The Van Til House: STRAF SABBAT
Chapiter 32

The four teenagers were standing right behind Dusk as the man pulled the front door. A gust of cold wind rushed into the room as if waiting for the door to be opened.

Dusk leaned his body forward, staring at the foyer. "That's an oil palm tree," he said, and started cursing out loud. "Fucking old palm tree," he repeated. "Maybe it's not strong enough to withstand the storm."

"Please close the door" said Gabe from upstairs, shivering.

The twilight poked his head out. A strong wind rushed into the room carrying foam of rainwater that bleached like a puff of smoke. "The damn tree hit the cottage," he told everyone. Then go back inside and close the door. Her head was shaken to remove the raindrops stuck in her hair that was as straight as a ruler.

"We pull the tree!" advice Hendra. "Cave pen sport a little." He started walking across the room, towards the jacket storage.

"Yes, thank you!" Dusk raised his eyebrows, asking Agustin. "You coming too?"

"Yes, I'll help!" agustin said, sounding a little less excited than Hendra who was already wearing his jacket and rushed to the front door.

Dusk picked up his sweater hoodie from near the door and put on it, fumbling his zipper. Strange, thought Magisna. His sweater sleeves hang too short on his long sleeves.

Hendra had disappeared at the front door, followed by Dusk and Agustin.

Magisna went to the kitchen to avoid the cold air. He poured a cup of tea for Ice and brought their cup inside and sat back in front of the fireplace.

From the front porch they heard the voices of Hendra, Dusk and Agustin as they tried to move the tree trunk.

"It feels like we need a little entertainment today" Magisna murmured as she stared at the fire.

The ice followed her direction, but said nothing.

Magisna was reminded of Novi, Dika and Alexza. Imagine what they did at the doolhof. Whether Papa Tibi and the inhabitants have found them or not. May they be well, he hoped inwardly.

Suddenly he felt guilty. I am safe and comfortable, he thought. Their fate is unclear.

However, Magisna felt she was not really safe either.

The one thing that stuck out the most in his heart was the existence of Jati and her friends. Despite her curiosity in the figure of Teak, Magisna certainly felt strange about the situation. Their car was down there, he thought. And the only place that can be visited is this cottage. But none of them are here.

I have to ask Gabe, Magisna decided.

He looked up to see Gabe. But the woman was no longer there. Maybe he was in his room in the attic.

And somehow he also did not feel warm even though he was in front of the fireplace while drinking hot tea.

"According to you, Dusk's a good man isn't it?" whispers of Magisna on Ice.

"He's good to have us here" Ais replied with a plain look.

Magisna's eyes turned to the gun rack in the corner of the room and found herself thinking about the terrible story that Dusk told her and imagining how funny it was for Dusk.

"I told you to let me pull it!" scream at Hendra. "Do you have a hearing loss or what?"

"Next time you pull yourself up if there's a tree down!" sergeant Hendra, standing before Dusk, looked back and challenged him.

"Everything okay?" gabe shouted from upstairs.

"Well-yeah, everything's fine. Just a pretentious person knows this is a little unruly." Dusk stared intently at Hendra who had turned his face away. "You don't have to worry, we got rid of him!" he told Gabe while tracing his boots to get rid of the wet soil. Then he unzipped the ill-fitting sweater and threw the sweater on a nail.

Gabe gasped at the sweater with his eyes and mouth rounded.

"Senja and Hendra are a bad combination" Agustin whispered to Magisna with a faint smile.

While observing Hendra, Magisna nodded in agreement.

"Especially when Dusk glares at you like a starving dog," continued Agustin while looking meaningfully.

Magisna blinked and turned her face away. Until now he still does not understand why Hendra always seems upset every time Dusk talk to him.

Don't tell me she's jealous, she said in her heart. Our relationship was only one day. Although Magisna felt he had been in the doolhof for years with Hendra. Plus stuck here, now it feels like a century to know near Hendra.

Ah, Magisna cursed in her heart. He remembered Alexza. A moment at the doolhof he once felt victorious, but now he was ambushed with guilt. Surviving a nightmare at the doolhof made him feel like he had harmed Alexza in order to win Hendra.

"You know how jealous Hendra was at Dusk?" Agustin added.

Pake read! erang Magisna in heart.

Moments later Dusk and Hendra seemed to have made peace. All of them, except Gabe, sat back around the fireplace, ate Gabe's signature Dutch red bean soup and listened to Dusk tell him how he had experienced a storm worse than this time around. As he told his story, he stared straight at Magisna.

"You monkeys are very lucky" he said, standing in front of the fireplace. Her hair was still wet from the rain.

"Stuck in a storm like this is not lucky to be named" Hendra said from the end of the sofa.

"Yeah, but at first you guys had a nice weekend, right?" Dusk turned to stir the fire with a fire-stirring iron stick. "I and Gabe used to love a weekend here" he murmured.

Magisna frowned and glanced at Hendra. It's weird, he thought.

"I don't understand what you mean" interrupted Magisna. "I mean, you and your wife are now here for the weekend—"

"I told you we used to love weekends here" Dusk said. "Now Gabe doesn't like it anymore. He ignored me for years. Even though he still comes here every weekend, he never talks to me!"

The whole room suddenly fell silent.

Is that why Gabe won't join us? thought Magisna.

"What does that mean even if he comes here every weekend?" Ais asked as if echoing the contents of Magisna's mind.

"I live here and never come home" Twilight told me. "The last time I came home, my family ignored me. And he too!" He added as he glanced towards the balcony. "And I never know what's wrong!"

Instantly the feathers of Magisna bristled. What the hell's going on? ask in the heart. Why am I suddenly shivering?

Gabe's story of items that often suddenly change places, the size of the sweater that does not fit, and Gabe's expression when he saw the sweater drift to the nails…

Whatdoes thatmean?