THE MYSTERY OF THE FOREST

#09

The atmosphere was again empty after the third night of remembrance Sarmi's death was over. Plastic garbage and banana leaves are leftover places ala rate for pilgrims, scattered in the wind. The atmosphere that had been living with various topics of conversation, was dead again. Silent and gripping.

As usual, the night was cold. The wild sound of wind in the leaves of the pine tree could be heard colliding with each other. Creating a distinctive sound for the inhabitants of the night. The sound of owls echoing, like bouncing on tree trunks in the depths of the forest.

A figure of the body was seen creeping between the trunks of pine trees. His eyes twitched to and fro following the movements of Haji Maemun who looked confused looking for a way home. He didn't want to lose Haji Maemun. Where Haji Maemun set foot, he followed him.

Haji Maemun lost his way when he was about to return from his field. Just before Maghrib, some neighbors told him that the plants of the people adjacent to his field, had been damaged by a swarm of apes. Even the information he received, the horde of apes had already started to enter his field. He immediately rushed over and waited for a moment in his field. Before returning home, he had made a scarecrow that he put on the edges of his field. But when I came home earlier to follow the event of zikiran at the house of the late mother Sarmi, he was like a stranger who did not know the way home. He was suddenly like a confused person, who did not know the direction to go home. Forty years later, he was living in the forest. Every inch of the road in the forest, both a shortcut and that is often passed by farmers. Both day and night. But tonight, every time he walked, his footsteps always ended up in the same place. He was really surprised, he still could not find his way home. His footsteps still ended where he was standing. Due to his regret, many times he yelled and ************hair is loud.

Haji Maemun finally chose to sit unwinded in a fallen log between rows of pine trees. The flashlight he was holding had started to dim because the battery power ran out for the commute a few hours ago. His breath was still breathing. His eyes moved here and there, still trying to guess the right way home. Haji Maemun again sighed in annoyance. He was really confused as to why he got so rough like that. It felt like he was entering another world.

Haji Maemun closed his eyes. His mouth began to recite the hereditary mantra that his late grandfather had cast while lost in the forest. But not yet had time to finish, Haji Maemun opened his eyes. His eyes glanced here and there.

There was a sound like the steps of people walking in the bushes. Haji Maemun looked back and got up. He directed the flashlight in his hand, but the flashlight only lit for a while then dimmed and finally died. Haji Maemun sighed. He sat back down and set his hearing to listen to every movement that sounded around him. The forest looks black and dark. The coldness of the night, with an unmoved body, made Haji Maemun's body shiver with coldness. He put his hands together to keep his body warm. Haji Maemun sighed in annoyance. There was nothing at all he could do. His confusion made him unable to think. He also could not contact someone to help him because his cellphone was not taken when he went to the field earlier.

A loud sound was heard again from behind. Haji Maemun turned back. A machete that was tucked in her waist was taken out. He then took it out of the scabbard. His eyes were watching the surroundings. His ears were firmly fixed listening to the sometimes lost and re-sounding sound. Several ferocious beasts began to think in his guess. It may be a boar or a panther, which he says has been spotted by residents in the area.

Wush...

A knife darted quickly in the darkness and stuck it in Haji Maemun's chest. Haji Maemun was surprised and held his chest. One of his hands fumbled. A small knife with a few inches of tip has stuck in his left chest. Haji Maemun grimaced. Pain and tenderness began to be felt in his chest. A black veiled shadow figure was seen standing firmly in front of Haji Maemun who was trying to pull a knife from his chest.

Haji Maemun's body wavered when he had managed to pull out the knife in his chest. Fresh blood flowed down the clothes he wore.

The black figure seemed to move. One knife shot again quickly, leading to Haji Maemun's chest. Haji Maemun groaned and shouted in pain. His screams shocked the forest dwellers. The machete he was holding came loose, followed by his body slowly collapsing on the ground. Haji Maemun was trying to hold back the blood flowing in his chest. The knife that stuck in his right chest was too deep. His strength had also begun to be weak to uproot it. He shifted his body slowly and leaned it against the tree trunk. Haji Maemun stared in fear at the mysterious figure standing in front of him.

The black figure was closer. With a limp step, he looked calm while revealing his cold smile. Haji Maemun tried to gesture with his hand so that the mysterious figure in front of him would not hurt him anymore. Fresh blood flowed profusely from Haji Maemun's chest. The mysterious figure bent his body and took away the machete belonging to Haji Maemun lying in front of him. Haji Maemun fused his palms together, pleading that the man would not hurt him. But the mysterious figure's hand started swinging the machete in his hand. Haji Maemun crying. But the mysterious figure seemed to be unaffected. He raised the machete high in his hand. And, once slashed, Haji Maemun's head rolled in the bushes. The sound of blood spurting from Haji Maemun's throat, emitted a voice that frightened the night dwellers.

The mysterious figure threw the machete in his hand towards Haji Maemun's blood-soaked body. The black belt wrapped around Haji Maemun's waist was taken away. He then wrapped it around his own waist. The mysterious figure smiled in satisfaction. After spitting towards Haji Maemun's body a few times, he turned his body and stepped calmly into the forest. His mysterious figure was lost in the darkness of the forest.

The night is getting late. The sound of geckos being heard between the tree trunks, bounced all over the corner of the forest. The flocks of whistling ants called out to his herd more. The smell of blood was carried away by the wind. Breaking through the forest, attracting the night beasts to approach.