"I am home"

Right after I got home, I toss all of my belonging to the side and hang my jacket and jeans leaving myself with only shirt and short pants. Just like usual, my mother ask me whether I want to eat or not but I only drink water before go to my bed on the second floor.

It is rather shameful of me to say that I still depended to my parents but it just can't be helped because I can help my mom to do chore sometimes and help the family financial issues altogether rather than living by myself and pay a complete stranger just to let me sleep under cramped roof.

Jumping on the bed while taking deep breath, I recall that weird and scary experience just a minute ago.

"Now that I think about it carefully, that creature seems big enough to be an elephant but there is no way it is the animal I ever seen before"

On top of that, even the seemingly human are quite tall. If I am not wrong, they might be around 2 meter at the very least.

While pondering just what is the reason for me to sighted such a thing, I notice a white figure standing still beside the bed on the corner of my eyes. Flinching a bit before relaxing again, I ignore it and start to play my mobile game to make my eyes tired.

"I cannot sleep after all of that tension, and here you are standing still right there. How am I supposed to sleep peacefully?"

Said me toward no one in particular.

That white figure truthfuly always appear on my bedroom every once in a while. At first, I chant every single prayer possible to make me relax and be protected by any kind of spiritual or even physical interference from other worldy but after a few months ( Yes, it took me months to get used to it ), and realize it never once harm me, I start to ignore it even when I know it is right there while doing my manly ritual.

Before sleeping in this bedroom alone, I used to sleep together with my brother but now he move away to rent some room on the other province because it is so much closer with his workplace.

'After that, I strangely never afraid of ghost. Even when I dream of it, I only flinched a bit before asking them to fight and yet, I scream like an idiot from that event from before.'

Shaking these weird unecessary thought out of my mind, I start to focus on my game before the figure on the corner of my eyes start to get close to the point of awkward. Of course there is nothing there after I glance to the side which before I knew it, I start to forget it's existence and start to sleep after a few more games.

***

"Hiiighiighiiiii!!"

What a weird laugh you have there, madam.

'This must be a dream'

Standing inside the vast and dark forest I don't know about, I unknowingly just come to conclusion that it is all just a dream. 

Looking right and left, the trees are all blackened and withered, but there is a natural water flowing sound that somehow seems so far away.

On the sky, something that presumably a moon but with a chipped side which originaly sphere shaped brightly lit with it's silver splendor. On top of all the tree, weird creature such as black lump of gooey slime, multiple woman with white attire and gore and wounded body, black and big guy that if I am not wrong, attached to a tree trunk, and even some of an animal I never know about.

The one that is just laughing are the most big woman out all of them around 2 and half meters and white attires but have a few tears on her dress, no foot because I am completely sure her white bloody and muddy garment are flying above the ground floating completely whitin my arm reach in front of me.

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Her hand are big, even probably bigger if compared with a guy with similar height, long finger and nail that no worse than a beast claw, mouth slitted to her ears but no teeth if I am not wrong, white eyes that curved not cutely at all as if she want to charm me with her smile.

Standing stuck like that, normal guy would be screaming and run for all his might but I just don't even have a shred of fear whatsoever even after in front of such a sight. It is weird but maybe it is because I am completely sure they wouldn't be able to harm me.

'Why?'

The woman start to laugh less and less before it stop smiling and floating closer to me with her arm stretched. It makes me feel extremly uncomfortable but my body cannot move except my head and my eyes. 

Even when I want to say something, it just stuck to my throat while my whole body and vision shake as if an invisible chain locked my soul to make me obedient. 

'I hate this'

The restrained feeling, by something that I not acknowledge, being half hugged by something unlikeable start to make my mood heavy with displeasure. 

'Stop touching me! Move! Why I cannot move!?'

While I struggled, the woman finger slithered to my chin and raise it up to her gaze. I can see her white eyes with no black pupils, wrinkled face with that quite big of slithed mouth and her fluttering wavy and dirty hair.

Anger start to build up on me little by little weirdly after I can feel her stern and threatening gaze she land on me.

'What! Do you think I am afraid of you!?'

Shout me while I tried so hard to move my mouth and body making this forest to shake with buzzing and creaking sound of tree as if the whole world try so hard to restrained me to the point of almost breaking

'Why I cannot move!!?'.

I take her expression as something humiliating. That woman dare to look down on while "Threatened" me. Even the normally sleeping expert such as myself failed to realise that such a flip of emotion are not normal especially when you are in front of the unknown.

"...DDoon..'T...GOoo.ooo~"

'What?'

But her next world cool me down. Ignoring my iner confusion, she kept mumbling about that repeatedly.

'Go where? I cannot even move here!!'

Likely understand what I mean, she stop muttering it and release her hand from me and then point her finger deep inside the forest. There is nothing I can see over there but I can tell what she mean because the water source probably over there based on my hearing.

"Wake..up"

'What now?"

"There is .... accident...Wake..up. BAGAS!"

!!!

"Present, maam!"

"Finally you awake at last. I know that you just got home but because today and tomorrow are your days off, pleas..."

"..."

...Can I go back to sleep?

***

There is no way a just woken up guy can manage to receive a lot of sudden influx of information and yet here my mother just come to the ending. After I stop her monologue and wash my face first, I ask my mother again to tell me what actually happened.

I know my mother well enough that she wouldn't dare to wake me up even when I got a call from work expecially when I just go to sleep so I am quite wondering just what force her to do this.

Apparently, my neighbour girl named Lena just gone missing in the middle of the night. Our house are located in the deepest part of village where we need to pass quite long of small road without asphalt and still a lot of trees and river nearby. 

Such a rare place to live for modern people in this Era but nonetheless, that is the truth. So For a girl especially 16 years old to go missing in the middle of semi forest and river are usually ended up with not so desireable ending.

"You can go sleep if you are still very tired though. I can just say to the chief that you just got home and 2 hours ago and difficult to wake up"

'...Really? Then, let me sleep instead please'

Of course I wouldn't dare to say that. It is indeed an option and they wouldn't dare to blame me for it but I can imagine that my family, especially my mother would receive a disappointment from the rest of them even though they still smiles when we are around.

"...I guess I will help a little bit before going to sleep"

Hearing my reply, my 49 years of mother with a little wrinkle on the corner of her eyes ease a little bit with her relieved smile. She must know what I mean by helping a little bit.

"You will ended up helping all to the to the end it seems"

I cannot help but smile wryly after she said such a thing to me. 

'Well, it would leave a bad taste on my mouth if I stop in the middle of my job after all'

Following my mother and father that woken up just like me even though he still have work this morning, we follow the rest of my neighbour and start to walk toward security POS that already packed with people and a lot of of murmuring and vague screaming.

Unable to stop our flowing curiousity, we start to hastened our step...

"What do do you mean by my child have been kidapped for marriage by a Djin!??"

...until we manage to catch a woman wail from the middle of the crowd.

'Wait, what?'

Is that even possible!??