A warm embrace of longing enveloped Adam, a man recently abandoned by his wife under mysterious circumstances. Adam sat motionless, surrounded by bright white walls that seemed to stretch endlessly as he scanned to every angle of the place. His eyes then met with the figure of a woman with long hair and a white dress, facing the corner of the room. Adam froze until the woman turned and their eyes met, sparkling. In a split second, Adam felt a deep sense of sadness from the woman's gaze, and they exchanged smiles with each other.
The fleeting happiness Adam felt then shattered into fragments of memories of the joy he once experienced before this past week unfolded. Everything felt heavy, and Adam felt a tightness in his chest as if the Grim Reaper was tearing out his heart.
"Why... Why do you still smile after all that's happened?" Adam said with his trembling lips, hoping his words would reach the woman who continued to smile.
"Please, talk to me...” as Adam’s heart is pounding so fast. “Have I done everything right? What did you feel all this time? What happened to you?"
With his body frozen, Adam tried to reach out to the woman. All the regret Adam had felt and kept bottled up began to bubble up and drown his mind in the depths of longing wrapped in pain. The bright white room began to turn red, the memories he had buried deep within now surged forth and filled the room, the recording of his decision to abandon family blood ties for a stranger woman became increasingly clear.
Hawa, an ordinary woman by all accounts, was destined to be born into a lower-middle-class family as the only child of parents with an unclear background. At the age of 18, Hawa decided to work and placed her hopes on a book she kept under her mattress. Three years passed, and there was no improvement in her life, her parents' lives, or her situation. The problems only grew, from the harsh working conditions in the industrial labor industry to her parents, who had never slept in the same bed since her birth, now deciding to go their separate ways. Hawa, who had never been close to her parents or others family related, resigned herself to living alone in a small boarding house near her workplace.
Hawa had never believed in fate or how divine power could change her circumstances. The unusually warm weather made Hawa lament the bright Monday morning, a day when most people had to grapple with their longing for the weekend. However, for Hawa, that morning marked a turning point in a destiny she never expected. A new employee was assigned to the same department as Hawa, to operate a medicine mixing machine in a sterile room. Wrapped in protective clothing from head to toe, a man with bright brown eyes met Hawa's somber brown eyes in a fleeting moment that seemed like a love affair. In that instant, both of them, without a word, agreed on a connection that could be felt.
Days turned into weeks, and Hawa found herself working alongside the man she loved in a silent mutual affection. Without much thought, they decided to take their relationship to the next level and live together as a legally married couple. Unfortunately, things did not go smoothly. Due to Hawa's unclear background and her status as an ordinary woman, she was spat upon by the man's father, the head of a religious family known as the "Ajengan Akhir Zaman" for his exceptional mystical powers and ability to see the future, which the community deeply respected. Conflicts began to arise as if God was testing Hawa and her beloved. The arguments between Hawa's beloved's man and the Ajengan Akhir Zaman family head grew more heated, fueled by the renowned religious father-in-law's prophecy that prevented fate from favoring Hawa. The entire family, especially Adam younger brother, who had also become heavily involved, fought vehemently against the two-year-old love that had blossomed between Hawa and her beloved, Adam.
As the rainy season arrived, the atmosphere grew even more heated. Adam decided to break free from the bonds that had held him captive for 25 years to finally make his own choices.
"You can't live with her, Adam. Give up and follow the words of those who have raised you all this time." Said Adam’s father with a bitter face, where the words uttered only made Adam more fearless in his defiance.
"I can still hold back from using harsh words on you. Haven't you ever thought about how I feel all this time? You can only continue to be submissive and obedient to the voices of the dead for no apparent reason." Adam said loudly, filling the room occupied only by his father and brother.
"Just wait and see, Adam! Your words will come back to haunt you, mark my words!" Adam's father's voice was clear and unwavering.
"Very well, then your words will also come back to you, Abah." Adam countered with even greater conviction.
This Adam’s firmness was born from the love he had never received, which he could finally feel from a woman who was not his mother, a woman he could now fight for again, Hawa.
Adam was forced to swallow a dark pill at the tender age of five, a time when he should have been playing and enjoying life. Instead, he was burdened with a heavy responsibility: to protect a faint light that appeared on the day he swallowed the pill. Young Adam, who had never been close to his father, decided to become a strong figure who could guide the light, which he hoped he could share his love with. The realization then came on the day Adam made his big decision, the light he had been caring for turned into utter darkness and in the end, the burden that Adam held could be released and became lighter.
