The Dark World
Joerig Coeroek's

...JOERIG COEROEK'S...

...Author by: David Khanz...

...------- o0o---------...

The hot air immediately burned all over the body, as soon as it entered the room of Esih, my sister. He was lying on the bed with his hands and feet firmly tied with a rope fixed to the side of the bed. Ice eyes widened horribly with the color of reddened eyes. A loud and powerful groan occasionally sounded from his wide gaping mouth, scattering a foul scent. The face paled with an irregular long hair outlet, terrorizing the guts of anyone who looked at it.

“Who are you?” esih asked with a heavy and foreign voice sounded, as soon as I approached her figure who continued to thrash.

“I Galih, your brother, Esih! I just came from the boarding school and want to help you,”, I replied with the state of Esih like that.

“I am not Esih and I do not know who you are, Young Man!” said Esih accompanied by loud laughter filled the room narrow and stinky.

“If not Esih, then who are you? Why be in my sister's body and bother her? Out soon! Go where you came from!” I said while reciting the holy verses. The laughter grew louder and longer. With his face he looked at me and spat.

“Don't interfere in my business, Young Man! I will make this girl suffer and die slowly! You're the one who should have left before I killed!” exclaim Esih with a shrill sound that feels like piercing my eardrum.

The recitation of the holy verses is getting louder. As a result, Esih began to scream while struggling to escape from the shackling entanglement.

For almost two weeks, Esih was stiff in the room. The pain that was suffering was so strange. Initially often fell unconscious and confined himself while scolding incoherently. Sometimes accompanied by a strange laugh. Last time, he tried to injure himself with a knife slashed all over his body. Fortunately, my family, assisted by some male neighbors, hastily secured Esih. Tying his hands and feet on the bed.

I was at the boarding school, when the news was delivered. Noon I immediately went home, after previously saying goodbye to Kyai Haji Farzan, the owner and professor of pesantren, where I studied this religion.

“Be careful, Son! Surrender only to the Gusti of God and ask for His guidance and strength! Use common sense before putting forward the lust of anger! I'll help do’a from here!” that was the advice of Kyai Haji Farzan just before I set foot to leave his residence.

Highlight my eyes my role model figure, looks so calm and charismatic. A few times my shoulder was gently patted, but it felt firmly gripped. Every time the clap of his palm landed on his shoulder, it also felt like there was energy coming into my body. Then gather in a single point of body part and immediately make my soul rise with confidence and strong courage. I don't know what he's doing. I'm confused myself.

The journey to the hometown, pretty, quite far and tiring. A weathered and squeaking public transport was sent every time it stepped on the surface of a road full of rocks and undulating soil. It took almost half a day of travel. Although finally arrived at the land of birth in the afternoon.

“Esih .. Esih .. please him, Galih!” mom said welcome as soon as I got to the door.

Directly in a hambur hugging full of a mother's longing for her child.

“What's with Esih, Mak?” I asked while wiping the tears of the mother who flowed profusely wet her old cheeks.

“She's sick, Galih!” replied Mom accompanied by sobs that have not subsided.

“Why not take treatment to the doctor, Mak?”

I'm getting confused.

“This is no ordinary pain, son! There have been several spells, doctors, healers to shamans who are asked to help treat Esih, but no one has been able to cure!” Mother began to tell stories after starting to calm down and regular breathing filled the chest cavity.

“Kok, can it be like that, Mak?”

“Esih is sick with witchcraft, Galih! Last time, a shaman who tried to treat it was killed by the figure of a creature behind the body Esih.”

“Creature figure? Maybe some genie or .. ?” I muttered while thinking hard how to help Esih.

If a shaman alone is able to be made perish, how dangerous the figure of astral beings referred to by the mother earlier.

“It looks like the creature that inhabits Esih's body is a mandraguna. He often attacks people who want to cure Esih it is enough to raise the index finger! And ... with his index finger that's one of the famous shamans in the village next door die horribly with the condition of the skin of the stomach torn large and intestines decomposed disgusting!” one of the people I questioned told me a long story.

Fear seemed to cover their faces. To the extent that, as soon as the story was over they hurriedly entered their respective homes. Close the doors and windows of the house.

“Be careful with the creature, boy! I suggest, you should undo your intention to help Esih, before getting killed like the others!” this one is the voice of the Head of the Village who also gathered among the crowd of residents.

“Thank you for the advice, sir! God willing, I have determined and intend to help Esih, no matter what. I beg you to do’anya, sir,” I replied to the figure of the moustached old man and the thick white beard.

“Child does not know himself! I've reminded you, Young man! As the Head of the Village, I will not be held responsible, if something bad happens to you!” the old man muttered back while watching me from a distance.

The look in his eyes emitted a bias of concern that struck the heart, accompanied by lips covered in thick whiskers that seemed to twitch, reciting readings with incomprehensible language.

I closed my eyes and closed my ears, as Esih screamed with a painful shrill of her voice. Swearing vows scattered with dirty language and should not be disclosed, “Bedebah! Stop those voices, you stupid young man!”

