Raka stood frozen in the darkness. His breathing sounded heavy, while his heart beat so fast that he could hear it in his own ears. Vera's whisper still seemed close beside him, even though when he reached out, there was no one there.
“Mom?”
There was no answer.
“Mom!”
Raka groped along the wall until he found the light switch. He flipped it several times, but the light stayed off. Outside the house, the rain was coming down harder and harder. Lightning flashed, illuminating the hallway for several seconds.
In that white light, Raka saw his mother standing in front of Rina's old bedroom.
Sari stared into the room, her face pale.
“Mom, what's wrong?”
Sari didn't answer.
Raka hurried over to her.
“Was what Vera said earlier true?”
Sari slowly shook her head.
“Don't listen to her.”
“But she said Rina didn't die the way we've always been told.”
“She just wants to scare you.”
“If she's lying, then why do you look like this?”
Sari fell silent.
Lightning flashed again.
This time, Raka saw something on the bedroom floor.
A small red object lay near the leg of the table.
He bent down and picked it up.
A bracelet.
Raka recognized it immediately.
“That belonged to Rina.”
Sari closed her eyes.
“Mom, why is this bracelet here?”
“Put it back.”
“Why?”
“Raka, please.”
Raka gripped the bracelet tighter.
“This is in the room that supposedly hasn't been opened since Rina died.”
Sari stepped closer and reached for it, but Raka backed away.
“I want to know.”
“You don't need to know everything.”
“I'm old enough, Mom.”
“You're not ready.”
“If I'm not ready, when will I be?”
Sari looked at her son. There was such deep sorrow in her eyes that Raka felt guilty for continuing to pressure her.
But his curiosity was stronger.
Ever since he was little, Raka had always heard that Rina died in an accident. His parents said Rina had slipped off a cliff while she was out with her friends. Her body was found two days later. No one had ever talked about what happened beyond that.
Raka had been only seven years old and had simply accepted all those explanations.
But now, after Vera's arrival, everything he had believed all this time felt like a lie.
Suddenly, Sari's phone rang.
One incoming message.
Sari looked at the screen.
Her face changed instantly.
“Who is it?” Raka asked.
Sari didn't answer.
Raka grabbed the phone before his mother could hide it.
The message contained only one sentence.
I'm home, Mom.
The sender was unnamed.
Raka stared at his mother.
“Who sent it?”
Sari snatched her phone back.
“Stay out of it.”
“Mom, who is it?”
“Go to your room.”
“No.”
“Raka!”
“I want to know.”
The sound of the front door suddenly came from outside.
Creak.
Someone opened it from the other side.
Raka and Sari immediately fell silent.
A few seconds later, footsteps entered the living room.
Their father had finally come home.
“Mom?”
The voice made Sari look relieved and frightened at the same time.
“Dad!”
Raka ran toward the living room.
But when he saw his father, he stopped in his tracks.
Damar stood near the door in wet clothes. He held a broken umbrella in one hand. His face looked exhausted.
“What happened?” he asked.
Raka asked him immediately.
“Do you know Vera, Dad?”
Damar fell silent.
The question changed his expression.
Sari looked at her husband.
Damar slowly set down his umbrella.
“How do you know that name?”
“She came here.”
Damar turned toward Sari.
“You let her in?”
Sari shook her head.
“She let herself in.”
Damar immediately looked toward the hallway.
“Where is she?”
“She isn't here anymore.”
Damar hurried toward the front door.
He opened it and looked out into the yard.
There was no one there.
Only the heavy rain.
“She couldn't have gotten in by herself,” Damar said.
Raka followed him.
“You know something.”
Damar looked at him.
“Get inside.”
“I want an explanation.”
“Raka, get inside.”
“Vera said Rina didn't actually die the way we thought she did.”
Damar fell silent.
Raka studied his father's face carefully.
There was no denial.
No anger.
Only fear.
“Dad?”
Damar let out a long sigh.
“Don't believe everything she says.”
“So some of it is true?”
Damar didn't answer.
Sari stepped closer.
“Damar, it's time.”
Damar looked at his wife.
“Are you sure?”
“I can't keep hiding it.”
Raka grew even more confused.
“What are you hiding?”
Damar walked to the sofa and sat down. He rubbed his face several times.
“Sit down.”
Raka obeyed.
Sari sat beside him.
Damar looked at the two people he loved most.
“Rina really was in an accident.”
Raka waited.
“But there's one thing we never told you.”
“What?”
“The night before the accident, Rina argued with someone.”
“Who?”
Damar stared at the floor.
“Vera.”
Raka tightened his grip on the bracelet still in his hand.
“Why were they fighting?”
“We don't know.”
“Do you know, Mom?”
