece of paper.

"That's my number. Maybe your nephew needs it."

He had gone in a mask before. Diandra looked at the girl in surprise.

The house of Zahra.

Zahra drove his bike in a hurry, in addition to the still hot sun he also impatient to meet his grandfather.

Passing through a cherry tree, Zahra stopped her bike. He heard someone calling.

"Grandfather?"

"Where are you going? Riding a bike while daydreaming, if hit by people how?" reprimand a man while packing.

"It just so happens that Zahra wants to see Grandpa" said the girl while holding Adel.

"Hmm ... What's wrong?"

Adel glanced at Zahra, the two looked at each other and followed.

"That's .. Zahra's friend can see ghosts," Zahra whispered into her grandfather's ear. The white-bearded man was no wonder at all.

"Continue?"

"Ih, grandpa! Is it not dangerous for him? Poor tau, just fainted in school because of fear," cried Zahra. Grandpa Ahmad chuckled at the sudden annoyance of his grandson.

Adel poking Zahra's waist. He was silent, but did not agree with Zahra's statement that called himself afraid. No. gabe. He was actually not too afraid, just that his energy seemed to be drained if communicating with the figure.

"Your name is Adel, right?" asked Grandpa Ahmad to look at Adel. The boy just nodded, maybe Zahra ever told him about himself to Grandpa Ahmad.

"It's okay. You can just not get used to it."

"But why is it that every time the figure invites communication, Adel's energy is lost? Is he bad?"

Grandfather stared for a while then smiled wilfully. "They have different auras, depending on their intentions. Someone might want to ask Adel for help. Practice being calm and try to look at the midpoint of his forehead, not his eyes."

Adel tried to digest the sentence, understanding it more simply. Calm down and look at the midpoint of his forehead. What can?

"Alright, Adel will try," he muttered half unsure. Grandpa laughed and rubbed his head.

"Don't be forced. If you're not sure, close your eyes, hold your breath. He'll disappear by himself. And remember, if you can't get too involved with them."

Zahra listened to their conversation shuddering. He did not expect Adel to see terrible things that even he could not imagine.

"Home home, yuk," whispered Adel nudging Zahra's arm.

"Yes already. We go home first, Cake. Later if there's anything, right, Adel asked Grandpa for help?" pamit Zahra while glancing at Adel.

"Well, don't you go home first?"

"Whenever, Cake," said Adel hurriedly. He also pulled Zahra's hand before greeting Grandpa Ahmad and returned home on a bicycle.

**

Diandra drives the bike at high speed. She just got word from Zahra's mother, Adel fainted in the bathroom.

"Well, what else is going on with that kid?" inner worried. He arrived at Zahra's house with a troubled face.

"Del ... why?" he whispered as he saw Adel lying limp in Zahra's room.

Adel scrunched up, gave the code to take him home immediately. Diandra hurriedly packed Adel's belongings and led him out.

"Mom, thank you so much for accommodating Adel all day. Sorry a lot of trouble," said Diandra awkwardly.

"It's okay, Ma'am. I'm glad Adel's here. If there's anything, don't hesitate to call us, yeah." Zahra's mother smiled. Zahra looked at Adel with concern.

"Are you sure it's okay, Del?" his whisper was clutching Adel's arm.

"Yes. I go home first yes," replied Adel sure. Zahra nodded.

Arriving home, Diandra boiled water to drink and wash Adel's face. The boy sat down at the dining table while putting his head on the lips of the table.

"What's really going on?" ask Diandra curiously.

"So I met the ghost of that little boy again, in class. And after thinking about it, it turns out he appears every time I think about the message in the Javanese script," said Adel seriously. Diandra.

"Adel was still not as strong as his energy. Grandpa Ahmad said, Adel must stare at the midpoint on his forehead. Back in Zahra's bathroom, Adel tried to do it. But ...."

"Grandfather Ahmad? Who's she?"

"Eh, that's ... Zahra's grandfather. Zahra went there to ask a question."

Diandra pinched his dizzy head. He did not want his nephew to be involved with anything dangerous.

"Tante ..." call Adel lirih but his tone is very serious.

"Hm ...."

"Adel managed to see the ghostly past of the little boy. He ... committed suicide at the age of 8 years, exactly a year ago."

Diandra jumped from her seat. The screaming kettle made him shocked. The water is boiling. He immediately brewed the tea and poured the rest into a small bucket.

"Wash your face and think nothing of it" he ordered. Adel moved with laziness.

After Adel finished, Diandra immediately cleaned up and followed the boy in the room. Adel is preparing a textbook for tomorrow.

"Del .. earlier you said the ghost of the little boy committed suicide. Why?"

Adel closed his eyes. Trying to remember something, but dead-end.

"Eitherway. Adel just found out right there. Because the aura can not be neutralized entirely. Adel's not strong enough."

Diandra sighed, smearing wind oil onto his heated temple. He looked at the girl with worry.

"Del, are you sure you're okay?"

Adel nodded. His hand reached for the paper containing the strange message, but it was closed. It was too late, he thought.

"Oh yeah, I met Sandra at the store. Turns out he's moving on."

"Moved? Why?" Adel looked at Diandra.

"Eitherway. He left this." Diandra held out a piece of paper containing the girl's phone number. Adel put it in the fold of the book.

"There is something strange about Sekar ...."

"Dark? Aunty's friend from Jogja?" cut Adel enthusiastically. "He why?"

"His hand .. there is a wound. He said he had scissors. Ah, forget. Because of this problem aunty so parno, right." Diandra. But Adel looks serious about taking note of what Diandra said.

"Tante knows Sekar's address? Uh, Sister Sekar?"

"Make what? Don't be weird, yeah. Aunty is just worried, carried away by the terror of the mouth tear," said Diandra upset.

Adel nyengir's. It was like finding a bright spot. He has to do something.

***