ECLIPSE LUNAR

Episode 2

The first funeral I attended was my mother's. A few weeks after I graduated Junior High, my mother died from being hit by a motorcycle. His body was blown away and his life was not saved. Then, because I got a High School scholarship in Bandung, my father sent me to live with his sister—Tante Risma and her husband who happened to have a house not far from the location of my high school.

SMA-ku named Prisma Jaya, a leading private school in Kota Kembang. From Aunty Risma house to school it only takes about ten minutes by car. On the first day of the orientation period, I came to be escorted by Deni, my aunt husband, to the front of the school gate.

“The school is big, right, Serena?” Om Deni asked while lowering his car glass. “Om sure you must be at home here.”

I who was sitting at the wheel returned with a smile, then looked at the school building. Instantaneously

my blood felt like it was being absorbed out of my body. Om Deni didn't realize my face was turning pale.

For a moment my eyes did not blink. The sturdy black fence that framed the front gate of this school was just like the fence that protected me from the pursuit of the wolves in my terrible dream. In fact, the walls surrounding the fence were similar. That instant I felt a terrible dream that kept repeating first might be a sign of something.

That's why, my first days in Prisma Jaya quiz with a lot of fear and alertness. I avoid meeting dogs that look like wolves. Also always be vigilant if you see delicate creatures resembling crawling animals. Prisma Jaya itself is an old building that was established in 1951. It takes time to adapt while under the old building whose inhabitants are dominated by the ghosts of Japanese, Dutch, Chinese, and Indigenous people who came from this ancient colonial period. In my school yard there are many shady trees, each inhabited by different residents. Three palm trees near the school name bar occupied by tall black figures—aku dare not look at them—which often appears from afternoon to evening.

Shifting to the left, near the outdoor basketball court, there are cypress trees lined up with knee-high ornamental plants. This is where Dutch children play. They often hide in plant meetings. I moved towards the main corridor—the only access to the school area according to the teachers, without knowing that the students must always have a secret way to escape if they want to skip lessons.

The oldest building in my school is the IPA building. It is located to the right of the main corridor. It is closest to libraries and UKS. Laboratories and all IPA facilities are lined up on the ground floor. It consists of four floors, and not the main number of residents on each floor.

To the west, there is a hall-like building that he said was used to store weapons equipment in the Dutch era. The building is now used as a teacher room, Administrative room and meeting room. There, there are many residents, ranging from natives, Dutch, Japanese, and even Chinese. One more thing, there are more male residents. Maybe because that place used to also serve as a military camp.

My fear is not proven. Nothing strange happened to me during the orientation week. My adaptation with new friends and the residents of Prisma Jaya went well. Slowly, I began to forget the connection between my horrible dreams and the school I now live in. Until the first day of the new school year, when I had to take off the blue white uniform and replace it with a black striped white uniform with a beautiful knee-length skirt, an incident led me to meet someone who had similar abilities to me.

That morning I deliberately came to school early with the aim of wanting to get around because the past week orientation had not had time to see the whole school. Still at half six. The sky has not been illuminated by much of the sun. Other than Mang Ujang, the school guard and some of his colleagues, no one had come that early. I walked in the corridor of the IPA building which was located at the front of the main corridor. Combing one by one the signposts of room names ranging from laboratories to special cooperatives IPA children.

I just climbed one footing of the stairs, about to go to the second floor of the IPA building when from the turn of the stairs appeared a beautiful ghost in red kimono that passed quickly past me hysterically. A few seconds later, a dog salute was heard. I haven't moved a inch. A wolf-like black-and-white fur dog emerged from the bend of the stairs in front of me.

It felt like the blood in my body was being absorbed out. Be late. I can't escape. So what I did at that time was to close my eyes firmly while gripping the rope of my bag. For God's sake, I was grateful when in a dream I always woke up just before the wolf tore my skin. But now .. maybe I'll feel it from this wolf-like beast.

One second, two seconds, nothing happened. I sensed the presence of the beast by my side, but then his resolute little steps ran away. I opened my eyes. My heartbeats still need to be normalized. So I leaned back for a while on the stairs. I heard another step slowly descending from upstairs. When the guy in uniform like me was almost down towards me, then I straightened up, pretending to be busy unpacking the contents of the bag.

