Secret Alit

Mysterious Figure at the Wedding Party

"Alit, Luni, are you ready yet? Come on, we'll be late!" Papa's screams call me and Luni's sister from the terrace.

This morning, my family and I will attend the wedding of the son of papa's friend, Mr. Wono. Mr. Wono was papa's friend while still working in his old office. Papa and Pak Wono have not met for a long time, especially since they have not worked in one office. Therefore, papa looks excited and does not want to be late to witness the marriage of the child of his friend. Surely he also wanted to meet and chat a lot with Pak Wono.

We arrived at the wedding venue at 9:50. Exactly 10 minutes before the event starts.

"Good luck in time, yeah," said Mama.

The wedding took place in a fancy restaurant. Once I got to the front of the main entrance, I could already see the room was quite large, with traditional Javanese-style decorations.

The seat is almost full. Fortunately, we were able to get a seat next to each other. Papa, mama, me, and Kak Luni filled the seats in the front row close to the band. I sat at the very edge, right next to the corridor leading to the entrance. From here, I could clearly see the collateral that was in front, as well as the person coming in and out of the main door.

At exactly 10:00, the atmosphere was immediately silent. The procession will begin soon. The invited guests, especially relatives of the bride, impressed solemn in witnessing the traditional ceremony. Stage by stage, the wedding procession looks to be going well.

But in the silence, I heard the sound of footsteps coming from the direction of the main door. I immediately turned to look at the source of the sound. I looked slowly, so as not to disturb other invited guests who were following the event. At the entrance, there were six men carrying a large box-shaped object. They walked slowly, entering from the main door to the direction of the guarantee.

"Oh, this is part of a procession like that. Unique as well," I thought inwardly as I watched them.

I turned my eyes back to the pelaminan, listening to the sound of footsteps getting closer. Then, the footsteps stopped. I turned back to them to see the box he was carrying. As they got closer, it became clear that the six men were wearing long-sleeved grey shirts, with trousers that were also gray, but darker. They carried the big box by carrying it on their shoulders. I was shocked not to play after seeing that the big box was a coffin.

I looked around and not a single guest turned to look at the six. Then, my eyes returned to them. They looked silent and looked straight ahead with blank stares. Suddenly, one of them looked at me. Me and him face to face, I don't know how much time has passed. His face was pale expressionless, staring intently at me. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't move or make any noise so scared. I forced myself to move too. Finally, I managed to turn my face back to the front and close my eyes.

A moment after my eyes closed, those footsteps sounded again. Slowly, but surely. I felt a thin gust of wind as they walked past me. Their footsteps came back to a standstill, and I forced myself to open my eyes. They were seen standing for a moment in front of the pelaminan, and then put the coffin in front of Mr. Wono. I was confused and looked around. No one reacted to seeing the six people. I turned to my right side, papa, mama, and Kak Luni were also silent, still seriously watching the wedding procession.

After a while, he lifted the coffin again. The six men again carried her, but this time they walked towards the side door past the bride. Their bodies floated slowly, getting higher and higher until they approached the ceiling of the building, and then disappeared like the wind was blown out through the right door.

That was very stressful for me. Seeing them disappear, it only dawned on me that I was still in the middle of the wedding. I looked around again, but again no invited guests reacted the same as me. It seemed, no one saw the six people and the coffin he was carrying was other than me.

"Not to think about it. The important thing is they don't bother you, do they? Maybe they just hitchhiked through," said Kak Luni while calming me down.

Hearing Kak Luni's words, I became a little calmer. That's right, the important thing is that they don't bother me. I hope they have no intention of bothering anyone.

***

Months have passed since the strange incident I experienced at the wedding of the son of Pak Wono. The incident was somewhat forgotten from my mind. Suddenly, one Friday night, my phone rang. He got a call from his friend.

Papa looked shocked as he picked up the phone, then fell silent. He thanked his friend for being told, and then hung up. After that, he remained silent for a while. I dare not ask Papa either.

"Pak Wono died this afternoon," said papa limply breaking the silence.

I felt like I was struck by lightning because I remembered the events at the wedding. The faces of the six people who were carrying the coffin came back into view. Pale, his gaze was empty. That horrible memory came back to my head.

Not long after, papa and mama rushed to Pak Wono's residence to serve. While me, Brother Luni, and grandmother did not come and stayed at home.

"Sir, is the figure that Alit saw at that time related to Pak Wono's death? Alit got scared when he remembered it," I said.

Grandma just smiled and dismissed that assumption. He didn't want me to take it as a sign.

"It is only God who rules life. But, there are times when subtle creatures disturb humans," said the grandmother.

Me and Luni just kept quiet hearing Grandma's words. I thought, Grandma is right. So there's no need to be afraid as long as I don't do evil. Maybe Brother Luni also thought the same thing as me.