Sakya Kumara was still fast asleep when Kirani returned to see him. The girl actually liked Sakya Kumara very much, because he was the only young man who had ever been close to her, someone she could talk to. Meanwhile, whenever they moved from place to place, her father never allowed her to associate with children her age.
“What are you really hiding from me, Sakya Kumara? If we had met at a different time and place, maybe we could have become friends—or even lovers. But now, that’s impossible! My father would never simply set you free! He helped you because he wanted to learn your secret. Once your secret is exposed, he’ll kill you to keep our family’s secret hidden.”
Kirani gazed at Sakya Kumara’s face as he slept deeply, as though she couldn’t bear to part with him. But separating from him was the best way to save the young man’s life.
“Sakya... are you awake? Can you get up? There’s something I need to talk to you about...”
The young man she questioned remained silent, his eyes still closed. There was no sign that Sakya Kumara would wake up and answer Kirani’s question.
Kirani didn’t know what to do. It was true that Sakya Kumara was hiding many secrets from her, but just as her father had said, he didn’t seem to be a bad person. That meant nothing, however, when it came to her father.
Whether he was good or evil, any outsider was still a threat to her family. That was her father’s principle for living, and it was what had kept them alive until now.
No one was allowed to enter their family circle, which consisted only of her and her father. Anyone who entered that circle would be destroyed so they could never disturb the harmony of their family again.
“I have to save this young man named Sakya Kumara. I don’t want him to be killed just because he had the bad luck to become stranded in the middle of our rice fields,” Kirani resolved.
Kirani had made up her mind to disobey her father’s orders for the sake of saving Sakya Kumara, whose origins were still unclear. In her eyes, this young man was worth saving from her father.
“Sakya...” Kirani tried to rouse Sakya Kumara, who was still sleeping peacefully. “Wake up, Sakya... You’ll be in danger if you stay in this house,” Kirani whispered.
She couldn’t shout, afraid that her father might hear her.
Kirani tried desperately to wake the young man so she could get him out of the room before her father noticed, but Sakya Kumara didn’t move at all.
Ever since Kirani’s mother had died, her father had become overly protective of her. No one was allowed to approach his daughter. Whenever a man in an area they visited tried to get close to Kirani, her father stopped him immediately.
Kirani knew that her father only wanted to protect her. Perhaps he felt guilty because he hadn’t been able to protect her mother. Or perhaps it was because of his deep love for her, wanting them to live peacefully and quietly without interference from the Teratai Merah Sect.
But the thought of taking the life of the innocent young man in front of her troubled Kirani deeply. She wasn’t like her father, who could easily eliminate anyone he considered dangerous to their family.
“Sakya... wake up!”
Kirani’s soft cry, accompanied by her shaking Sakya Kumara’s body, failed to wake him.
Sakya Kumara remained motionless in his bed.
“This guy... Why am I going through all this trouble to save him when he’s just lying there asleep?”
“Huuuff...!”
“It doesn’t make any sense that he can sleep so soundly with all that pain tearing through his body,” Kirani thought as she stared at Sakya Kumara.
Kirani began grumbling in frustration.
The girl had no choice but to drag Sakya Kumara’s still-unconscious body so she could get him out of their house before her father came to see him again.
She was still fairly strong because her father had taught her a little martial arts to protect herself. Besides, they lived in the middle of a forest where wild animals still posed a threat.
Kirani kept dragging Sakya Kumara toward the forest behind their house. Although she was exhausted, she didn’t stop at all. She was doing everything for the safety of Sakya Kumara, whom she had only just met.
“Jeez... What do you eat? You’re so heavy!” Kirani complained.
The forest behind Kirani’s house was shrouded in mystery, because no one had ever entered it. At certain times, it was always covered in thick fog. Even Kirani’s father had never set foot in the forest they called Hutan Misteri.
Tirelessly, the girl continued dragging Sakya Kumara’s body farther and farther away from her home. It was truly remarkable to see a girl dragging a tattered young man with such unflagging determination.
“At least you won’t be killed by my father. You’ll have a much better chance of surviving in the forest!” the girl told Sakya Kumara, even though the young man remained fast asleep and couldn’t hear her.
Kirani laid Sakya Kumara beneath a large, shady tree that could protect him from the scorching sun and the rain that often fell whenever the forest began to fill with fog.
“Goodbye, Sakya Kumara! I hope you stay healthy and recover! I’ve done everything I could to help you, so forgive me if you can’t survive this forest!” Kirani said before turning around to leave Sakya Kumara behind.
Kirani hurried out of the dense forest, wiping away the tears that kept falling as she cried. The girl was actually heartbroken to leave Sakya Kumara, the only person she considered a friend. She was even willing to give up the chance to learn her mother’s origins for his sake.