The next morning, Naes sat at the dining table with her mother, who was brewing coffee. Her father still hadn't come home after working the night shift at the hospital, while Sagara was still asleep. At the moment, Nalesha was the only other person at the table.
“You look pale. Couldn't sleep well, sweetheart?” Dini spoke calmly without turning around.
Naes looked at her mother, wanting to tell her about what had happened the night before, but she hesitated. How could she explain something she didn't even understand herself?
“Just a nightmare, Mom,” Naes replied, biting her lip. Her voice was quiet.
Her mother gave a faint smile and set her coffee cup on the table. She looked at Naes gently, but there was something behind that gaze that made Naes uncomfortable, as if her mother knew more than she was saying.
“Maybe. But sometimes, dreams are just another way the universe speaks to us,” Dini said with a faint smile, her voice full of meaning.
“You mean the universe is trying to send us a message?”
“It could be,” Dini replied.
Naes felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise again. Her mother's words hung in the air like an unsolved riddle.
“How could the universe send a message, Mom?” Nalesha argued. He didn't believe it at all.
“Of course it can, Nalesha. Don't ignore the universe's messages. It could be a dream or something out there,” Dini continued as she rose from her seat and walked toward the backyard.
Naeswari thought her mother was acting strange. Her mother didn't usually speak in such gentle words. To Naeswari, perhaps her mother was in a good mood.
Walking down from or up the hill wasn't difficult for Naeswari. She was used to it, after all, because she enjoyed rock climbing.
But Nalesha was different. The boy didn't want to make his legs ache and leave himself gasping for breath. So he chose to ride his motorcycle alone instead of taking his little sister as a passenger.
“That's your brother?” A young man in the same uniform was walking beside him.
“Yeah,” Naes said, studying the young man carefully.
“What are you looking at? Relax, I'm human, not a ghost,” he replied, as if he knew what Naeswari was thinking.
“Sorry, I didn't mean to—”
“Yeah, I know. It's because my sudden appearance startled you,” the young man chuckled as he walked his bicycle along.
“My house is behind yours. You know, the one that looks so humble?” The young man kept rambling even though Naeswari hadn't asked.
“I don't think your house is as humble as you make it sound,” Naeswari replied.
“You mean that two-story house of yours?”
It was true that there were several houses behind hers, but only two were occupied. One cottage was home to an elderly couple, and the other was two stories tall.
“Busted, huh?” the young man said with a loud laugh.
“I was trying to pretend I was broke,” he added.
“Oh, right. I've been rambling this whole time. My name's Abimana Arsa,” Abinawa said, extending his hand.
“Naeswari Pangayuh. Just call me Naes,” Naes replied, extending her hand before quickly pulling it away.
“Come on, I'll give you a ride. We'll be late for school,” he urged insistently. Hesitant, Naes went along rather than be late.
Abinawa flashed a smile. He was happy to have met the quiet girl who always sat on the balcony above that bedroom.
Naeswari stood in front of the gate of her new school, SMA Gading Timur. The building towered above her, its old walls covered in peeling paint, giving it a sinister, abandoned feel even though it was still in use. Behind the enormous trees surrounding the grounds, dark shadows moved slowly with the rustling wind.
Naeswari's first step into the school grounds was met by the sound of a branch snapping beneath her shoe. Her eyes swept over the main building—large, wood-framed windows looked like eyes staring coldly at her. The overcast sky deepened the gloom, making the atmosphere even more ominous.
As she stepped closer, a strange flash distracted her. From the corner of her eye, she saw something move quickly in one of the second-floor windows. Naeswari stopped, her heart beating faster. When she turned to look more closely, there was only a curtain swaying slowly, even though the window was tightly shut.
For a moment, she felt as though something or someone was watching her. Other girls walked past her, laughing and talking as if nothing was wrong, but Naeswari couldn't shake the strange feeling creeping over her. This school, though ordinary to most people, was hiding something behind its old walls.
“Am I imagining things?” Naeswari wondered, but the feeling clung to her as she walked deeper into the school.
“Hello... You're a transfer student, right?” someone she recognized greeted her from behind. Naes only nodded and smiled.
“You'd better not stay here. This isn't your place,” said a girl with two braids as she walked straight through the body of a teacher in front of Naeswari.
Naes froze for a moment. Her eyes hadn't deceived her. The girl who had just spoken to her wasn't human. She was the kind of creature Naes never wanted to encounter for as long as she lived. But everything was different here. Naes could only stand in silence as the creature waved its hand, until a cold touch closed around her shoulder.