SUKMA: The Deal With the Devil

Approached Dedemit

"Sws ...! Ibuuu! Help us, Mom!" yelled Atikah trying to fight her fear. Sukma's cries were getting louder, it made him panic.

Hearing the cry of her daughter, Bu Inah who was putting the seasoning into the soup, immediately ran outside the kitchen. The room where Atikah and Sukma play. There was a mound of blankets containing his two daughters on the bed. Sukma's crying voice increasingly made him worried. Soon he approached them, and then removed the blanket.

"Momuu! Help me, Buuu!" atikah screams, shivering while closing his eyes tightly. His body was bathed in sweat.

"All right! Open your eyes, son! It's mom" exclaimed Bu Inah patting Atikah on the shoulder.

Slowly the little boy opened his eyes, then looked up at his mother. "Mother? Ibuuu!" she hugged the mother who was sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Relax Atikah, there is Mother here," said Bu Inah, rubbing Atikah's head, then carrying Sukma. "What's really going on until you get scared like this?"

"T-tadi ... earlier." Atikah swallowed for a moment. "T-there was ... there were creeping grandmothers, Mom," she explained stammering, her breathing gasping.

"Grandmothers? Where are the grannies?"

"So he sat behind me, Mom."

"But I didn't see anyone in this room except you and Sukma's Deck."

"I'm serious, Mom. There were grandmothers" Atikah said.

"What's this?" ask Mr. Risman who just finished bathing.

"Says there's grannies creeping their nyamperin, sir. But just now I didn't see anyone," explained Ms. Inah frowning.

"I saw for myself, sir. There were grandmothers behind me, and her long nails would open my blankets," Atikah said convincingly.

Mr. Risman and Ms. Inah looked at each other. At first, Ms. Inah thought her daughter was playing hide-and-seek, but after hearing her explanation, she believed something was wrong with her daughter. Holding Sukma, he walked out of the room. He saw the pavilion door that was still wide open, then closed it.

When returning to the room, Ms. Inah looked at Mr. Risman who was calming Atikah. Irritated, the woman sat down beside her husband while snorting violently.

"Bod is a habit, deh. If you have entered the house, close the door," said Ms. Inah with a sour face.

"Hehe .. sorry, Mom. You forget," the pretext of Mr. Risman was grinning.

"Tomorrow if you enter the house, do not forget to close the door, yes, sir. Especially if magrib returns, do not let the door open even a little."

Ms. Inah shook her head. "First parents in the village once said, that dedemit can easily enter when the door of the house is open in the time of magrib."

"Ah, this mother still believes the same superstition. It's modern times, ma'am."

"That's not superstition, sir. I've also heard from Mr. Ustaz Ramlan, that magrib is the time for demons to roam. If your parents say superstitious, then why can't Atikah see strange creatures come into our room?"

"Yes, Mom. Father believes. Next time you'll close the door if you go home magrib."

...****************...

The wall clock shows exactly at three in the morning. Mr. Risman used to wake up in the last third of the night to perform Tahajud prayers. He looked at Bu Inah and his two daughters who were still sleeping. A smile spread on his lips. His intent was to pray for them in his heart. Get out of bed, then walk to the bathroom to leave.

In the silence of the night, there was the sound of a woman sobbing from the front of the pavilion. Mr. Risman thought that it was just his hallucination. The consciousness has not been fully gathered, he thought. However, when he was about to walk again to the bathroom, the voice of the crying woman sounded louder.

To resolve the curiosity, Mr. Risman walked to the window near the entrance. Open the curtains little by little, peering out of the house. There was no one there, only trees in the wind. Mr. Risman turned around, then walked towards the bathroom.

When several steps to the kitchen that will be passed through, there was the sound of a few spoons falling there. Clearly, the middle-aged man was disturbed by sounds he was not used to hearing. He quickly walked into the kitchen, looking spoons and forks strewn across the floor. Maybe a mouse, he thought. Without thinking about it, Mr. Risman scooped up the cutlery and put it where it came from. Next, Mr. Risman went into the bathroom and closed the door. A strange sound came again nearby. This time a wolf-like growling sound was heard right in front of the bathroom door.

Mr. Risman sighed deeply, in order to ease the fear that made his heart pound hard. He put his ears together, listening to the growling sound carefully. The closer the ear is to the door, the more the sound of the growl gets away. Mr. Risman was able to exhale with relief this time and nodded calmly.

Meanwhile, Sukma woke up without a sound. His eyes were fixed to the ceiling without blinking a single bit. It turned out that the old lady who was about to approach him earlier this afternoon, was still in the room. He crept up on the ceiling, grinning until he saw two canines.

"Your biological mother is no more, son. Now it's my turn to take you," said the old woman with a chilling laugh.

Sukma smiled at the creature. When she was about to be taken by the old woman, her form changed. The baby's figure is no less creepy than the supernatural creatures who want to take it. Sukma chuckled, his canine teeth visible from his tiny mouth. The old woman was stunned as she looked at Sukma.

"So right, you're the devil's son? I thought you were like an ordinary human baby, weak and helpless. But it turns out ...."

Sukma's red eyes lit up. The radiance from his eyes was directed at the old woman, as if about to burn her body. But the light suddenly disappeared. Mr. Risman who just finished wudu, went into the room. The form of Sukma was transformed into an ordinary human baby.

The old woman still could not believe the shape of the baby she saw. He was not aware of Mr. Risman's presence, so his figure could be known to the middle-aged man. Meanwhile, Mr. Risman stood staring as he saw a black shadow from the ceiling of the room, trying to reach his baby. Shaking, he grabbed the switch on the wall near where he was standing. When the lights were successfully lit, the shadow billowed into black smoke and disappeared out of nowhere.

Worried about the condition of his adopted daughter, Mr. Risman rushed to see Sukma. Thankfully, the baby didn't cry at all. Mother Inah who was originally asleep, finally woke up when the lights were on. Slowly he got up, then looked at Mr. Risman while frowning.

"What's up, sir? Tumben lights are on."