Night fell faster in Karangwening.
Ever since his conversation with Ms. Sari, Raka couldn't get one sentence out of his mind.
**“No one should have been able to come back.”**
Come back from where?
And why had Rania's name been mentioned as though his sister had left this village decades ago?
Raka walked back toward the inn.
The old building looked even more different after nightfall. Its wooden walls appeared darker, its windows reflected the lamplight like watching eyes, and the creak of floorboards could be heard even though no one was walking inside.
The innkeeper was sitting behind the desk.
Raka approached him.
“Sir.”
The old man raised his head.
“What’s your name?”
“What for?”
“So I don’t have to keep calling you ‘Sir.’”
The man was silent for a moment.
“Jatmiko.”
Raka nodded.
“Mr. Jatmiko, how long has this inn been here?”
“A long time.”
“Since before 1996?”
Jatmiko didn't answer.
Raka watched his face.
“The photo I found on the second floor shows that this inn was already here that year.”
“It was.”
“Who was staying here back then?”
“A lot of people.”
“Including the seventeen people who disappeared?”
Jatmiko's hand stopped above the desk.
Raka knew he had his answer.
“So it’s true.”
Jatmiko drew a long breath.
“You ask too many questions.”
“I’m looking for my sister.”
“And your questions will lead you to her?”
“I don’t know. But I do know everyone in this village is hiding something.”
Jatmiko stood.
“Go home.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because Rania is here.”
Jatmiko's expression changed instantly.
“Who told you that?”
“Ms. Sari.”
Jatmiko looked at the front door, making sure no one was outside.
Then he moved closer and lowered his voice.
“Listen to me. Never mention your sister’s name in this inn after sunset.”
“Why?”
“Because she once stayed in room six.”
Raka froze.
“When?”
Jatmiko didn't answer.
“Mr. Jatmiko.”
“Two weeks ago.”
Raka felt his chest tighten.
“So Rania really did stay here?”
Jatmiko nodded slowly.
“She came alone.”
“What did she do?”
“Asked a lot of questions.”
“Like me?”
“Worse.”
Jatmiko looked at the stairs leading to the second floor.
“She asked for room six.”
Raka looked up.
“Why that room?”
“Because she said she had seen it in a dream.”
Raka fell silent.
“Then what?”
“She didn't leave the room for three nights.”
“Not once?”
“No.”
“Did she eat?”
“Sometimes.”
“Sleep?”
Jatmiko shook his head.
“She didn't sleep.”
Raka frowned.
“Then what did she do?”
“Waited.”
“For whom?”
Jatmiko looked at him.
“You.”
Raka felt his entire body tense.
“Impossible.”
“She said you would come.”
Raka took a step back.
“She knew I was coming?”
“She even left a message.”
“Where?”
Jatmiko pointed at the stairs.
“In room six.”
Raka immediately climbed the stairs.
The door to room six was still locked.
Raka opened it with the key he had been given.
The room was dark.
He turned on the light.
Nothing had changed since that morning.
But when Raka opened the wardrobe, he found something he had never seen before.
A small suitcase.
Black.
He recognized it.
It was Rania's suitcase.
His hands trembled as he opened the locks.
Inside were several articles of clothing, a camera, a notebook, and a brown folder.
Raka picked up the notebook.
The first page contained only a date.
**July 17, 1996.**
He turned the page.
Rania's handwriting filled almost the entire page.
**I finally found the place.**
The next page:
**They all still remember me, but they’re pretending they’ve forgotten.**
The third page:
**Raka will come. I have to make sure he doesn’t enter the forest.**
Raka stopped reading.
He flipped through the pages quickly.
The next entry made his breath catch.
**If you’re reading this, it means I failed to stop them.**
Raka swallowed.
He kept reading.
**Don’t trust Mr. Jatmiko.**
Raka slowly turned toward the door.
Footsteps sounded outside.
One.
Two.
Three.
The footsteps stopped right in front of the room.
Raka gripped the notebook.
“Mr. Jatmiko?”
There was no answer.
He approached the door and peered through the crack.
The hallway was empty.
But the footsteps sounded again.
Not from outside.
From inside the room.
Raka slowly turned around.
The bathroom door, which had been closed until now, was slightly open.
Pitch-black darkness showed beyond it.
Then a woman's voice spoke.
Very softly.
“Raka…”
He knew that voice.
Rania.
“Don’t read the last page.”
Raka froze.
He stared at the notebook in his hand.
There was one page he hadn't opened.
The last page.
And just as his hand touched the edge of the paper, every light in the inn went out.
Someone laughed from inside the bathroom.
It wasn't Rania's voice.
It was a child's.
Then a whisper sounded right behind his ear.
“She’s already read everything.”
Raka spun around.
There was no one there.
But small, wet footprints marked the floor of the room.
The footprints led out of the bathroom.
They stopped right in front of Rania's notebook.
And slowly, one by one, they began moving toward the door.