ALKISAH: Prayer for the World [1001 Indonesian Fantasy Stories]
EDEN III/At Least He's Not Alone

One dream came.

The boy found himself standing alone in a magnificent green meadow, while the blowing wind made the grass in the plains sway and sway like soft waves in the ocean.

"Maybe it's alone... It's a curse."

A single word sounded out of nowhere like a gust of wind. Is that the wind? It was short but very clear. Buried but felt close.

However, the boy suddenly opened his petals and saw the color of his eyes were golden and shiny.

The dream faded away instantly. He was pulled back in reality himself.

The cold weather in his room that was pitch-black at that time made Aqil wake up from his sleep with a strange feeling of uneasiness. Although only a moment, but the dream earlier was strangely even felt very real.

In that small room, on top of an aging bed, Aqil was lying in a thin blanket staring blankly straight ahead, or precisely at her rickety wardrobe.

"Cold..." A small voice came out from the cleavage of his lips. His breath was billowing in the air. "If that wasn't a dream, it would be delicious... I want to go to a place like that, there's only grass and wind everywhere."

Aqil took a deep breath and then pushed her body to take a sitting position. There was a window next to his bed, just above the small cupboard filled with his textbooks.

The boy got up and walked to the front of the window. His window opened next door, and he could see the view of his quiet residential complex wrapped in darkness.

At first there was no one out there, but the silence was suddenly replaced by the sound of the dawn prayer from the mosque in the distance.

But there's nothing special out there. The view he saw from the window was always the same. Hardly any changes in the last few months.

Aqil turned his gaze towards his closet. He grabbed the closet door, opened it, and took out a small red shining bottle that he had hidden between his clothes.

Aqil once again took a deep breath as she opened the lid of her bottle made of red gemstones. And when he was sure, Aqil called the name; "Come out, Kitsunae."

Suddenly, the strands of threads made of red light started coming out of the bottle. The light kept flowing out and the beauty of the bottle faded. Its light gathered in the air and slowly began to form the figure of a tiny fox that was the size of Aqil's head.

The creature was glowing and floating in the air, graceful and extremely beautiful, its eyes glowing blue, and it had reddish-patterned white fur and a tail that resembled a burning flame.

The Kitsunae initially looked puzzled when she saw Aqil, she also let out a funny voice. Kitsunae may be surprised that the owner has changed, but I don't know, the creature continues to hover around Aqil as if judging the boy.

But after a while, Kitsunae finally nodded and landed on Aqil's head. Maybe a sign that he doesn't mind.

A small smile formed on the boy's lips. Actually he wanted to stroke Kitsunae, but the little fox looked sleepy.

"Well, it's okay. At least I'm not alone in my room anymore." Aqil again stood in front of the window, along with Kitsunae who was sleeping on top of his head.

However, Aqil at that time also remembered his dream. There was a woman's voice saying; "Is that alone, a curse?" Aqil whispered the sentence she heard in the dream as quietly as possible while staring at her broken little finger.

"You know what, don't you? In this world, there are many people who prefer to stay together in darkness, rather than living alone in the light, you know." Said a woman who suddenly appeared in the window.

Aqil's heart suddenly almost stopped when he saw the young girl. He gasped a little, but Aqil tried not to wake Kitsunae up.

The girl has a very pretty face. His face is still young as a high school boy. But his hair was very strange, it was white, but it was not white, or rather, it was similar in color to a five hundred rupiah silver coin. Yes, her hair was silver and seemed to be too delicate. What a strange girl.

"I'm in, yeah." Said the girl excitedly, then she directly climbed up the window with great difficulty.

"E-Eh?" Aqil. "Wait awhile! Who are you, anyway?"

After the girl entered Aqil's room, her form could be seen from the tip of her foot to the end of her neck.

This girl looks like, a bum.

Forget her head, it was just an accessory, because when viewed from the neck down, she was clearly a bully; her clothes and shorts were torn here and there and full of various kinds of stains; she was a little bit of a bully; from ordinary stains, to familiar yellow stains are attached to his clothes, and also on... Her skin's.

"Ah, you don't have a problem, do you, if I go into your house?" The girl asked as she looked around Aqil's room.

"No problem, anyway, I guess... But who are you, anyway?" Aqil hesitates. The problem is that he is not familiar with this strange girl, and is also uncomfortable with the situation that is very strange at this time.

"Oh yeah, my name is, One. But if in Indonesian the meaning is, one." Clearly the girl puffed her chest and smiled widely, making her canine teeth so visible. "I am, is, the Strongest." Proudly said.

"Huh?" It sounded very stupid in Aqil's ears. What kind of crazy name is that? "One? The Strongest? What do you mean, anyway?"

"You got my coin, right?" Asked the girl suddenly, her face also turned serious and her smile disappeared instantly. "I can smell it even from Singapore." He emphasizes. "Where's my coin?"

"Of course, because I'm the Strongest. So, where's the coin?" A small smile appeared on his lips. "If you don't love me, I'll kill you."

