“Ikak ni diem-diem nek nyari' tunang ka yang selingkuh, ok?”
I was surprised and turned to the brash person who made my heart almost over. After making sure Gran was still chatting with his friends—now sitting cross-legged on the ground—I looked back to the side and glared.
“I don't speak Bangka!” I said curtly.
I tried to ignore the word “selingkuh” which sounded the same as “cheating” if interpreted in Indonesian.
The brash boy's eyes rounded. He nodded as if he understood quickly.
“Oh, you just moved here, huh?” the boy said curiously with a rather loud voice, acting out the voice of the artist singing beside us. His brow furrowed. “Where do you come from?”
This time my brow was creased. I review his appearance. He wears a blue denim jacket with a white shirt, black jeans and casual shoes. His short-cut hair is as black as his irises. The boy's face was quite okay, but his expression was like a stupid kid.
It is clear that the name stupid kid is not dangerous.
“I'm from Jakarta,” I answered briefly.
“I have a friend there,” the boy told.
“I didn't ask,” I replied flatly.
He sniffed the air at least twice before then blabbering carelessly. “Really, who are you? A vampire or wolf-shifter? I really cannot tell the difference. How is it possible? What are you using so you can mess up your body scent like that?”
After being shocked for a while, I kept my expression flat and seemed unconcerned. I decided silently, this boy in front of me was not stupid; just a heavyweight idiot.
“Oh yes, let me introduce myself!” the boy offered his hand. I greet him with some concern. “My name is Saga. Saga Adrian. You?”
“Bara.”
I let go of his hand, then left the crazy boy.
“Hey, wait!”
I turned my head. “What?”
“I'm serious! Are you a vampire or a wolf-shifter? Just tell me. I want to be your friend, really!”
I growled. He wants, I don't, I told myself. Fortunately, I did not have enough hours to swear someone directly.
“Listen, Saga,” I almost spit out that name from my mouth. It is a good name, but not with the brain. “I don't know what your problem is, but stop saying nonsense! Vampires or wolf-shifters… that viral topic had sunk years ago! Do you still think about it?”
Saga frowned in annoyance. He looked amazingly surprised. I take it that he has indeed shifted his brain a bit.
“You want to say that you don't know who you are?” Saga said with astonishment.
Damn! Until when will this continue?
I rubbed my hips, took a deep breath, and then exhaled patiently.
“The Handsome Saga.” The boy blushed immediately. “I know who I am, believe me. Whatever you think, just think about it yourself. It's your business, but don't drag me into this craz—”
“BARBARA!”
I never heard Gran call out to me like that unless he was angry. Can I say the f word? No? Okay.
Trying to relax the body from the sudden freezing, I lowered my hand and turned around like a robot. Something is wrong with my joints.“Hello, Gran.”Rian D'Masiv's melodious voice drowned my screams. My neck and back are hot; the signs of worldly calamity were about to explode.“Where are you going?” Gran snapped, but his eyes glared at Saga.“Uh, not going anywhere, really,” I replied quickly. “I just walked around here and accidentally met him.”I smiled nervously. I wanted to give the code through the gaze so that Saga can match my lies, but failed to remember how his mind goes.“Don't lie!”I was shocked. Geez, it turns out to be Lie Detection from this old man to Dad. I decided to stay quiet while waiting for Gran to take me home.WHERE IS MY GREAT COURAGE?“And you!” Gran's index finger surprisingly pierced Saga's chest with furious. “S
When I say, “It’s up to you,” Mom and Dad will really do whatever they want to do. They never understood that behind the words “up to you” what was said, hidden the meaning of “I want to be heard”.However, I did not expect Gran would act the same as Dad and Mom.I often confided in Gran by phone before coming here and he sounded annoyed and always entertained me, I seemed to have thought that Gran would not have the heart to limit my space. In fact, I was wrong.The next day after that night, Gran warned me not to leave the house in the slightest. He left at seven in the morning to go to school as an Indonesian Language teacher in one of the middle school at the city.Before leaving, he very clearly stated, “I will take care of all your homeschooling needs later. Just stay at home. If you need anything, just buy it online. Or you can let me.”Because I was in a phase of frustration at the level