"Idris, I'm tired… I can’t believe I just sacrificed my childhood and took care of you sincerely, but this is what I got? Well I'm not surprised, because you are indeed Abah's son..."
The memories Adam experienced felt so real, the wounds that had dried up were wet again, and the woman in the corner of the room continued to smile at him.
"Adam..."
A deep and terrifying voice behind Adam kept calling his name,
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"Adam..." "Adam...." "Adam..."
Fear ran through his body, and the voice grew louder and heavier until it sounded very close to his ear.
"ADAM"
The voice now became shrill and more horrifying, the frozen smile of the woman in the corner of the room now making Adam even more desperate and panicked.
"Don't forget your destiny, Adam. Your mission is to continue to live in the world you came from."
These sentences came from the back of Adam, where the terrifying voice had come from before. Adam finally can move his body while panicking and turning around. A black shadow with the same face as the woman in the corner of the room now stood not far from where Adam was standing. This shadowy figure had only dark brown eyes as the eyes tries to reach Adam’s face, then Adam approaches the black shadow.
Adam`s throat feels so sore as he tries to rehydrate by his saliva, he then approaches the shadow as it merges into Adam`s body and the fear is vanishing. A brand new soul that has been torn apart now becomes mint fresh like new and finally Adam is awakened from his slumber sleep like it has been a year for him. The clock shows that it's dawn and Adam should be prepared to work as a grave keeper. He quickly takes a bath then feels rejoiced as he is ready to clean the graves and shower plants.
The afternoon sun had replaced the morning light, and Adam, the graveyard keeper, was feeling the fatigue from his day's work. Suddenly, he noticed a figure standing in the open field of the cemetery. It was a middle-aged man dressed in a brown batik shirt, a leather jacket, and black cotton pants, looking like a father on his way home from work.
"Mr. Adam!" called out a veiled woman in a house dress, holding a small child in a primary school uniform.
"Oh, Mrs. Indira, just picked up little Indira from school, huh? Why do you look so down?" Adam replied, half surprised as he turned around.
"Actually, Adam", Mrs. Indira began to whisper, "I just saw an accident happen and it was right in front of my eyes and Indira's, I was shocked and instinctively hugged Indira….. It was so close…." Mrs. Indira began to hold his mouth and started crying.
With a look of surprise, Adam gave them a faint smile. Adam, who had an unusual habit for an old man, which is to eat sweet and sour candy, approached the little girl who was still tightly held by her mother's hand and cleaned his hands with clothes. "Little Indira, I had some delicious candy, strawberry, orange, mint, and so on. Take this and share it with your siblings, okay?".
The little girl looked confused, her empty eyes fixed on Adam's back. Without thinking twice, Adam handed over all his candy to little Indira.
“Everything is going to be alright, you are safe now”, said Adam as he laid back a little bit.
"Adam.." Mrs. Indira whispered again. "You know our family, if anything happens, I entrust little Indira and her siblings to you.." Mrs. Indira's expression began to calm down and brightened.
"Don't worry, ma'am. I owe a lot to your family too, especially since Hawa's passing.." Adam replied, his eyes starting to redden.
Adam's eyes gave a signal that Mrs. Indira understood, then they nodded in farewell. The sky was starting to show its signs, and Adam hurried to pack up everything because the afternoon is turning into night. The cemetery, which also served as a gateway for people to enter the village, was now becoming quiet. The lights around the cemetery started to light on, and without realizing it, the person standing in the open field of the cemetery was still standing there. Adam started to wonder and rushed towards the person.
"Mr. Adam!", a voice called out.
Adam stopped and instinctively turned around because the familiar voice is the voice of Pak RT. Adam turned back again for a moment and didn't see anyone in the open field anymore. With mixed feelings, Adam turns back and rushes to Pak RT.
"Adam, come with me tonight to bathe a corpse, then attend the prayer ceremony for the corpse at the village hall, then prepare for the burial. Don't ask too many questions, just go." Pak RT hurried away without any explanation.