I didn't suspect it when I saw that laughingly handsome face. He just passed by without caring about my presence. As the boy passed by the turn of the corridor, I hurried to peek at the dog that was running. The dog is still sounding clear. Justright. The dog ran to the left around a palm tree near the front basketball court. On top of the palm tree, the ghost of the girl in red kimono looked frightened. The handsome guy was walking casually towards the nosy dog. The dog's salute stopped when the man gently stroked his body. The awkward scene ended with a brief wave of the guy on the ghost of a kimono perched on a tree branch.

As soon as the man turned around, the dog followed him.

The scene made me very curious. But since the guy and his dog were walking back up the stairs behind me, I immediately ran towards my class in the IPS building.

I was surprised to find almost every class on my building floor empty, but not five minutes of break bell rang. The canteen will definitely spill over, so I decided to go back. However, my steps came to a halt when I caught a red kimono ghost figure that was scared this morning chased by a dog. The ghost stood on the edge of the wall that led to the field sobbing, as if crying even though I knew no tears. I leaned over to him, then looked at the field where his eyes were fixed.

My heart is beating faster. In the middle of the field down there, the dog owner was chattering in front of the students who filled almost the field. From here, I had no idea what the guy was talking about until everyone was so enthusiastic about listening. Many of my friends also took to the field there.

The chimneyed ghost by my side still continued to let out its ta-ngis sound. I deliberately didn't look and he didn't seem to realize I could see it.

On the sidelines of his sobbing, the ghost said, “Man sucks! He promised not to spread my story to anyone else. But what he did was scare me with that ugly dog, and now it's dismantling everything. You evil man!”

I bite my lips. So, is that what really happened between that guy and the ghost girl with the kimono by my side?

To be sure, I ran after the guy to the field and started to enter among the crowd, standing at the very front line. Everyone is putting on a serious face. I listened to what the guy said.

“That time, the clueless Jing Fei was thrilled when the squinty-eyed soldiers came to the brothel where she lived. With an alluring smile, the soldiers greeted him. He felt no need to be afraid, while many of his friends fled. His scarf was only pierced when a slender soldier cut a samurai to one of his friends, and with one slash apart the body and head of one of his friends. Jing Fei was terrified. Her master dog who barked noisily also received similar treatment. Jing Fei shouted with all her might, about to escape. You know what finally happened?”

More and more people are listening.

“His neck Jing Fei slashed as well.”

Some of the female students screamed in horror.

“Now, the spirit of Jing Fei is wandering in our school.” The bright yet sharp brown-eyed fellow circulated the gaze into the crowd. “He lives around the biology laboratory. He said his brothel used to be not far from here. If you see the garbage can in front of the muter-muter biology lab itself, it means that the ghost is again looking for friends.” He showed the widest smile. “So I want you guys, don't bother there if you don't want Jing Fei to come to you.”

The man left the crowd who were now throwing opinions at each other with scared faces mixed in wonder. I blinked confused. Don't know how to behave. I turned my gaze to the second floor of the IPS building where Jing Fei's ghost was. But nil. The ghost is no longer there. The crowd around me slowly dispersed. In my heart I wondered, why did the man reveal a secret that he should not have told in front of people? His actions made the ghost feel tormented.

His behavior reminds me of Tesa, my best friend who died from saying things that shouldn't have been said. That guy can see ghosts like me. But he used his ability to attract people's attention. Superfluity. My heart is filled with turmoil when I remember what Tesa got for not being able to keep her mouth.

I decided not to interfere. As he was about to return to the classroom, Jing Fei intercepted me. The poor ghost said nothing. Just keep making crying sounds. He knew I could see it. After that day, I called Jing Fei Miss San. He was called that because his ghost friends thought he was a Nippon. I followed, because if called so the ghost of the red kimono widened the smile. He likes his calling.

While the storyteller guy was the most wanted in my life. His good looks, wealth, and eye ability make him shine like no two.

His name is Kenzie Reynand Praditama. []