# Chapter 2 — The Pact Beneath the Banyan Tree
Mr. Wiryo ran without daring to look back.
His breath came in ragged gasps. Dry branches lashed his face as he forced his way along the path toward Mbah Ranu's house. Behind him, the sound of footsteps grew clearer.
**Thud... thud... thud...**
Those heavy footsteps didn't sound human.
Every now and then, a long snort rang out.
**Hrrr... hrrr...**
Mr. Wiryo nearly tripped over a tree root.
He looked back.
The path behind him was empty.
There was no boar.
No person.
Only a thin mist slowly settling among the trees.
But when he turned forward again, his heart nearly leaped out of his chest.
Mbah Ranu's house stood only a few yards ahead of him.
He had been certain it was still far away.
The front door stood open.
An oil lamp glowed inside.
“Come in, Wiryo.”
Mbah Ranu's voice came from behind the door.
Mr. Wiryo stood there hesitantly.
“Mbah?”
“Don't stand outside. He doesn't like to wait.”
“Who?”
Mbah Ranu chuckled softly.
“You already know the answer.”
Mr. Wiryo looked behind him.
Once again, there was no one there.
At last, he went inside.
The moment he crossed the threshold, the snorting outside ceased.
Mbah Ranu sat cross-legged on the floor. In front of him was a low table. On it sat a clay bowl, a black candle, several dried leaves, and a small water jug.
“Sit.”
Mr. Wiryo sat down uneasily.
Mbah Ranu studied him for a long moment.
“You brought the coin.”
Mr. Wiryo took the gold coin from his pocket.
The moment he placed it on the table, the candle flame suddenly flickered.
Even though there was no wind.
Mbah Ranu touched the coin with his fingertip.
“It has chosen you.”
Mr. Wiryo furrowed his brow.
“Chosen me for what?”
“To become rich.”
Mr. Wiryo fell silent.
Mbah Ranu smiled.
“Isn't that why you came?”
“I came because of my debt.”
“Debt is a good reason.”
Mbah Ranu picked up the jug and poured water into the bowl.
The water was clear.
But a few seconds later, it turned cloudy.
Mr. Wiryo saw his own reflection on the surface.
His face looked older.
Then the reflection changed.
He saw his house.
The leaking roof transformed into a large home.
The dirt yard became a tiled courtyard.
Inside the house, Laras wore beautiful clothes.
A car was parked out front.
Mr. Wiryo froze.
“That...”
“What you want.”
“I never asked for that much.”
“People always say that before they get the chance.”
The reflection changed again.
This time, Mr. Wiryo saw himself sitting in a large chair. Piles of money were stacked before him.
He swallowed hard.
“How do I do it?”
Mbah Ranu didn't answer right away.
He lit a kretek cigarette.
“Understand this, Wiryo. No wealth comes without a price.”
“I know.”
“No. You don't.”
Mbah Ranu fixed him with a sharp look.
“Wealth-pact sorcery isn't simply asking a supernatural being for money. There's a pact. There are rules. And most importantly... there's a sacrifice.”
Mr. Wiryo shot to his feet.
“I won't do it.”
Mbah Ranu remained calm.
“Sit.”
“I won't kill anyone.”
“Who said you have to kill anyone?”
Mr. Wiryo stared at him.
Mbah Ranu pointed toward the window.
“The night boar has its own rules.”
The hairs on the back of Mr. Wiryo's neck rose.
“Night... boar?”
“Yes.”
Mbah Ranu picked up the coin.
“The creature that came last night wasn't an ordinary boar. It's the guardian of the pact.”
“So I have to turn into a boar?”
“Not every night.”
Mr. Wiryo fell silent.
Mbah Ranu continued.
“On certain nights, you'll leave your body. Your spirit will take the form of a boar. While you're out, someone you trust must guard your body.”
“What if they don't?”
“Your body might not come back.”
The room fell silent.
“And the money?”
“Each journey will bring fortune. Money from the houses you pass.”
Mr. Wiryo shook his head.
“That's stealing.”
“It is.”
“I won't do it.”
Mbah Ranu smiled faintly.
“Then go home.”
Mr. Wiryo stood.
But suddenly, his hand felt something in his pocket.
