The Murder of the Beloved
Chapter 22

Happy Reading

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"I'd really like to kick it Auntie."

That childish speech made Della smile. Dinda is very young. "You're good at kung fu, aren't you?"

"Lumayan Aunt. I have the motivation to practice. And my father has been training me. I've been determined to drain all of dad's science. Well, he's really happy Auntie."

"Is he what your motivation is?" della's worried. He could not imagine what would happen if the two men fought. Don't people like Bram have men who are mostly rude? As smart as the science of kung fu someone, if in a crackle with a sharp weapon make sure to lose.

"Don't worry, Auntie," said Dinda with a smile. He could estimate his aunt's worry which must be the same as his own.

"I don't want them to fight. The consequences can be terrible."

"Yes. The result will be terrible."

"I'd rather kick him than dad. Will feel satisfied because you can repay yourself, without borrowing the hands of others."

"Really you don't want to stay with me for a while, Din?"

"I don't want to leave my mother. I promised him, Auntie."

"Oh yeah? He asked you to promise?" ask Della for wonder. He didn't expect that. In their conversation the other day it seems that Lilis was very irritated to her daughter.

"Rubber, Aunt. But I was also afraid, once I left the house I could not go back there. It was mom's house. Not the house of Om Bram. What if he gets the power?"

Suddenly, Della's feelings became unpleasant. He recalled the fifty million money case that Lilis had told him. Of course the case is over. But who can guarantee that there will be no similar cases?

"Lately they've been very friendly with each other, Auntie. I'm good to see Om Bram's sweet and romantic attitude towards mom. Seems excessive. Honey, baby, but that's the way it is. As I remember, Dad wasn't so with Mom. It's mediocre."

Della gets laughed at by Dinda's style of speech. "Maybe Om Bram is a romantic Din. Everyone is different."

"It seems like something made Om Bram go overboard like that Auntie," Dinda started thinking again. "Don't have anything to do with mom's overjoyed attitude. Ah, lest the mother be pregnant, Auntie. Ouch...."

Della shakes. "Don't be so Din. I told you, ask your mother. Why is mom so happy? Then see what the answer is."

"Ah, yes, too. How stupid I am. It's because of the aunt."

Della smiles. "It's okay. Otherwise, you would definitely not have come here. It has been a long time since we met. I miss you, Din. And worry about you too."

Della hugged her niece and patted her back. "Come on, don't be sad. Keep in mind. By your mother's request, so you can't leave her, then it means she loves you and doesn't want to be separated."

"Is that so true, Auntie? Sometimes I think, he just doesn't want you to snatch me out of his hands. Simply because of competition."

"Ah, definitely not so. You also have to learn to think positively about others. Don't be negative."

"Come Aunt. Sometimes I like to think negatively about myself. I seem to be a very ugly child because I don't want my mother to be happy. Maybe you think so too?"

"Well, start again."

"But if I'm a good boy, I should follow my mother's will to be kind to Om Bram."

"Then suffer the consequences? Your mother would have regretted if you had been told anything by that man."

Suddenly Dinda remembered the awkwardness that had occurred to her a while ago. "Try thinking Aunt. He repeatedly disturbed my sleep by fiddling with my bedroom door. Even if I block the door with a table and chair, it can still be moved. Often I see the desk chair shifted from its original place. Meaning he could have just kept pushing a little, it seemed enough to just shift the furniture that stuck. So is he going in or not? And if he comes in and sees me sleeping, then what else is he going to do? Let's say he'll bother me, but I'll be able to fight back and scream. Wasn't she afraid of being discovered by the mother whose room was opposite? Another case if the mother happens to not be home. What do you think, Auntie?"

Della only realized that the problem was indeed quite complicated. Were it not for the strangeness that Dinda had, it would have been impossible for her to consider such things. He thought hard to answer Dinda's question. "I think he didn't really intend to go in, but just wanted to give a sign that he could have come in easily if he wanted to. In other words, he wants to scare you. I'm sure he wouldn't risk being run over by your mother if he got caught bothering you. The same is true of the way he looks at you with an harassing attitude. It was also arguably just a scare, and did not seriously want to do something?" firmly Della.

"I think so."

Why do you act like that? Could it be that he doesn't like me as much as I don't? Dinda was annoyed by that thought. Maybe Bram just wanted his mother in that house, and not himself.

"Don't want to keep you from feeling at home until you decide to leave" Della concluded carefully.

"That's aunty!" exclaim Dinda hard. He has got his answer. It would be stupid because he did not have time to think. "He wanted to drive me out of that house and take control of it. Yeah, yeah, no more mistakes. That's purpose. But that's why I don't want to go. I will survive in my own home. I'll beat him up if he dares to bother me more than that."

"Be careful Din. Don't be emotional facing a thoughtful adult and a plan. We don't know what's in his head. You better be ignorant and not expect anything."

"I hate him so much, Auntie," complained Dinda.

"Yes. I also hate Din. Be patient. We face it together, right? So don't act alone."

Dinda made her promise. He returned home feeling more relieved, but also angered by his conclusion. He knew it would be difficult for him to suppress his emotions. While training with his father, he was always reminded to learn to control his emotions. "Controlling emotions is also part of defending yourself, but passively. Emotional behavior opens itself up to attack. The best course of action is not to allow yourself to be attacked." So the words of his father that feels boring because it is often repeated.

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to be continued

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