ETHEREUM

CHAPTER 2

•••

Without Alia guessing, Raffa pulled Alia's hand gently and pulled her to follow her towards the hospital canteen.

Alia wonder. Why a handsome doctor Raffa can be so good to him. Alia never did anything good to Raffa.

"You wait here! Let me order food for you" Raffa said when the two were in the hospital canteen.

Alia just nodded her head in Raffa's words. The girl sat down on the chair with a bad feeling. There were so many eyes watching him at this moment. That look looks different. Some looked cynical, confused, some even looked like they wanted to kill Alia with their sharp gaze.

Alia lowered her head as she felt uneasy with the intimidating gazes of all those pairs of eyes. Maybe it was because they felt annoyed when they saw Alia with Raffa. What else Raffa came with Alia's hand.

"This is for you. Spend it!" Alia stared at the plate Raffa had just placed on the table. The contents of the plate turned out to make Alia's saliva collect in her throat. Rice and her friends, namely, tempeh, vegetable spinach, and parchment, increasingly make Alia's stomach scream to be filled immediately.

"Don't see doang dong, Alia! The rice, right, can not enter yourself into your stomach if only looked at like that." Raffa chuckled at how Alia's face expression did not blink at all.

"Sorry, Doc! Can I eat?" ask Alia, embarrassed.

Raffa nodded his head with a smile. "By, dong. Spent, yes! If it does not run out, it is not just the crying rice. I'll cry too" Raffa joked, making Alia laugh softly.

"Yes, I ate, huh? The doctor ate too, dong!" alia exclaimed as she put a mouthful of rice into her mouth.

Raffa unconsciously looked at Alia who looked very greedy eating her food. Raffa has never seen anyone this hungry. But somehow, Raffa was happy to see it. Alia looked adorable as she chewed on the food that filled her cheeks.

"Aren't you looking for your family? You haven't been home from last night, have you. If they're worried how?"

Alia silently heard Raffa's words just now.

Raffa could clearly see the change in Alia's face which became gloomy. There was an unpleasant feeling in Raffa's heart.

"Sorry! You must have been uncomfortable with what I said just now" Raffa said in a low tone of voice.

Alia shook her head and smiled towards Raffa. "No pa-pa, Doc! I just ... I imagine something the doctor said earlier. I want to know how it feels to be worried about my family. Sometimes I like to imagine how my parents would have looked if I hadn't gone home to kayak now ..." says Alia.

Alia lowered her head. A second later, the woman raised her face, and smiled. There was a strange feeling in Raffa's heart. A feeling he had never felt before.

"But sometimes it's cool, too, anyway. I don't need to feel guilty for being disobedient to my parents" Alia said, chuckling and then continuing to eat.

Raffa is not feeling well for Alia. He also feels ashamed of Alia who looks fine even though her life is not as sweet as Raffa's life.

"Let's take you home. Where do you live?"

"The orphanage."

Raffa. Not expecting what he heard. Raffa wanted to ask. But she was afraid of hurting Alia's heart.

"Ah, full!" alia exclaimed as she wiped her wet mouth after downing a glass of water to the end.

"Enready finished? My food is not finished yet, you know."

"Doctor continues, anyway. His rice will not go into the stomach itself Doctor, if the doctor is mostly dumb from earlier," Alia chanted.

"Yes, yeah. I mostly see you, anyway."

Alia smiled clumsily at Raffa's words just now. It's my gombalin doctor again, huh? Inner Alia.

Alia's eyes widened as her eyes saw the clock on the wall of the canteen already showing at twelve noon.

*****! I forgot to meet Jefri. Angry isn't he the same as me? Inner Alia was getting restless.

"Where are you going?" raffa asked as she looked at Alia who looked hurriedly.

"I have business, Doc. I'm sorry I left the doctor not pa-pa, right, huh? I'll treat the doctor sometime, okay? Thanks for the food, Doctor Raffa. Excuse me first," said Alia and quickly left Raffa who was looking at Alia's departure, without blinking.

That chick. I don't know what's interesting about him. Until Raffa was curious about her.

It does. About heart. No one knows.

•••

"Our brains are still healthy, aren't you, Al?"

Alia looked cynically. Looking at Jefri who was sitting on a matic motor belonging to the man who was lying in the hospital at this time.

"Today we returned our stolen goods. This is the name of a futile effort last night," chirped Opan made Alia exhale long.

"Eat it, Pan. I think the nerves of the brain of the child are broken. The behavior became a bit strange like this," Jefri chimed in from the motorcycle seat.

"Lo don't be so dong, Jef! We have to hear Alia's explanation first!" sergeant Mita.

Dio, who had just been silent looking at Alia, now stepped forward towards Alia and then patted the woman on the shoulder.

Alia raised her head and looked at Dio's black bead eyeball. The man who had those firm eyes. Look Alia in the eyes. There was concern in Dio's eyes. And Alia felt that.

"Gue is afraid ..." Alia again bowed her head and her fingers squeezed firmly at the end of her t-shirt. "Gue's afraid that we'll be arrested."

"Al?" call Dio in a soft voice. The man held onto Alia's chin and raised the girl's face to look at her face.

"The world is full of scary things. So it's only natural that you're afraid of it."

"The name's also a thief, Al. Yeah, I'm afraid the same thing smells like that. Afraid cops. Afraid of prison. Fear of being robbed of the masses. I even feared punishment for my sins. Well ... How else would you like to try? We are not as lucky as other people who can live without having to eat illegal money" Opan said.

"What the hell are you talking about that doom!" mita snapped while hitting Opan's arm hard.

"Eh, am I really dong? If you are not afraid to go to jail. You have to be a pious man."

"Not really, ah! Sotoy lo mah" said Mita.

"What the hell are you looking for here, Al? Lo dateng and help the guy. Just like you get into the darkest go'a." It was Jefri's turn to speak.

"Gue knew it was risky for me. But I can't lose that thing. I am very sure that my precious object is the same guy," explained Alia.

"That canyon?" dio asked and replied a nod by Alia.

"Lo all know, right? That necklace is precious to me. It's the only treasure I have. Through the necklace I feel connected to my parents. Although I don't know where they are now .." said Alia and again she bowed her head.

The four friends of Alia looked at him with pity. They know very well how unfortunately Alia with her necklace. Alia never took the necklace off her neck. Alia never even forgot to clean that necklace. Alia's necklace, it's like half her life. Losing that thing, it felt like half of Alia's soul was lost somewhere.

"Jef!" Mita signals Jefri to deliver the stolen goods last night.

Although Jefri's head nodded. But actually, half-hearted Jefri like telling him not to do what Alia wants. If it wasn't for Alia his close friend, Jefri would've balked.

Jefri pulls Alia's hand and puts down her wallet, phone, and also the motor key belonging to the guy last night Alia's hand.

"This is the first and last time, Al! Next time I won't do the same, you" said Jefri with the intention of joking.

Then, Jefri hugged Alia and whispered something to her. "One hundred thousand dollars I've used that guy. The same motorbike he's running out, Al. You change, huh?!"

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