Dani was still standing in front of his grandma's house, clutching the small box containing the old bracelet.
Mr. Warto's words kept circling in his mind.
The thing we failed to stop back then.
What did he mean?
What had really happened when Dani was little?
And why did everyone seem to already know about him?
"Mr. Warto, what do you mean?" Dani asked.
Mr. Warto didn't answer right away.
He looked toward the road, making sure no one else could hear them.
"This isn't the right place to talk."
Dani was starting to get annoyed.
"Why does everyone always say that? If there's a problem, why don't you just tell me?"
Mr. Warto stared at him.
"Because sometimes an old story is more dangerous when it's brought back up."
"That doesn't make any sense."
"Dani."
His grandma's voice made Dani stop.
"You know too?"
Dani's grandma sighed.
"Yes."
Dani chuckled, but not because anything was funny.
"Great. Everyone knows except me."
No one answered.
The atmosphere fell silent.
Dani felt like he was the last person to learn the story of his own life.
Mr. Warto finally sat down in a chair on the porch.
"Dani, there's a reason people have stayed quiet."
"What is it?"
"Because there was a promise back then."
"Whose promise?"
"A promise between several people who were involved that night."
Dani sat down in front of them.
"I want to hear everything."
Mr. Warto looked at Dani's grandma.
As if asking for permission.
She only nodded slowly.
"All right."
Mr. Warto drew a long breath.
"Twelve years ago, before that house was abandoned, the Arman family lived like any ordinary family."
"They had a child?" Dani asked.
"Yes. A boy."
"What was his name?"
Mr. Warto fell silent.
"His name was Rian."
Dani tried to remember the name.
It didn't feel familiar at all.
"But what does he have to do with me?"
Mr. Warto looked at the bracelet on Dani's wrist.
"Rian was the one who gave you that bracelet."
Dani immediately looked at it.
"I knew him?"
"More than you think."
Dani grew even more confused.
"But I don't remember."
"Because your memory of that night is gone."
Dani fell silent.
"Gone?"
"Yes."
"How?"
Mr. Warto didn't answer.
Dani's grandma was the one who finally spoke.
"Because something happened to you that terrified you."
Dani lowered his head.
"Why didn't anyone ever take me to a doctor or tell me about it?"
"We were afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
His grandma took Dani's hand.
"Afraid that something that had finally gone quiet would return."
Dani looked at them one by one.
"Was that black figure Rian?"
The question made Mr. Warto and Dani's grandma look at each other.
Neither of them answered right away.
And their silence only made Dani more certain.
"Is it true?"
Mr. Warto finally spoke in a low voice.
"We don't know."
"You don't know?"
"What we do know is that after Rian disappeared, that figure began to appear."
Dani looked toward the bracelet.
"If he's not Rian, then who is he?"
There was no answer.
Night began to fall.
Dani finally went home carrying more questions than before.
On the way home, he kept thinking about what Mr. Warto had said.
When he arrived, the living room light was still on.
His mother was sitting there alone.
The moment she saw the bracelet on Dani's wrist, her expression changed.
"Where did you get that?"
"From Grandma."
His mother stood up.
"Dani, put that thing away."
"Why?"
"Just put it away."
"No, Mom."
Dani placed the box on the table.
"I want to know everything."
His mother closed her eyes.
"You've met Mr. Warto?"
"Yeah."
"Did he tell you anything?"
"A little."
His mother sat down slowly.
"Dani..."
"Mom, who is Rian?"
The question made his mother go completely silent.
Dani clearly saw the change in her face.
"You know him."
His mother lowered her head.
"Yes."
"Why do I know him?"
His mother didn't answer.
"Mom."
At last, his mother spoke.
"Rian was a good kid."
"And?"
"You used to play with him a lot."
Dani was shocked.
"I did?"
"Yes."
"But I don't remember."
"Because you were still little when it happened."
Dani sat down.
"What happened that night?"
His mother looked hesitant.
"It rained hard that night."
Dani listened in silence.
"You were playing at their house. Rian was looking after you."
"Then what?"
"Something happened."
"What happened?"
His mother looked toward the bracelet.
"Rian disappeared."
Dani swallowed.
"And me?"
"You were found a few hours later in front of the house."
"Alone?"
"Yes."
Dani slowly shook his head.
"I don't believe it."
"I know."
"Why did Rian disappear while I survived?"
His mother didn't answer.
That seemed to be the hardest question of all.
Suddenly, the power went out.
Darkness instantly filled the room.
"Dani?"
"Yeah, Mom."
"Don't move."
They heard a sound from outside.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Approaching the front door.
Dani and his mother looked at each other.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Three knocks.
Dani felt his body grow cold again.
The voice came again.
"Dani..."
This time, his mother immediately began to cry softly.
"Don't..."
Dani stared at her.
"You know that voice?"
She only nodded.
"It's the same voice we've heard ever since the night Rian disappeared."
Dani slowly stood up.
He wanted to open the door.
But his mother held him back.
"Don't repeat the mistake we made before."
"What do you mean, Mom?"
His mother looked at Dani with fear on her face.
"Rian opened that door too."
Dani froze.
Outside, the voice came again.
Closer this time.
"Dani..."
Then something slipped in from beneath the door.
A small piece of paper.
Dani picked it up.
The message on it was short.
I've been waiting too long.
Dani turned the paper over.
There was one more sentence.
Ask your mother about the night I left.
Dani slowly looked at his mother.
Now he knew.
The black figure didn't just want to give him a clue.
It wanted Dani to discover something his own family had buried all this time.