Sari shook her head.
“Rina never told me.”
Damar continued, “Rina came home around ten that night. She was crying. I asked what had happened, but she only said she wanted to leave the house.”
“Then what?”
“Around midnight, Rina left.”
“Alone?”
Damar nodded.
“The next morning, we got word that she'd been in an accident.”
Raka swallowed.
“What about Vera?”
Damar looked at Raka.
“Vera was the last person seen with Rina that night.”
The room suddenly felt silent.
Raka remembered Vera's face.
She didn't look like someone who had just come to ask for something.
There was sorrow in her eyes.
As if she carried a story she'd kept buried for far too long.
“If Vera was the last person with Rina, why did she only show up now?”
Damar didn't answer right away.
“Because she disappeared.”
“Disappeared?”
“After Rina died, Vera left this city.”
“Why?”
“No one knows.”
Raka stood up.
“I want to talk to her.”
“No.”
“Dad—”
“Don't look for Vera.”
“Why?”
Damar stood, his voice rising.
“Because she's dangerous!”
Raka fell silent.
Sari looked at her husband in disappointment.
“Damar.”
Damar rubbed his face.
“I'm sorry.”
Then came a knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
All three of them turned toward the door.
Damar immediately started toward it.
“Don't open it,” Sari said.
Damar stopped.
The knocking came again.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Raka approached the window.
Behind the curtain, he saw a man standing in front of the gate.
The man wore a black jacket and carried a flashlight.
“Dad, there's someone outside.”
Damar looked out.
His face changed instantly.
“That's Bima.”
“Who is Bima?”
“Rina's old friend.”
Damar opened the door.
The man immediately stepped inside.
Bima was around thirty years old. His hair was slightly messy, and his face was tense. He looked at Raka, then at Sari.
“Vera came here, didn't she?”
No one answered.
Bima sighed.
“I figured.”
Raka stepped forward.
“You know her?”
“I know more than you think.”
“What really happened to Rina?”
Bima looked at Damar.
Damar gave a small nod.
Bima finally sat down.
“Rina found something.”
“What?”
“Evidence.”
“Evidence of what?”
Bima looked at the bracelet in Raka's hand.
“That.”
Raka looked at the bracelet.
“What does this bracelet have to do with it?”
“There’s something inside it.”
Raka turned the bracelet over.
He couldn't find anything.
Bima pointed to the clasp.
“Open it.”
Raka tried to open the tiny clasp. After several attempts, the back of the bracelet finally came loose.
A thin object fell into his palm.
A tiny memory card.
Raka stared at it in confusion.
“What is this?”
Bima answered quietly.
“Rina hid it before she died.”
Damar immediately stood up.
“You said that thing was gone.”
“I thought it was.”
“Why didn't you ever tell me?”
“Because after Rina died, I was afraid.”
“Afraid of who?”
Bima looked toward the door.
“The same person who made Vera come back.”
A chill ran down Raka's neck.
“Who?”
Bima hadn't had time to answer.
Raka's phone vibrated.
One incoming message from an unknown number.
He opened it.
A photo appeared on the screen.
A photo of Rina.
Raka enlarged the image.
Rina's face was clearly visible.
She stood in front of an old house Raka had never seen before.
Vera stood beside her.
But something made Raka's breath catch.
Behind them stood a man.
His face had been crossed out with black ink.
A short message appeared beneath the photo.
If you want to know who killed Rina, come to this house before midnight. Don't bring your father.
Raka read the message several times.
“What is it?” Bima asked.
Raka handed him the phone.
Bima read the message.
His face immediately turned pale.
“We can't go.”
Raka stared at him.
“Why not?”
“Because I know that house.”
“Where is it?”
Bima stood up.
“The last place Rina was seen before the accident.”
Sari immediately began to cry.
Damar glared angrily at Bima.
“Why are you only telling us now?”
Bima lowered his head.
“Because I was there that night too.”
Raka stared sharply at him.
“And what did you see?”
Bima was silent for a long time.
Then he said quietly,
“I saw Rina arguing with Vera.”
“Then what?”
“After that, Rina went into the house.”
“Did Vera go with her?”
“No.”
“Then who was inside?”
Bima looked at Raka.
“That’s the problem.”
“What?”
“Rina wasn't alone.”
From outside the house came the sound of a woman laughing softly.
Raka immediately turned toward the window.
Vera stood across the street.
The rain no longer touched her.
She simply stood there, staring at their house.
Then Vera raised one finger to her lips, asking Raka to be quiet.
After that, she pointed to the clock on the living room wall.
Its hands were almost pointing to midnight.
Vera smiled.
Then her lips moved without a sound.
Raka read the words.
Don't trust Bima.