I did not care and continued to recite the holy verses aloud. My body trembled strongly withstanding the onslaught of heat that began to surround the entire room. The condition of the room that was originally dim with the lighting of a small patch lamp made of coconut oil, suddenly turned red like fresh blood smelling fishy. Esih was struggling strongly about to free himself from the rope that bound him. Until finally, one by one the themes broke up with a force that was hard to imagine.

Some residents of the house who peered behind the door of Esih's room, simultaneously scattered out because it was not strong with the heat spread and foul-smelling. Some tried to hold on and stand guard to help me, but eventually they gave up and immediately ran out with a blistering body condition. It gives off steam like roasted meat.

Now, I alone have to face the strength of the creature that is in the body of Esih, with all the power that out of nowhere comes. Sweat began to flood the entire body. Moisturize all the clothes I wear. At that time, I did not want to miss a single breath to continue reading the holy verses out loud.

Esih got up from the bed. The entire shackle that was holding his body was cut off. He growled while looking at me. His hands began to rise upward with open fingers.

“I warned you in advance, so that you do not interfere in my affairs, Young Man! Now, you must bear all the consequences with your own life!” exclaiming Esih with a heavy voice was not like the soft voice of a young woman.

Esih's index finger began to point at my face and ready to pull out with the tip of a long and pointed nail. I was getting ready to withstand his attack. Slowly install the horses with a stretch of both legs that open and rely on the strength of both knees.

“Yes Allah .. protect me, my son Galih! Give him the power to destroy Your evil creatures!” Mother cried bitterly in the midst of the crowd of citizens who crowded the courtyard of the house.

They wanted to watch my fight with the creatures that were troubling Esih.

A few moments later I heard a loud scream of my voice. Almost everyone around the place, screaming and saying I was hurt.

“Galiiiihhhh!” yelling mom about to burst into the house but prevented some residents, “what happened to my son?”

Not long after, a figure of Esih's body appeared walking unsteadily between the wide-open doors. Simultaneously the citizens who were swarming around, retreated slowly in fear. Esih continued to step up and began to point at the citizens.

“Where is your village head located?” asked Esih while laughing loudly.

Some residents tried to answer in a frightened voice,”Tadi we saw him at his house, Mbah!”

Esih laughed again.

“This is the turn of him I'm going to kill! Because I failed to kill that young man! Hahaha.” The sound of Esih's laughter slowly disappeared along with the girl's collapse on the ground.

His body is stiff.

“Essue …. ”

Residents hesitated to approach because they were still overwhelmed with fear.

“Nothing, please help him. Bring it back into the house. The creature is gone and will never come back to disturb Esih,” I said in the doorway of the house while enduring the pain that hit the chest.

There were a few drops of fresh blood coming out of my mouth and soaking my clothes that were still soaked in sweat.

“Galih ... ” mother calls and immediately scatters hugging, “you're okay, Nak?”

“Alhamdulillah .. I'm healthy wal’afiat, Mak! Just a little deep wound. The next few days too, God willing, will recover.”

Finally, some residents ventured to help Esih who was lying unconscious and immediately brought her into the house. Some of them helped me who was still weak and staggered while trying to step foot.

“You're great, son! Can defeat the evil creature!” said one resident while helping me sit on the front hall of the house.

“All because of God's help, also do’a from Mother, teachers and citizens,” my answer restrained the tightness when taking a deep breath.

“You are not an ordinary young man. You must have a high degree of canuragan science, son.”

“Not really, Sir! I'm just a human being like everyone else. No science of wisdom possessed. Just remembered the teacher's message at the boarding house just before the creature injured me further.”

“What was the sound of your teacher's message, son?”

“Remember always to Gusti Allah and use common sense.”

“Use common sense?”

I smiled, “I noticed from the beginning of meeting the creature, he always showed me his index finger! Even when he started attacking! Day .… ”

“And moreover?”

“Before I ran out of energy, the creature was preparing to finish me off with an attack of its index finger. That's when I took the initiative to fight with the same style.”

“What is it?”

“From my thumb.”

“Kok, can?”

“When his index finger met my thumb .. suddenly he admitted defeat, and promised to leave this village. At once left the body of Esih which he had been living.”

Some residents nodded while practicing index finger and thumb met, “Interest is indeed inferior to the thumb! Means if there is a little demon can lose with the index finger. Thumb devils must lose too if loved pinky! Hihihi .. Yes too, yes? Boy game! Hikz hikz hikz!”

“Then why the creature was looking for the village head?”

“He's the one behind all this. He also deliberately used Esih, because my sister had rejected the love of the widower!”

“Ya ampyun .. if it's a matter of love, mah, why not go to eike aja, oruh? Atuh, pan, eike is also a widow who needs a widower's caress! Hihihihi .. ” chirps a middle-aged woman while laughing and revealing long-lost front teeth from her foundation.

All the people laughed out loud ….

...T A M A T'S...