Chapter 5

"I need your help."

Irene raises an eyebrow at the fact the woman isn't currently side-eyeing her or asking Kai to go be alone somewhere. From what she's heard, especially from the campus's anonymous confession account, girls who approach Kai more often than not get at least glared by others or worse.

"How can I be of assistance?" Kai asks, his voice changing to a serious and stern tone, different to the one he used just seconds prior.

'Is he... sensing something?' Irene thinks to herself as she listens in to the conversation.

"Ah, right, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Safira, but please call me Saf, aerospace engineering IUP batch 2020." The woman, Safira, introduces herself.

"Nice to meet you Safira. Kai, environmental engineering 2022, this is my friend Irene, chemical engineering 2022." Kai says and motions to Irene. Safira glances at Irene wearily to which Irene simply nods her head politely. "Please don't mind her being here, she might be able to help with your problem."

"If... if you say so..." Safira murmurs. "Um... how do I say this..."

"Ah, please sit here." Kai says and places his bag in front of him, letting Safira sit next to him. "Take your time."

Safira takes about two minutes to think of how to tell Kai about her problem, still continuing to twist with the ends of her hijab. "It's... I think... my friend is being haunted."

"Can you elaborate?" Kai asks, rummaging his bag and pulling out a tablet. Irene peeks over his shoulder to see him opening his note-taking app, the pen of his tablet ready to write down whatever information Safira is about to give him.

"My friend, she... she's pregnant and is due to give birth around next week. People around her including me have noticed her acting strange these past few weeks." Safira recounts.

Kai raises an eyebrow, writing down 'Kuntilanak', 'Sundel bolong', and 'Kuyang'. "And you're sure this is a paranormal phenomenon and not some form of prenatal depression or anxiety?" He asks, his tone is more akin to assurance rather than questioning.

"I'm sure. I urged her to go see a psychologist and there was nothing wrong with her mentally. She kept describing something following her and wanting to take her baby but no one ever saw what she's talking about." Safira answers with certainty.

"Why didn't you ask the help of a religious leader?" Kai asks once more.

That's true. Kai is simply a second-year university student, not some sort of religious leader. Yes, he can help people with paranormal situations, but even he admits he isn't all that good yet. Could Safira be seeking Kai's mentors instead, not knowing they've passed?

"My friend got pregnant out of wedlock, the religious leaders she went to turned her away saying this is her fault in the first place and that she should deal with the consequences of her own actions. She said she met uh... Father Benedict and Ustadz Afzal, she said they're the only religious leaders she trusts." Safira answers, her fists clenching her dress.

"I understand." Kai says, his dark brown eyes are soft with understanding. "If you're searching for Father Benedict and Ustadz Afzal, unfortunately both of them passed away last month."

"No, I know they've passed away and my friend also knows they've passed away, I'm actually searching for you for help." Safira interjects, waving her hands frantically. "Since Ustadz Afzal and Father Benedict have passed, even if other people from shamans to religious leaders have about the same knowledge, my friend will only trust you. She believes you share the same values regarding her situation as Ustadz Afzal and Father Benedict."

"I understand. Well, from what you've told me, I'm still unable to narrow down the correct information regarding what's haunting her so I'll have to see the situation first-hand, that might get a bit expensive." Kai specifies, writing something down on his tablet.

"Please, I'll pay any amount! My friend and I are already attached to the baby and I... I honestly don't know what I'll do if the baby is harmed in any way..." Safira pleads, grabbing Kai's sleeve and gripping it so hard, her knuckles turn white.

"Yes, yes, I'll help you." Kai says, calming Safira down. "Why don't you go and take a walk to calm yourself down in the meantime. I'll communicate the timeline and price with you via line."

Safira nods and releases Kai's sleeve. She bows her head and whispers a 'thank you' before giving him her contact information and leaving Irene and Kai alone again. "Poor girls..." Kai murmurs as he starts scribbling down a timeline.

"I... have a few questions..." Irene says, pulling Kai's attention towards her once more.

"Shoot."

"What are those things you wrote? The uh... ku- ku--" Irene asks, struggling to pronounce the foreign words.

Kai laughs and pats Irene's shoulder. "The ghost I might be dealing with is either a kuntilanak, a sundel bolong, or a kuyang." He says, helping Irene with the pronunciation.

"Yeah, those. How are you able to narrow it down so quickly?"

"Well, these ghosts specifically haunt pregnant women and babies, especially newborns." Kai says and shows Irene the tablet. "Which one are you more interested in knowing first?"

Irene scans the three options and points to 'kuntilanak'. "I've actually heard of a name similar to this one before, but since I didn't think they existed, I just left without knowing the information."

