The House 1937's
45. The Past: That Time
Mama rubbed her eyelids which felt heavy and a little sore. He began to feel a tearful streak running down his cheek when he had managed to open his eyes and quickly wiped them with the tissue paper available on the Aunty Alin study table. Mama glanced at the wall clock that made her shocked because the clock showed eight o'clock in the morning. He glanced at the side of Aunt Alin's bed and found that Aunt was not there. Mama thought maybe she had a shower and breakfast. Mama held her head slightly dizzy, probably because she was sleep deprived last night. Mama walked slowly to get her towel, clean clothes, and toiletries from her bag. He wanted to take a shower immediately to refresh his head and body that felt heavy.
She opened the door, looked to the right and to the left. The situation outside the room is very quiet, maybe they are all currently busy with their respective activities and activities. Mama stepped to the front door and saw Grandma who was sitting guard in her stall, mama continued her steps back to the bathroom while occasionally rubbing her eyes that did feel heavy and a bit sore. Mama always felt the weight and pain in her eyes when she experienced lack of sleep. Because the pain is still felt in his eyes, Mama finally just blinked his eyes a few times, because he did not want his eyes exposed to irritation due to continuous rubbing. Upon arrival in the bathroom he will immediately wash his eyes with water somewhat feels better and fresh.
Step by step mom headed for the bathroom, this time her steps came to a halt right in the exact closet she saw last night. Mom was shocked when she saw the closet. At first glance, this cabinet looks ordinary with old brown furniture design with a large glass attached to one of the closet door leaves. Mama slowly approached the closet with a watchful gaze, felt the handle of the closet door that turned out to be unlocked, then opened the side next to the closet door and opened the other side carefully.
Plastered in his view at this time is an arrangement of sheets, various pillowcases, blankets, and sarongs neatly arranged in the closet. He looked carefully at all sides of the closet and his view was the same. Mama finally closed the door of the old closet, and was shocked for the second time because of the large glass in the door of the closet, the shadow of the father standing right behind Mama with an expression that anyone sees, might be as shocked as Mama. Mama looked back, and obviously it was Papa who seemed to have just come from the kitchen.
"Ko..", Mama called Papa with a little sting, seeing Papa's facial expression like that, he so understood the words of Aunt Alin and Grandma yesterday, looks like Papa is a pretty tough guy to start first with the opposite sex.
"You take the blanket?", Papa asked in a flat and expressionless tone. Mama just nodded gently to reply to papa's question, mama did not want to make papa suspicious because she had opened this closet without any reason.
"It's okay, just take it if you need to. The lights are also not locked. Breakfast was difficult and Alin was in the kitchen.", Then Papa walked away from Mama just like that.
"Please Ko...", Reply to a short mama who still feels astonished, is the brother of his best friend is always flat expression by talking without such intonation every day?. If it is true, it is appropriate that until now he is still alone.
Mama resumed her steps to the kitchen and sure enough, Aunt Alin was sitting at the dining table while Bi Inah was outside drying clothes.
Mama approached Aunt Alin who is now enjoying warm tea, and mama also glanced at breakfast that was still on the table. White rice with spinach vegetables, corn bakwan, field anchovies fried with peanuts, one papa petai and sambal terasi. Mama approached Aunt Alin who shifted to give a place to mama beside her.
"Have breakfast?", asked the short mama who was still staring at the breakfast menu in front of her.
"From now on, you are still sleeping so the cave first", Auntie again drank her fresh tea that had begun to feel cold and caught the look of mama who looked shriveled.
"Why?", Aunt Alin rounded her eyes, who was perplexed by the sudden look of mama like that.
"Lu can't stand this house either..",
"Why indeed?", Aunt looked astonished and finally without further ado, Mama began to recount the terrible events she experienced last night. Hearing the things experienced by his best friend, Aunt just sighed and looked at Mama with a resigned look and a little worried.
"It's actually been a long time since the cave, Ko Jun, the same others proposed to Enah to sell this house and live in a new house. But Enah insisted on not selling this house, the four of us who even scolded Enah.", Obviously Aunt at length, at a glance she remembered the words of Grandma who was furious when she, Papa, was very angry, Om Toni and Aunt Dewi try to persuade grandma :
"But you are at home here Lin.", Now mama shows a half-screamed facial expression, for him to remember the events of yesterday night had been very disturbing.
"The cave is also actually if it can live elsewhere, the cave prefers to live in another place Yul.", Aunt Alin rubbed her face and sighed violently. And he started telling stories when Mama came to
first time to this house.
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Two children in red and white school uniforms are still busy with their school work in the form of miniature houses made of used cardboard, along with miniature decorations of the yard and fence. From noon Alin and Yuli were very busy preparing the property to do the art work of their teacher. When they finished lunch, Alin had prepared some unused cardboard that he took from Grandma's shop, along with scissors, and cutter. While mama has prepared various color acrylic paint, area of two pieces, glue, and ruler. While making house patterns on paperboard, Yuli had whispered about Jun, the brother of Alin who had had lunch with them.
"Lin, who was eating with us was Koko lu?", Mama began to open her conversation in the midst of their seriousness in doing the task.
"Koko, which one?", Alin asked Yuli because there were two brothers at the dinner table who had lunch with them, Toni and Jun.
"While wearing a uniform.", Reply mama briefly. Yuli's seat at lunch is right in front of Brother Alin wearing the High School Uniform.
"Oh, that's Ko Jun, still in 3rd grade High School, why?..", explained Alin briefly and now is focusing on cutting cardboard paper in accordance with the pattern he made.
"Hmm..., how does he look weird huh?, I mean, right this past lunch, he's seriously looking at my face...",
"Hahaha.., Si Ko Jun is that guy. It's okay, he's like that.", though...",
Mama just fell silent and went back to work, drawing the roof pattern of the house. Indeed like that?, anyone who is looked at like that would feel surprised even uncomfortable. Half their work is almost done and Alin asks for permission to go to the bathroom. The location of the bathroom that is quite far makes Alin accelerate his steps to get to his destination. Long walk, now his steps passed through Jun's room which looked dim with the window closed, and, Alin recalled yesterday Grandma told Auntie to put the stack of folded cardboard boxes right in Jun's room to sell later. It seemed like the pile of cardboard was high enough that his brother did not open the window of his room. But for some reason, Alin seemed to see something strange in the dim room, exactly at the top of the bed he seemed to see something. The curious little Alin stepped slowly to look at that strange thing. At once his heart was jolted and he shouted at the sight of a strange figure with long hair crouching on Jun's bed mattress, His body looked pitch-black with a ghastly gaze white like a dead fish. Grinning Aunt Alin while shaking her head slowly with long black and pointed nails like giant needles. What kind of creature was that?, how could such a monstrous figure be in Jun's room?, where was his brother?.
Suddenly the dimly lit room instantly turned bright, and Jun appeared from inside the room wearing only a plain white T-shirt and checkered shorts. He looked at his sister in wonder. Because somehow his youngest brother looked into his room with a frightened expression, then ran away towards the kitchen.
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