The sky began to show its twilight, but in an instant the sky turned dark, and after all the cemetery lights were on, Adam hurried to the Village Hall. The location of the Village Hall is not far from the cemetery, but Adam was surprised because the only ones present were only Pak RT and his eldest son. Corpse lay in the middle of the Village Hall above the bloody carpet on the floor, an unusual face clearly visible in front of Adam's eyes. A pale face, eyes white like egg whites with black fluid flowing from every hole. Strangely, the corpse's eyes were fused together, and its hands and toes had about 7 fingers that seemed to grow from its palms and feet. This corpse had no hair and at first glance was only wearing a brown batik with cotton pants that looked torn.
Adam and Pak RT, with his son, without much question, nodded to each other despite their sullen faces. The process of cleaning the corpse in the Village Hall bathroom is finally carried out. The corpse is placed on a hospital bed with its head tilted upwards. Adam, wrapped in a cloth mask and gloves, began to check the corpse's nails, which turned out to be black even though they had been cleaned several times. He then continued by pressing on the corpse's stomach to get rid of any remaining dirt. Unexpectedly, something horrifying came out of the corpse's anus, looking like a clump of an imperfect baby fetus that was still moving.
"AAHHHHHH!" Adam shouted spontaneously.
"Sshh," Pak RT replied in a brief moment.
They knew that the ritual of bathing the corpse was sacred, and whatever happened had to be done immediately without thinking about anything else strange. Adam quickly put the lump into a bucket along with the dirt from the corpse, then continued to clean all the dirt by cleaning all the holes of the corpse, including the anus where the lump came out. Without a word, they all held back their sobs and nausea because their work had to be done immediately.
The village hall door swung open wide, carrying with it the fragrant scent of jasmine blossoms. A group of people emerged, clad in black suits and long trousers, their faces veiled in black niqabs that obscured their entire bodies, revealing only their eyes. Leading them was an elderly man in a flowing white robe and a luminous white turban. His gray beard hinted at his wisdom and high level of knowledge.
Without a word, the veiled figures surrounded the bathed corpse. The elderly man, seemingly a Kyai, approached slowly, carrying a tall staff resembling a large, sturdy teak branch. Adam, Pak RT, and his son retreated from the corpse and stood silently in the corner of the room.
"TAP TAP TAP." The sound of the staff echoed through the silent room.
As the Kyai reached the corpse, the veiled figures raised their hands and crossed them over their bodies, as if embracing themselves. They slowly bowed their heads, the room fell even quieter, and the lights dimmed, casting an eerie glow. Adam, standing in the corner, could see what looked like white smoke emanating from the veiled figures, entering and merging with the corpse.
"Pak RT... What's that white smoke?" Adam whispered, turning slowly to Pak RT.
Adam fell silent, his eyes widening in horror as he saw Pak RT and his son lying stiff on the floor, their eyes white and mouths gaping. White smoke also rose from them, drifting towards the corpse in the center of the room. Without realizing it, Adam saw a yellowish-white smoke leave his own mouth and join the others. Adam's body grew heavy, his vision blurred, and he could faintly see the Kyai approaching.
"TAP TAP TAP."
The Kyai hands then reach Adam’s face till he can’t see anything, and a chant whispers on the left ear of Adam.
“????????????????”, a gentle swirl of wind goes through Adam’s mind and he suddenly feels at ease. Now he can see clearly, his mouth is stuffed shut, and the yellowish-white smoke isn’t there anymore. Then the Kyai approach Pak RT and his son, and he starts to do the same to them, but then they are passed out, while Adam can see clearly everything but he can’t move. Kyai then comes back to the corpse and starts to do the ritual while the veiled figures still emit the white smoke to the corpse.
ADAM STOOD SILENTLY IN AWE, AS USUALLY SUCH RITUALS WOULD BE FILLED WITH COMMOTION AND DISTURBING NOISES. BUT THIS RITUAL BEFORE ADAM'S EYES WAS DIFFERENT. THE WHOLE ROOM WAS ENVELOPED IN A DEEP SILENCE, ONLY THE MURMUR OF THE KYAI CHANTING MANTRAS TOWARDS THE CORPSE COULD BE HEARD. THE RITUAL CONTINUED IN SILENCE FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES, THEN A BLACK CLOUD APPEARED, FORMING A SPIRAL PORTAL. THE CORPSE LYING ON THE FLOOR WAS SLOWLY ABSORBED INTO THE PORTAL AND LEFT A WHISPERING WORDS COMING TOWARDS ADAM’S EARS.
“I exist…” A jumble of overlapping sounds creates a mixture of intonation and pitch, like an amalgam.