Is It Possible To Fill This Empty Space In Ourselves?
Chapter 1
It's a bright night. The light reflected from the full moon in the dark sky shone on everything below. The wind blows gently to make the leaves and weeds rustle slowly as if joined into the melody sung by the insects of the night.
Ernest brought his injured leg into a limped step towards the back mountain of the village. Ignoring the entire night view which is something that can be enjoyed when the heart is calm and melancholic times hit, Ernest focused all his energy on maintaining his consciousness and his stride between the pain and pain throughout his body.
Ernest stopped as he reached the foot of the mountain and raised his head only to see the darkness that enveloped the trees and the path of the mountain in front of him. In his vision that began to fade a little, Ernest felt that the darkness would devour him.
Gritting his teeth, Ernest forced his feet to start stepping up the mountain. This was the only place he could think of where there were buildings that could be used for overnight stays and the previous thugs would not come anytime soon to hunt him back until his wounds healed.
Fucking thugs! Fucking assholes! Ernest cursed inwardly as he recalled the people who had put him in a tragic state at the moment. A loser who was battered after failing to rob the fruits of his hard work this afternoon turned to call his flock to gang up on him this afternoon. I should have killed him!
The building that became its destination is now a former building that is considered haunted after its owner was found dead bloody several years ago. Ernest did not know the true events of the news but surely the residents avoided being near the building when they had to go up the mountain to find firewood or wild plants to eat.
Ernest felt a chill on his spine thinking of a ghost that might actually exist to inhabit the building he was heading to. If there was another option he would not approach the building but for the traveler like him, who was especially in a state of injury and danger as he is now, this was the only option he had or slept in an open environment and would probably be attacked at any time.
Ernest felt he had been walking for hours just by relying on the memory of a cryptic conversation with one of the benevolent citizens who advised him about the building before finally seeing the building in question.
The bright light from the full moon shone on the building so Ernest could see it from its current distance.
The building is a simple wooden building. Just relying on the current moonlight, Ernest could see there were some more obvious points where the roof was half-collapsed. Frowning as he assessed the building's safety from collapsing completely if he were to stay there for a while, Ernest finally sighed resignedly when he recalled that he had no other choice.
He could only hope that the building would still survive until his injuries were no longer painful and he was no longer on the verge of fainting like this.
Walking closer and pushing the door of the wooden house, which made him quite surprised that it still had a door and was still functioning, Ernest gulped down his saliva upon seeing how dark the space inside this building was. With the blockage of most of the light from the outside by the wooden wall and leaving only a few broken parts to be inserted silver rays of the moon, the, Ernest felt that he would be swallowed and that it would be impossible to get out again if he stepped in.
Standing slightly leaning to the side of the door frame and staring blankly at the darkness in front of him, Ernest felt his mind was wrestling between the emotions of his fear with his logical assessment that said he needed shelter.
After standing for quite a while finally his judgment of wits prevailed as feeling his increasingly throbbing legs painfully gave a sign that he needed a place to recuperate. With hesitant and limped steps, Ernest stepped into the room. His hand was on standby in the sword algae that from the beginning hung on the left side of his waist. His eyes that had adapted to the darkness made him able to avoid the scattered wood and stone debris so as not to make him stumble.
“I thought you would just stand out there and not dare to enter.”
A soft yet clear voice echoed as Ernest was scanning the remains of the wooden floor to find a decent resting place, causing his body's movements to jerk stiff instantly. He felt a cold bite down on his spine.
Raising his head in the direction he believed to be the source of the sound, Ernest realized a skeleton of a door in the room. And there was the silhouette of someone standing there.
Instinctively stepping back and wanting to pull his weapon out, Ernest did not expect to stumble across one of the wooden rubble to make it lose its balance and fall. Ernest seemed to be able to feel the pain also in his head that hit the wooden floor as the sound of a loud crash echoed because of it. Or it was just his hallucinations caused his blurred vision and his body to succumb to fatigue from always being tense.
Ernest only hoped that if the ghost would kill him for trespassing into this place then do it without pain, or if and only if the ghost was kind and willing to let go, he said, Ernest could still wake up tomorrow given the current state of his body
*
When Ernest opened his eyes again he was immediately faced with an irregular wooden ceiling with pieces of bamboo here and there to patch up the part that looked like it was going to collapse. Besides, his head feels uncomfortable. Or it's the remnants of the taste that left the impact last night.
Ah, the ghost of last night's occupants was good enough not to kill him.
Turning slightly to the top of his left side, Ernest had to narrow as a bright light directly pierced his vision making his eyes sore. There is a window with a width and height of approximately 2.5 and 5 inch that is currently open making the light from outside enter without obstruction illuminate the room where it is now.
Speaking of the room, Ernest could feel that he was currently lying on a mattress instead of directly on the wooden floor where he had fallen last night. Slightly tilting his body and intending to use his hand into a pedestal to lift the upper part of his body so that he could examine where he was now as well as look for the existence of his sword, Ernest realized there was a bandage wrapped around one of his arms.
Stopping his movements, Ernest stared blankly at the cloth wrapped around him. Was this ghost not so good last night? Not only was he left alive after entering the building without permission, laying it on a mattress but also treating it?
The squeaking sound of the door being opened made Ernest aware of his inner nonsense. As he turned to the source of the voice with his awkward posture he looked directly at the bright brown eyes of a woman.
The woman looked at him with an unimpressed look.
Was he a ghost last night? Ernest thought unconsciously.
“I'm not a ghost,”
Ernest's face paled as he realized he was speaking his mind aloud. Ernest opened his mouth trying to say something in self-defense only to see the taunting grin of the woman. Red and hot immediately crept onto his face in embarrassment.
