7. Vengeful Spirit: Memories of the dead girl

Izzat opened his eyes in confusion. He looked around curiously and was quite baffled by what he saw right now. He decided to stay rooted at the same place. He also needs to sort out his thought before leap out for his following action.

First and foremost, where is this? His mind is in a messy state.

One moment, he was standing in front of his faculty's office door in level 2, and the next moment, he has suddenly appeared in the middle of a big forest? Did he just teleported or something? Izzat took out his smartphone. No service? Perhaps, he is really in a forest! Did he just daydreaming, or did he experiencing a sleepwalking state?

Then, Izzat realized something crucial. The date on his phone is inaccurate. Today was supposed to be xx/xx/2021, yet, the date on his smartphone showed that he was in 2001. Am I the crazy one? He thought. Or is he really in the year 2001?

"Ah, I got a class with the Tigress of Astana Bintang today. I am in big trouble. If I skip her class without a good reason, she will ban me from entering her next class." Izzat sighed. "Fakhrul is still angry with me, and he's been ignoring and avoiding me these two days. Hah...Why did we fight in the first place anyway? Sure, he is annoying. But, his behavior is normally like that. Why would I snapped at him just because he pissed me off?"

Prakk!

Izzat's eyeing his surrounding in alertness. What was that?

A young girl appeared behind him, out of nowhere. But, the girl acted like she didn't saw him even though he is standing in front of her. She walked towards Izzat with her unfocused gazes and poof! She just walked through him! Izzat is dumbfounded. What is going on? Rather than sleepwalking, isn't it more accurate to claim that he died?

Wait a minute. Is Izzat's existence right now is a mere soul without a physical body?

Or is he actually didn't existed in this timeline? Does such an unbelievable occurrence actually happen?

The girl is walking around aimlessly. She had bypassed Izzat multiple times already. Girl, don't you realized that you're lost? Generally, people realized such an obvious thing by now.

After ten minutes or so, the girl stopped wandering in haziness and let out frustrated screams. Her noble look turned miserable. Right now, she resembles a crazy person more than a graceful lady.

"They lied to me! They lied to me! Unforgivable. Liars should all die!"

Izzat took several steps behind, distancing himself from the craze-like girl. He felt uneasy. Judging from her attitude just now, she might have a mental illness, such as depression or anxiety disorder. Whatever it is, he is not a counselor, and he cannot help her, nor he would. Both of them are separated by a different timeline. That's for sure. One existed in the past, and the other one lived in the future.

From a screaming madness, cursing, and weeping girl, she suddenly turned quite the next moment. She hugged her feet, and her body is swaying in rhythmic moves.

Izzat pinched his temples in distress. Ah, if I spend more time observing this girl, I also might go crazy. Izzat lamented in his heart. He really cannot deal with emotional people properly. Even dealing with a normal one took him a lot of effort, sometimes. He's a good listener, and unfortunately, a terrible advisor.

"Where is this place? Could somebody tell me?" The girl asked in a pitiful and sad voice. "Please? I wanted to go home."

"Even if I wanted to help, I also didn't know where this place is. It's not like you can hear me anyway." Izzat mumbled his reply.

The girl turned her head and looked straight in his direction.

Izzat flinched. Did...did she actually can hear him? No way, right?

"Pretty sister, are you lost?"A childish voice sounded behind him.

Izzat whipped his head. A child? Why is a child took an evening stroll in the middle of a big forest alone? Ah! Izzat gasped when he thought about something. Could it be...

The girl wiped her tears.

"Are you also lost?" She asked.

The child shook her head. She wore a pretty red dress, with both of her hairs tied in pigtails. The design is quite exquisite, with stylish black laces sewn at the end of the knee-length dress. A small butterfly clips decorating her hair. She also holds a teddy bear in her right arm.

"I lived here." She answered simply.

The girl tilted her head. She is doubting the sanity of the child in front of her.

"Here? But, this is a forest, right? Where is your home actually, little one?"

The child lifted her left index finger and motioning it in a specific direction.

"Over there, just around the corner. If you wanted to visit my home, I could show you the way. But, if you follow me home, pretty sister, you might not come back to the real world. Instead of that, if you decided to go home, I can help you." She showed her toothy smile, and a dangerous glint flashed in her beautiful blue eyes. "Of course, as compensation, I require something from you, pretty sister. After all, everything comes with some prices. So, what is your choice, Nurin Alisa?"

The girl's shocked expression is making the child chuckled in humor.

"How did you know my name?"

The child ignored her question and asked again, "Do you want to stay here? Or, do you want to go home? Choose wisely."

Lisa wobbled a little when she tried to walk.

"I want to go home."

The child's smile becomes wider.

"I heard you said, liars must all died. If you give me their names and pictures, as a token of our new builds friendship, I will help you punish them, pretty sister."

"Why...would you help me?"

"Because you are my friend, pretty sister. Friends should help each other, right? Or, you didn't want to be my friend since I lived in the middle of a forest? You must think of me as a crazy person, right?"

Lisa felt something stuck in her throat. Friend. One word struck deeper into her heart. How she longed for a friend since she entered Astana Bintang College. A friend by her side cares for her not because of her appearance and status. Someone that stood beside her without ulterior motive. Perhaps a true, genuine friend that sincerely cares for her well-being. Only that.

"Well?" The child holds out her tiny hand towards her. Expecting Lisa to take her hand.

"Please don't kill them. Just let those people suffered the karma that they brought upon themselves. Can you promise me this?"

The child pretended to think deeply before pouting. She blinked her eyes adorably, perfectly portraying herself as an innocent little girl.

"Hmph, for your sake, I will not kill them. I promise."

Lisa finally showed her smile. She reached out her hand and grabbed that tiny hand tightly as if grabbing onto a lifeline. Both of them disappeared into a thick, hazy fog that is inexplicably surrounding the area. The scenery finally changed. And, the next moment he opened his eyes, Izzat is standing in the middle of the hallway on level 2, alone.

The sky outside was already dark. Izzat checked his smartphone. Almost 7 pm. He lost himself in the memories of someone for two hours. And, no one realized his disappearance, well, minus Fakhrul, he did care for him though, even if he is indeed annoying.

Izzat felt a stinging heartache in his heart. He deeply sensed the longing and her disappointment toward reality. Is that the sole reason she jumped to her death? Why would someone choose such a painful way to end their life?

And, the mysterious child, who is she? No, the right question is, what is she?