Saga sped like an arrow apart from its bow. I mean, he really looks like that! There is nothing that I exaggerate. My nose almost broke because I followed Saga’s movement.I shook my head as if I wanted to drive away flies around my head. I slapped myself without using excess energy. I sat back down like a fool.I must have been hallucinating, I decided in my heart. There was no way the friend of Salvatore Brothers came to Indonesia to look for Katherine who was attractive.I must be hungry.Before I could go to the kitchen, Saga returned with the express movement once more. I stared at him with horror.Something is wrong with my brain.Saga brandished a wire, and then he shot again—for God's sake, streaking! He did not run, but shot!—towards the front door. I took a few steps back. Suddenly alert, lest he will break it!Click.The door opens as if Saga has the key. My face was pale as Saga grinned in the door
I sat, but on another sofa. I do not want to get close to anyone wrong.“How strange your family is,” Saga started. “Why do they have to hide who you are?”My eyes twitch. Sitting on the edge of the sofa seat, I noted carefully in my mind to run away immediately if something suspicious happens. However, the idea then immediately erased considering what Saga did a few minutes ago.“Listen to me, Bara,” Saga said, advancing his body seriously. “I don't really know what you are. As I said before, your body's scent is a bit chaotic. Therefore, I cannot be sure. Either you are a vampire, or a wolf-cha—”I stopped him by raising my hand in front of his face. “You are crazy. Thank you for helping me open the door, but please leave,” I kicked him out.Suddenly, he pulled his lips and hissed. A pair of fangs appeared from between his teeth. The boy's eyeball turned white like the singer who a
Cafes in this small town are very different from cafes in Jakarta. Even so, still the aesthetic appearance did not disappoint me. Especially the Ananda Cafe that I—we—stopped by.I sip a cappuccino ice drink with brownish granola topped with pleasure. A boy and a part-time vampire in front of me were staring at a group of girls in shorts across the place where we sat. The girls who were mostly wearing minimal tops were giggling when they realized Saga was watching them.“Seriously,” Saga grunted on the green ice-colored basil drink under her nose. “The girls think I'm admiring them or something. Their clothes lack material.”I laughed. “You're so old-fashioned, Saga. How old are you?”Saga pouted. “I'm only one year old!”I almost sprayed the espresso milk liquid into his face.“Don't say it's true!” I shrieked under my breath.Saga rolls his eyes with bored. &ldq
I gape to hear the explanation. If he is joking, the composition is very good. If he is serious, that sounds weird.“Why don't you publish yourself in this world?” I said curiously. “And… gosh, do vampires really exist? How could I be so far behind?”Saga grinned. “Bara, humans will hate us when they see us truly in this world! Again, the law really exists. It's just that only vampires know.”I leaned with an unsatisfied attitude.“But, you see? We love movies and stories about vampires because they look cool, handsome and pretty too! So why not?” I tried to argue based on impromptu market research in my head.Saga laughter bursts out. The waitress girl who was passing by turned to be curious.“Try to imagine,” Saga whispered, leaning toward me. “Just imagine first. You beautiful girls are gossiping somewhere about Damon Salvatore's good looks, then a similar creature s
The boy continued as if I had never interrupted him. “One day she couldn't take it anymore. She is often ridiculed, harassed and humiliated. Therefore, she came to a remote cave to meditate. There she begged the devil to help her avenge her pain.“On the seventh night, a terrifying-faced devil finally appeared. The devil asked the girl's wishes and the girl said she wanted to kill without hurting the victim much. First, the devil told him to do gulf or witchcraft, but the girl refused. She wants to spend the blood of her victims without grievances or significant injuries.“So, the devil says he can make it happen. However, the girl must swear that she will still devote her soul to him: life or death. That will also apply to her grandchildren. The girl agreed and that was the beginning of the birth of vampires now.“Even so, the girl never married nor had children. However, she created new vampires of her own free will. Her revenge was gon