"Well, you'd be correct because kuntilanak has a Malaysian name which is 'Pontianak', Pontianak is also the capital city of West Borneo, by the way," Kai starts. "Anyway, a kuntilanak is a ghost of a mother who died during pregnancy or sometime after childbirth. Can be any cause of death but usually the deaths are unnatural, one of the most popular ones are that she committed suicide after killing her baby. She did that because she got pregnant and gave birth out of wedlock and couldn't stand her village's ridicules."

"Did she become a ghost because she wasn't buried properly like the gandaruwa?"

"No, that version became a ghost because she has a lot of resentment and regret and due to her killing her baby, it's seen as an act that neither life nor the afterlife can accept." Kai explains, he then points to 'sundel bolong' and proceeds to explain. "Since you chose kuntilanak first, I'll go to sundel bolong since this ghost is quite similar to the kuntilanak."

"How so?" Irene asks, tilting her head in curiosity.

"In appearance, they're pretty much the same, long, messy, black hair, usually a white dress--"

"Usually?"

"There are some different colours to signify age, aggression, sex, yada yada. Anyway, a sundel bolong is like a kuntilanak but she has a big hole on her back."

Irene furrows her eyebrows, confused by the explanation. "A hole? Like... a hole that exposes her back kind of hole? Like a backless dress?"

Kai deadpans and purses his lips for a moment. "A hole that exposes her spine. Like, a skinless, meatless spine. That sounds wrong, but I was never good at biology."

"What the fuck?"

"I have no other way of accurately explaining it."

Irene waves her hands, dismissing the tanget they brought themselves into. "Alright, okay, wow uh... how is a sundel bolong different than a kuntilanak then? In story context."

"Well, a sundel bolong actually has a similar story to the kuntilanak, but she's actually a prostitute or a promiscuous woman in general," Kai explains. "Unlike the kuntilanak who died due to suicide, the one pregnant out of wedlock, a spirit can become a sundel bolong because she's had sex with multiple men, imagine at least 5 at the same time while the kuntilanak more often than not has only had sex with 1 man in a long period of time. In a religious society like Indonesia, people would probably just... bury her in a shallow grave if lucky, simply left there if not. Vengeful mixed with improper burial and you got yourself a ghost."

"But... why the hole on her back?" Irene asks, getting even more confused. The kuntilanak one was acceptable, but the sundel bolong story is just downright unbelievable.

"I guess it's just her punishment for getting with a lot of men at the same time. I really don't know why they can't just be classified as kuntilanak." Kai concludes, though it's kind of a lousy conclusion to come to and even he knows it.

"Okay... then what about the last one? The uh... kuyeng?" Irene asks, pointing to the last ghost Kai hasn't explained yet.

"It's kuyang, and a kuyang isn't exactly a ghost. It's actually a woman who uses a type of black magic." Kai says, going to another app in the meantime. "A kuyang uses this black magic to keep herself young and beautiful. They target newborn babies because the contract they have with the devil is to eat the newborn babies, some drink their blood, some eat them."

Kai turns is tablet towards Irene and shows her an eerily well-drawn picture. She can clearly see a head, however there is no body. The head itself is pale and wrinkled, its eyes are bright red, sharp teeth decorate its mouth with blood dripping from the sides, and its black, tangled hair is thin and wispy.

"It's... a head..." Irene murmurs.

Kai points towards what Irene can't make out from the drawing, well, maybe she can, but maybe she prefers not to put that image into her head. "And its organs." He says, pointing to what Irene can now make out as lungs and intestines.

"What the hell..."

"I've encountered all of them, actually. You'd be surprised how often these cases actually are, especially in a village." Kai says and turns his tablet off, giving Irene his full attention. "There are still countless of other ghosts that target specific people, but I'm quite sure that's too much for you to handle in one sitting."

"Then... I'll just have to slowly get to know them one by one to try to protect myself." Irene asserts.

"That's right." Kai adds, his voice soft and... is that a hint of admiration in his voice? Nah, Irene must be imagining it. "Ah, is that the only question you have?"

Irene perks up, remembering the other question she had. "You charge people who ask for your help? Will I have to also pay you?" She questions.

"Ah, yeah. People usually don't give a shit since they know just how dangerous this job is. The price also ranges depending on how difficult and long the job is." Kai answers with a shrug. "And about yours... do you want to pay?"

"Well... that depends..." Irene hesitates, knowing how it can take Kai a while to get to the bottom of this mess, especially since he's on his own.

Kai grins and pats Irene's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Your safety is more important at this point in time."

"But what about yours? If anything happens to you..."

"Everything will go to shit, I know. But unlike you, I can fend for myself and defend others." Kai says, his smile widening. "I have class in half an hour so I have to go now. Remember, unless I'm in the middle of a job or an exam, I'd never be too busy for you."

He stands up and gives Irene a wave before walking away. Irene sits there for a moment longer, Kai's 'I'm never to busy for you' lingering in her mind. Maybe Irene sees why Kai is so popular among the students.