“Ma—maaf! Me…! Not I mean..ti—not polite..so!” Ernest tried to explain in a hurry.
“Fix your lying position or your body will become uncomfortable,” the woman advised in an amused tone due to her embarrassing reaction.
Ernest chose to be quiet and obey the woman's words so as not to embarrass her further. He saw the woman come into the room and rest beside him.
“How do you feel?” asked the woman calmly while looking at her.
Coughing slowly to remove any lingering embarrassment, Ernest replied slowly, “better.”
Seeing the woman's judging gaze, Ernest added with more confidence in his voice, “at least better than last night.”
The woman nodded, either believing his words or just lazy to look further. From the corner of Ernest's eye saw the woman turn her body to the side where Ernest's head lay and heard a question from him, “what do you want to drink?”
Realizing the dry feeling of sand in his throat, without a doubt Ernest agreed to the question, “if you have water,” he added while remembering what he saw in the living conditions of this building last night.
As the woman turned back to face him, Ernest could see the cup in her grasp.
“Can you get up on your own or should I help you?”
“No need,” automatically Ernest refused the offer of that help, “I can get up by myself.”
“Sure,” sahut the woman.
When Ernest was fully seated on the mattress, the woman handed him the cup. Ernest thanked me quietly as he received it. He could see that the cup in his hand was now filled with clear, clear water. Just looking at it could already make Ernest imagine how fresh it was.
Ernest saw the woman put the cup back to its original place, which was some distance next to her head lying down earlier. Ernest also realized that there was a wooden tray containing a sealed plate on it in addition to the cup that the woman had just put back.
Ernest inevitably paid attention to the woman in confusion. In addition to her eyes, the woman also had brown hair that passed through her shoulders slightly tied with a ribbon of black cloth at the base of her neck, shorter hair on the front apart framing her face. Using a plain buttoned burlap tunic and a black three-quarters skirt that although looks shabby and old but kept clean, Ernest wondered if he had lived in this place for a long time.
Why does one live in this dilapidated and haunted building, even though it seems that the ghost is just a common rumor, and especially why a woman dares to live here.
“Because it's the same as you.”
“Ah?” Ernest gasped in shock and heard the amused snort of the woman he had now faced again, making Ernest blush to think that he was again voicing his thoughts unconsciously.
“It was written on your stupid face.”
“Who do you call his face stupid!” blow Ernest reflex.
“Who else besides you.”
Ernest scowled resentfully wanting to retaliate but did not know what to say, however it seemed like this woman was taking care of and treating him.
Sighing trying to calm down, Ernest chose to switch the topic, “thank you for taking care of me,” he said calmly.
The woman did not reply, just staring at him flatly for a long time to make Ernest start to feel misbehaved.
In the end Ernest saw the woman nodding and saying casually, “just don't want someone to die for thinking I'm a ghost.”
Ernest was embarrassed by it again.
“Are you not hungry?”
“Hah?” Ernest looked at the confused woman.
“You've slept more than 12 hours.”
It was at that moment that Ernest heard a rumble in his stomach and he suspected that in his brief interaction with the woman all his embarrassing sides had come to the surface.
*
It turned out that the sealed plate Ernest saw above the previous tray contained several pieces of boiled yam.
Ever since the woman handed him the plate and told him to eat, Ernest did not need to pretend to be polite to refuse and also his current state did not support him to do that.
After realizing that he had spent almost all the yams, only then was the shame again felt.
Coughing awkwardly, Ernerst handed the plate back and in a low voice expressed his gratitude.
“Are you full?” asked the woman directly without thinking about the shame Ernest felt.
“Ya.”
Putting the plate back into place, Ernest saw the woman lifting the tray and seemed to be standing before stopping to face her again with the tray on her lap, “you can rest again.”
Ernest nodded in agreement to the suggestion.
“And also,” the woman continued, “your sword is there.”
Following the designated direction, Ernest saw him in one corner of the room leaning against a wooden wall a few feet from the entrance. He did not see it when he lay down because the corner of the room was above his head and after he sat his attention was diverted to the woman.
“I put there for prevention. Don't want you to slash me when I check on you,” obviously the woman.
“I understand.”
The woman looked at him for a while before finally nodding, probably sensing that Ernest really understood and would not suspect him for deliberately keeping the weapon away from its owner leading to such a foolish thing as attacking him later.
Seeing the woman no longer had anything to say and before she stood up to leave this room, Ernest immediately stopped her by asking, “you—what is your name?”
“Isn't the one who should have introduced himself first here you?” insinuate the woman, “however you are the one who broke into the residence of others.”
Ernest opened his mouth wanting to refute and said that this house should be empty but that was the truth anyway that there was someone living here and he was the one who broke through the woman's room. It doesn't matter if he knew it or not.
Pounding to fit in, Ernest introduced himself, “My name is Ernest. I'm just a wanderer.”
The woman did not comment or seem to care about her low traveler status and simply nodded, “Arsyana.”
“Oke,” Ernest muttered softly, quietly recounting the name of the woman in his mind, “again thanks for taking care of me, also for her drink and food.”
“If you want to thank me then pay later when you are healthy.”
Somehow hearing the direct words of the woman who unhesitatingly talked about the payment for help before made Ernest feel better than if the woman did not ask for anything, “I will definitely pay you later.”
Ernest looked directly at the brown eyes that seemed to be assessing the truth of his words before seeing the woman nod and muttered, “I will charge her.”
Ernest saw the woman standing with the tray in her hand and stepped out after leaving a sentence telling her to rest again.
***