In eighteen years of living, I had never felt so sweaty when I was in a car with the air conditioner on. My palms are so moist and slippery that squeezing hands is so easy.I breathe heavily, as if oxygen is slowly being sucked out of the car. My anxiety and worries increase by one percent every second. I did not even dare to look into the driver's seat beside me.The atmosphere in this private vehicle is no better. It feels like there's a secret bomb ready to be detonated anytime. My body that feels cold inside and hot outside doesn't help at all.It is not the right time to catch a cold.For the millionth time in these few minutes, my heart cried out all kinds of curses for Saga the stupid vampire of all time, who now has a situation similar to mine.After the rest of Saga's motorcycle was loaded into a patrol car and we were escorted into the vehicle, we were taken to the police station. We got an extra lecture from the law enforcement uniforms
She changes her fate with a slash of something supernatural, once a month, and Erza can't escape. The slashing magic was sent by a witch from across Sulawesi, even though she had been exiled to a tall tower away from the hustle and bustle of humans, right in the Valley of Panic. Even though the distance stretched for hundreds of miles, why was the union of witches so eager to always punish her?This must be a curse, because after all, entering the supernatural world with the lure of immortality was fooling. Erza, who was able to get out of there, must have been lucky. She is now immortal, but no one should expect everything to be young. In order to remain immortal, she absorbs the life energy of other living beings around her.That is because the leader of that damn organization's decree was announced for Erza to be exiled, a decision which of course was correct.Well, Erza is lonely, but that doesn't mean she's suffering. Instead, she was entertained by the sma
When Hugo left me alone in the cave, I lay back down on the stone bed with the thin mattress and musty blanket. My eyes stared blankly at the ceiling of the cave with chaotic and erratic thoughts.My thoughts and memories are as clear as crystal, from my childhood to the present. In less than a month, I had become a completely different person from what I was before—cold, cruel, heartless, and evil. Moreover, during that time I killed someone I seemed to have loved very much before—my mother.My eyes blinked. There was a wet curtain covering my eyes, blurring my vision for a moment. My throat tightened, as if I was holding back a cry that if released would make me feel like a wailing child. However, there was one other feeling that held back all my feelings: ignorance.I was sad, devastated, shocked by the fact that I used to be just an ordinary girl who wouldn’t be able to make my mother cry. Nevertheless, I also felt the chill I felt when tha
Like a flower that loses its beauty; so is the present that is happening to the whole country.Darkness forces beauty to mourn, darkening the happy atmosphere without being prevented. Gloom, that's all that's left.An eclipse comes between freezing snows. However, it actually lasted longer in retaliation for the delay.They said the darkness was created by a child. Dark and terrible poems about it began to surface.The girl fell like drops of rain from above the horror. She stood like a haughty tower in the distance. She limped in a gray cloud, like dawn breathing death.Someone once said in a tone like being watched by the darkness itself; her body winced, like stepping on embers of silence in the darkness that was painful.They said the girl had a sad sigh. The past without burden has become a memory, she said, missing it feels like a thirst for blood. Now the cruelty of maturity is a problem.People ask themselves: how does all thi
I finally woke up.I gasped for air and jolted awake until my body half rose from where I lay. I gasped, plopped down on the pillow again and closed my eyes for a moment. My head was so dizzy, like it was spinning.I was starting to feel like I was going crazy.All the flashbacks I have had just now have completely drained my sanity. Why should I experience someone else's experience? Not only did I witness memories like before, but also I actually experienced them; their every thought and deed, every detail I should not have known.Why?All of this brought me to a thought that I quickly pushed aside. I do not need to think about it anymore if it will only make my brain hurt.I opened my eyes and watched the roof of the room I was sleeping in. The roof looks like it is not the roof of a house, but… I woke up suddenly and my vision suddenly darkened. I closed my eyes again for a while before finally opening them again.I have déjà vu. I got out of bed slowly and l
