Escapees

8

Niah continued to run through the thick of the night, his bare feet bleeding from pebbles and twigs of the road, he did not care anymore about the condition of his body fatigue continued to run. His rumbling stomach did not feel defeated by the fear of being caught again, he was sure he would not survive if this time he was caught.

The night was getting late, it seemed that the young man who was chasing him was unable to find him. He took the initiative to break into a house after nearly half an hour of hiding in the bushes of the city park. His weak body knocked on the door of the simple wooden house painted orange, long there was no response because it was very late at night. Niah continued to knock on the door until the sound of feet stepping on the board got closer.

An old woman looks surprised to see the appearance of Niah, clothes with blood stains certainly invite suspicion of the owner of the house, with a trembling body he pleaded with the old woman to accommodate him tonight. “ help me grandma..someone wants to kill me” said Niah with a vibrating and raucous voice, the wind of the night getting colder pierced his skin who only wears the clothes he has worn since at the hotel , it felt like he would faint if the old woman did not immediately break him into the house.

Apparently the woman only lived with her two grandchildren, a grandson of about twelve years and a granddaughter who began to grow up but she was deaf.

The old woman immediately guided Niah to her room despite still looking confused at the condition of Niah who suddenly came in the middle of the night with blood stains on her clothes.

Without much asking the old woman enveloped Niah's body which was shivering with coldness and also hunger. He tells his granddaughter to make a small meal for Niah after feeding Niah with a little Rice and omelet leftover from their dinner.

 Shortly after, his granddaughter came to bring him some boiled bananas and warm tea. Niah enjoyed it all without hesitation because his stomach yag rumbling since it demanded his right. Tiredness slightly treated after enjoying the tea and boiled bananas it .

“ Thanks grandma...because want to keep me here and give me food” said Niah while kissing the back of the old woman's hand.

“Alhamdulillah son, there is still a little food left, maybe this is a fortune for you, because usually my grandson spends all dinner” said the woman while smiling towards Niah.

“This is no change of clothes, hopefully suitable…this is my son's legacy that has been gone five years ago” said the woman with her lips trembling with dew in the corner of her eyes while rubbing the clothes she gave to Niah.

“Thanks nek” Niah hugged the woman with a hilarious feeling that rose in her chest, she was grateful to get a place tonight, she did not know where else she would go the next day. Niah believes that Ninis's manpower will not stop following him, surely Ninis will try to prevent him from reporting to the police.

After cleaning her very sultry self Niah changed her clothes, her tiredness led her to immediately lie on the cot of the old woman who used to be called Nek Imah.

Niah got out of her bed, but her steps stopped to see the old woman was praying, Niah did not know what prayers she was being offered because the clock showed at nine in the morning. Niah only knew that there was prayer at that time, which Niah knew praying five times a day - even though Niah never did it.

Niah undoes her intention of stepping out of the room, she notices the woman praying very solemnly. There was a chill in his heart watching the scene, hadn't he been so far away from God?  Has he not lived without ever caring about worship?. There was regret lingering in his heart, was God punishing him at this time for never caring about Him.

After praying nek Imah approached Niah, smilingly stroking the head of Niah who looked down stunned to play his feet as he usually does when sad. Outside the drizzling rain adds to the cold atmosphere that has gone up during the day. “Nek...teach me to pray yah” says Niah suddenly .

Nek Imah smiled at the young lady beside him, there was gratitude slipping into her heart , even though he was a nobody and even Grandma did not know about the young woman he still felt grateful. At least his desire to learn to pray signifies that he is not a bad person.

Nek Imah taught Niah to pray with painstaking pain, although with the stammering reading from his religious teacher while still in school Niah tried to keep doing it, he began by doing duhur prayer, he began by doing duhur, there was a sense that he never felt after praying at that time, as if a drop of cool dew soaked his arid heart , the calmness he felt enveloped his feelings the feeling he had longed for was present in his heart. He suddenly remembered all the sins he had committed, he also missed his mother and father, somehow their current state. Clear threads falling soaked the white face he wore .

Because his body still feels very tired Niah returned to stay at the house of Nek Imah, of course with the permission of the old woman, he was treated very well and lovingly even Grandma considers Niah like her own child.

 The next day before the afternoon he said goodbye to Nek Imah, he was very grateful to him for saving his life, nek Imah even gave him a little money for the fare, one goal is now the house of his best friend Anita. He has contacted her and Anita is very happy to hear Niah is fine, even though Anita had bad thoughts about her best friend.

Ninis's men still continue to search for the existence of Niah, they explore all possible places to hide. They search Niah for the city park because that's where they last lost track of Niah. From a distance they see the figure of Niah walking out of an orange house stage with a gray shirt, at first they do not recognize it but after closer examination they are sure it is Niah, Niah, but they did not dare to directly intercept Niah because Niah was in the crowd like Niah would ride a public vehicle.

They keep following the car that Niah was riding in and look for an opportunity to immediately catch him and hand him over to Ninis the boss of the woman. Niah down at the road to Anita's house, the day was getting darker the streets began to quiet, the three young men who followed Niah were getting ready to intercept him .

Niah walks down the aisle towards the housing feeling misgivings, she realizes that someone is following her steps, because since High School he often went to Anita's house so he knew very well that around the housing there was an empty house uninhabited, he accelerated his steps and disappeared into the empty house.