He thought of Mr. Seno.
Eighteen million rupiah.
He thought of Laras.
He thought of his house.
And he remembered how his daughter had pretended to have eaten the night before so her father wouldn't feel guilty.
Mr. Wiryo lowered his head.
“Mbah... if I agree, what are the conditions?”
Mbah Ranu's smile disappeared.
“First, you mustn't tell anyone about this pact.”
Mr. Wiryo nodded.
“Second, you must perform the ritual for three consecutive nights.”
“Third?”
Mbah Ranu looked deep into his eyes.
“On the final night, you must bring something you love most.”
Mr. Wiryo knitted his brows.
“What does that mean?”
“You'll find out.”
Mbah Ranu then opened a wooden box.
Inside was a black thread bracelet.
“Put this on.”
Mr. Wiryo hesitated.
“What for?”
“To mark that you've accepted the pact.”
He took Mr. Wiryo's hand and tied the bracelet around his wrist.
The moment the black thread touched his skin, Mr. Wiryo felt a chill spread from his palm to his chest.
He pulled his hand away.
“Mbah!”
“Don't be afraid.”
“What happened?”
“The pact has begun.”
Suddenly, a sound came from outside the house.
**Thud.**
Mbah Ranu fell silent.
**Thud.**
The sound drew closer.
Mr. Wiryo stared at the door.
A large shadow appeared behind the cloth covering.
Two ears.
A long snout.
And two red eyes.
Mr. Wiryo backed away.
“There it is.”
Mbah Ranu stood.
“Don't look into its eyes.”
“Why?”
“Because if you see them, you'll remember its face.”
“What does that mean?”
Mbah Ranu didn't answer.
The door opened by itself.
**Creeeak...**
A black boar entered.
It was far larger than an ordinary boar.
It slowly walked toward Mr. Wiryo.
Its snorting filled the room.
Mr. Wiryo wanted to retreat, but his feet felt rooted to the floor.
The boar stopped directly in front of him.
Then something horrifying happened.
The boar's eyes changed.
Mr. Wiryo saw a human face within them.
The face of an old woman.
Then it changed again into the face of a man.
Then the face of a small child.
Finally...
Mr. Wiryo's own face.
He screamed.
Mbah Ranu immediately blew out the candle.
The room went dark.
When the oil lamp was lit again, the boar was gone.
All that remained were three long scratches on the floor.
Mbah Ranu said softly,
“Starting tonight, your life will never be the same again.”
Mr. Wiryo returned home just before dawn.
He entered through the back door so he wouldn't wake Laras.
But when he took off his jacket, he saw his daughter already standing in the kitchen.
Laras stared at the black bracelet on her father's hand.
“Dad, where have you been?”
Mr. Wiryo froze.
“At a friend's house.”
“Which friend?”
“It's not important.”
Laras stepped closer.
“Dad, you're lying.”
Mr. Wiryo didn't answer.
Laras took his hand.
“What is this?”
“Don't touch it!”
Mr. Wiryo yanked his hand away too hard.
Laras flinched.
For several seconds, they stood in silence.
“I'm sorry,” Mr. Wiryo finally said.
Laras nodded slowly.
“You've changed, Dad.”
The words made Mr. Wiryo's chest tighten.
He went into his room without answering.
Inside, he locked the door.
Then he sat on the edge of the bed.
He opened his palm.
The gold coin was still there.
But now there was something new.
Small writing had appeared on the surface of the coin, writing that hadn't been there before.
Mr. Wiryo held the coin closer to the light.
The message consisted of only four words:
**THREE NIGHTS. ONE SACRIFICE.**
Mr. Wiryo dropped the coin.
A snort came from beneath his bed.
**Hrrr... hrrr...**
He slowly lowered his head.
Darkness.
There was nothing there.
Yet from beneath the bed, something whispered in a voice eerily similar to that of his late wife.
“Wiryo...”
Mr. Wiryo froze.
“Don't go any further...”
Then came a knocking sound from inside the wardrobe.
**Knock... knock... knock...**
Three times.
And on that first night, Mr. Wiryo finally realized that he wasn't searching for a way out of poverty.
He had just opened a door to something far more terrifying.