The River House

20. Firewood and Rain

"What are you all doing in front of Mr Zainul's room?" Mak Ijah asked, there were wrinkles on his forehead.

"Mak Ijah, I want to meet with Zainul right now" Bayu said as he slammed into Hendra's hand.

"Sorry, Mr. Zainul cannot be disturbed. You as a guest should have some courtesy to the Host," Mak Ijah replied with a frown. Usually the woman always shows a flat face, but this time there is emotion on the look on her face.

"Created dead in his room. Shouldn't Zainul be told? The lost yodi is not yet clear where the rimbanya to date. How can it be that in this state the host is silent in his room?" Bayu also seemed to evaporate his emotions.

Mak Ijah is not. He placed a tray filled with a glass of water and a few capsules on a small table in front of Zainul's room.

Tok tok tok tok

Mak Ijah knocked on the door of the room slowly while bowing.

"Please cure sir," Mak Ijah spoke slowly in front of Zainul's room door.

"Will Zainul come out of his room?" Ask Bayu. Mak Ijah looked at Bayu so sharply. His eyes bulged, his hands clenched.

"The death and disappearance of your friend has nothing to do with Mr. Zainul. Mr. Zainul has suffered enough in his life. Let him rest and do not disturb, or you will I drive out of this house" Mak Ijah threatened while spreading his gaze to everyone.

"Lunch is ready. Please immediately go down to the dining table," said Mak Ijah again, then he walked down the stairs leading to the bottom floor.

"Damn it!" Bayu cursed while scratching his head once again.

"Where is the body of the Creator? Outside of the heavy rain, it is impossible for us to deliver the body of Dipta to his house in this weather?" Norita looks panicked.

"Buying the Creator is also impossible. His wife waited for his return home. Who would have thought that Dipta came home with a name," Norita began to cry. He remembered Dipta yesterday telling him his wife was pregnant. Pity rules his heart. Norita sobbed, Ellie immediately grabbed him, trying to calm him down.

"Let the body of Dipta be in his room. We need to find Mella. What was the cause of Dipta's death, I think medics can identify it more precisely" Bayu said later.

"Could the steamed bread that Dipta ate be poisoned?" Ellie asked.

"I guess not. From his mouth there was no smell of poison. After all, steamed bread looks intact in the throat of Dipta. Which means most likely the bread was stuffed in the mouth of Dipta when he was dead or near his death. I just first discovered a case of death like this," Bayu clenched his hand in fury.

"Where is Bay?" Denis remembered the figure of Galang who was invisible to the trunk of his nose.

"That's her. I'm also very worried about him. He has not returned from the forest until now. Mr. Mardoyo disappeared, too" Bayu muttered to himself.

"Now what should we do?" Norita looks riled up.

Bayu was silent looking at the tray filled with capsules and white water lying on the table. Zainul's room was quiet and quiet. Bayu was actually about to wait in front of the room until Zainul came out, but at this time his priority was to look for Mella. Also if the rain has subsided, he must immediately return to the forest to find Galang before evening arrives.

Everyone complied, they left the body of Dipta in his room. Tia was also left in the room to rest. Whether Tia heard or not the excitement that occurred over the death of the Creator earlier. Also the host who has not yet revealed his nose until now, they are still left in their respective rooms.

"We need to find Mella. The conditions outside are raining heavily. So let's just find Mella around the house, don't go too far. Mella's ability is needed at this time. As a nurse or medical personnel, I need to discuss the state of Dipta with her," Bayu gave instructions. Currently they were standing in a circle in the middle of the living room.

"We go around in pairs. No one is allowed to separate from their partner. If something is suspicious, don't act rashly. Shout, or go home immediately, report to me. You understand?" 

Everybody nods. Tension from their faces.

"Well, Denis is paired with Norita. Hendra paired with Iva. And I'm with Ellie, "Bayu randomly determines the pair. 

"The area of this house is not very wide so I hope Mella is found soon. Denis and Norita, you guys go to the back of the house. Hendra and Iva to the front page. While Ellie and I will look around the river. We can borrow an umbrella or raincoat in the room next to the bathroom. I saw it there was a lot there."

Everyone agreed, and immediately moved in pairs like Bayu's instructions. Lunch is actually on the dining table. No one is hungry at the moment. Yodi and Mella who disappeared miraculously, also Dipta who has become a corpse in her room makes everyone's appetite become lost.

The rain was still quite heavy, as Bayu and Ellie walked on the river's lips. The water began to appear turbid caused by sand and the soil in the part of the spring water was eroded by rainwater.

"Where was the last time you saw Mella Ell?" Bayu asked half-screaming. Heavy rain makes the sound of Bayu less audible.

"After the house there," Ellie pointed at the iron door located at the back of the house.

"Let's see why he didn't come with me and Iva down the river road" Ellie muttered.

The rain was getting heavier, the rumbling sounds in the sky were becoming more and more so. Denis and Norita sit in the back of the house. The pile of wood that had dried up in the rain became the scene they had witnessed.

"Maybe our lives are like that dry wood" Norita said.

"Huh? Meanin?" Denis lit a cigarette in his right hand.

"Yes our crimes against Zainul in the past, like that dry wood. No matter how much rainwater brings goodness and life, the dry wood will never bloom again. No matter how much we try to forget, our ugliness towards him will still remember strongly in each other's hearts."

"So you're saying our mistake is unforgivable? Our lives are useless. Huh huh? Ha ha ha," Denis chuckled, his laughter breaking. It sounded so loud among the sound of rain falling on the zinc roof above his seat.

"Don't overdo Nori. Our mistakes in the past were nothing more than juvenile delinquency. Just kidding, a prank. Forgetting the past, moving on and trying our best in the present for a better future life is our nature as human beings" Denis sipped his cigarette deeply.

Norita fell silent. Both Denis and Norita refused to get out of their seats. They have no intention of looking for Mella who disappeared somewhere. While the rain is getting more and more, accompanied by a wind that blows quite hard. 

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