Aqil's guts instantly shrieked when he heard the word "kill. The atmosphere becomes tense not play. Really, hearing that word made him feel as if he had just been thrown into the abyss.

"But, I've traded it for this fox. I don't have any more, I swear." Aqil explained timidly. "I'm only given one coin."

"You switched... With a Kitsunae?" Frustration and shock were evident on the girl's face. "Basic crazy! What kind of a fool are you!" The girl looked like she was about to explode, yet she seemed to be trying to contain her anger. So he vented it by hitting the wall of Aqil's room.

"Eh... Calm down, dong. I still have one, too." Aqil said as he hurried to pick up a small wooden box from under his bed. "But this one was a gift from my late father, anyway. Only if you need it, well, I'll give it to you, okay." Aqil held out the box to the girl, and she immediately grabbed it like a starving lion.

What a strange sight. Why did this girl–One– get to this state? What the hell is going on? What kind of world does he see? This feels crazy.

"Yes! This is really my power! This is the power of the Lightning Emperor mine!" The girl cheered and raised high up the shiny gold coin. There are also crown-shaped carvings and lightning on the surface. "Finally! After all this time, I finally have something to use as a weapon! Yes!"

However, the cheer One came to a halt instantly as he saw a strange sight on Aqil's right hand. His gaze became sharp and showed incredible seriousness.

"From your little finger... Who cut it?" One asked in a cold voice that seemed threatening.

"Eh? How did you know my finger was cut?" Aqil raised his right hand in front of his face.

"Heh, sharp objects like swords and knives are like a part of my own body. I'm even more familiar with the cause of a wound than I know the look on my own face." Reveal One, and he's still serious. "What's going on?"

"Oh, my mom cut it." Aqil replied spontaneously while showing his hand to One.

But, the atmosphere in Aqil's room had somehow suddenly become even colder than before, to the point that it gave him goosebumps.

"What...?" One asked in a flat voice, yet his face was very blank at the moment, and to be honest it looked creepy for many reasons. He looked like he was holding back his emotions. His breath went up and down and his fists were firm.

"O-Oh, but it's my fault, because I've broken my promise." Aqil hurriedly added.

One circulated his gaze around Aqil's room. The smell in the room was strange; there was a fragrant aroma and a slight foul smell at the same time, and the items there were also mostly old-fashioned and unworthy of use.

"Whatever the circumstances, it's still not your fault. No matter what happens." Said One firmly. He looked as if he was trying to contain his anger, now his fists were shaking violently. "That's not one of the kids." He stressed, his jaw hardened.

"Eh... So I do, huh?" Aqil grinned while stroking Kitsunae's chin which was still sleeping on his head. "But no problem, really. I'm breaking my promise to my mom, so it doesn't matter."

One seemed to still look boiling, but the girl kept holding back so that her anger was not misdirected.

"Aqil." One suddenly spoke up. "Everyone has their own rights, and that includes you. We exchanged looks like this alone, it's proof that you have rights too. Don't keep getting carried away like dirt, try to express your heart. Use your right, because it is life."

"But... I don't understand..." A cold wind blew and entered through the open window. Aqil had always liked the atmosphere in the morning blind, but it was difficult for her to like the cold. Why, huh? He wonders now.

"Take this." One put something on top of the drawer under the window. A shiny silver necklace, with a bandol shaped like a three-headed dog? Strange and scary to think of.

"Eh... What's that necklace?" Aqil's eyes twinkled slightly as he stared at the necklace. Yeah, well, that's weird, but still, it's got a magical thing in it.

"This is a Serberus Necklace. Take this as payment for the coins you gave me." One suddenly jumped out through the window with ease, and now he was standing outside turning his back to Aqil.

"Loh, where are you going? Why don't you wait until sunrise?" Aqil looked at One through the window. The girl's silver hair was really pretty, and she also looked strong when viewed from the back side, but strangely, when Aqil noticed the girl's back, Aqil felt that her back looked very lonely.

As if, One had too heavy a load– was too heavy–to be borne by a girl like her.

It actually feels a bit sad.

"There are only three Serberous Necklaces in this world. That necklace can make you talk to the bad side and the good side that is in you like you are talking to someone else. It sounds terrible, but as I said before; being together in the dark is not a bad thing." Without looking back, the girl began to step forward leaving the window of Aqil–'s room leaving Aqil.

The wind slowly blew, but strangely, it did not feel as cold as usual, instead it was warm.

Aqil lowered Kitsunae from her head, and carried her like she was holding a baby, while looking at the slowly disappearing back of One eaten by darkness and visibility.

"It feels... It's kind of sad, huh?" Aqil muttered as she stroked Kitsunae's back.

Perhaps the world has always been cruel. In fact, the girl had actually died before, but she appeared before Aqil, as if that had never happened.

The girl must have known very well that the world was really evil, but, yes, that was the situation. He wanted to live, and that was the reason why he chose to keep going.

SC Image: Google