Another flashback of Aria that Barbara had ____________ “He's really annoying. Who does he think I am?” Aria muttered to herself in disgust. The girl now lives in a city in Bangka Belitung, where everything is so annoying to her. She just came back from hunting wild boar then changed clothes, and went straight to the kitchen. While hunting earlier she almost ran into a wolf-shifter who almost knew who she was. Moreover, he dared to call Aria with a girl who was not human but smelled strange. It was all because of the secret seal she had placed on her body, a mystical seal, so that no one would find out whom she was. Aria has also been equipped with anti-enemy magic by a witch that she trusts, so that Hugo and his subordinates won't know about her. She was actually quite anxious when she heard about the news of another wolvire in the city of Koba, and she almost died wondering how two wolvires could have been bor
I don't know what happened to me, but vision after vision filled my brain, the more I felt I was them. I want to stop it all, but helpless. The thoughts of this girl named Nadira came to my head again. It had been ten years since the incident, but Nadira could still taste the rancid smell of white blood with the tip of her mind. Often times the girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath, so that at least the glint could be reduced. Nadira thought time would cloud the memory, but she seemed to have her hopes up. At the very least, she had managed to fool herself into thinking that what she was doing was the right thing. Or she thought so. Nadira looked away. The teenager stared at the distant forest through the window beside her, wondered how her mother (she refused to think of Maya as a stepmother) could become INDICENT's right hand man without the public knowing. Which then ended with a creese from… she forcibly stopped the memory. Nadira took a deep breath
[FLASHBACK] Nadira once committed a crime. Nadira was only seven years old at the time. One night, Nadira woke up to hear a noise downstairs. Nadira thought they were her parents, but she was surprised because her mother suddenly sounded screaming like someone who was scared. Her parents had never fought before, so little Nadira found it strange. Nadira, who was curious, finally walked out of the room, which she had left it dark so as not to be caught. Nadira closed the door carefully, and then quietly peeked through the grille of the stairs. Little Nadira then gave a soft breath. At that time she saw there were five people in black robes in the living room. They were holding some kind of blade. They surrounded her mother who was sitting terrified on a sofa. Nadira wanted to help, but she was too scared. Her heart wondered where her father and two brothers were. The little girl bit her lip, holding back s
FLASHBACK Rio Sanjaya ordered his dark horse to stop for a moment with a watchful gaze. The surrounding trees were violet under the bluish moonlight. After listening to something for a while, Rio stomped his horse back on his way without haste. Many times his eyes darted to the edge of the path he was passing. The movement in the thickets brought Rio to a halt again, his horse grunting and neighing softly. Rio drew the double-edged ax he threw onto his back. The handle of the object was rather long and silvery in color. Each blade bears a sign of a roaring tiger. “Whoever you are, come out,” Rio said his voice was firm yet still. Even so, a drop of sweat seemed to be dripping down his forehead. The scrub rustled again. There was a sound of broken branches and a few seconds later the bushes opened, revealing a large man in a black robe and a blue mask. Other figures with almost the same appearance began to appear one by
ARIA JONATHAN [FLASHBACK] The girl yawned. Who wouldn't get bored if you sat for hours in the car without meaningful activities, like sleeping, for example? She had thrown her phone and favorite fiction book in her bag, after nearly an hour of staring at it with a fading enthusiasm. She did not know why her ability to kill herself a.k.a sleeps anywhere and anytime suddenly decays. It was at times like this that irritation almost frustrated her; barely. How far did she have actually go to get to that damn boarding school? One year, maybe. This is really annoying! Aria glanced at the man in his forties who sat behind the wheel sarcastically. She was sure that Mr. Baga's butt was almost blistered. Aria herself has changed her sitting pose at least a million times. She wondered how an ordinary human could possibly sit that long. Aria feels in vain with herself as a wolvire. “Sir, you are human, are