<H1>Chapter 13</H1> <br/><p>By late morning, Awang had finally showered, gotten dressed, and walked out the back door toward his car. He should have spent the entire day resting. His head still wasn't completely back to normal, and returning to the clinic after the accident might have been too soon. But they had spent money they didn't have, and the economic pressure was forcing him back to work. </p> <p>Besides, he could do most of his work on autopilot these days, even after the accident. Routine checkups, ear infections, and sore throats were common illnesses that filled a family doctor's coffers.</p> <p>Awang stopped dead in front of the open garage door. </p> <p><i>Where the hell is that car?</i> Kuntum must have taken it while he was showering. </p> <p><i>It doesn't matter,</i> he thought. He'd take Kuntum's car instead. It wasn't as if he liked it, but at least he had a replacement. Awang hated driving his wife's car. The old Proton Kancil wasn't his style and never would be. It moved even more slowly than his old Tapir. People assumed cats would be more nimble than tapirs, but that clearly wasn't the case. Even so, the Kancil was still running as usual, and Awang backed it out of the garage. </p> <p>Glancing toward the house, he saw Kuntum's shadow pass across the kitchen window. Alcohol had scrambled his brain, and he had clearly lost control of his senses. Kuntum had taken his car, so it was impossible for her to be home. </p> <p>As he drove, his thoughts returned to the night before. How had he gotten so drunk? He knew all the physiology behind alcohol tolerance, but that still wasn't enough to explain last night. As he passed Kedai Tuak Sedar Jiwa, something in his brain clicked. </p> <p>His navy-blue Mercedes was parked by the roadside.</p> <p>I was drunker than I thought last night. Considering how bad he'd been when he woke up hungover, Awang knew that “drunker” still didn't come close.</p> <p>Parking the Proton Kancil on the side of the road, Awang jumped out and hurried into the tavern to call Kuntum. </p> <p><i>She isn't going to believe this one.</i></p> <p>“Kuntum! Oh, sorry. Wrong number,” he said when he heard a man's voice on the other end.</p> <p>“It's Gumarang, Wang. I'm here to talk to Kuntum about the dream she wants,” Gumarang replied nervously.</p> <p>“Where's Kuntum? Why isn't she answering the phone?” Awang demanded loudly. </p> <p><i>I just left that damn house!</i></p> <p>“I think she's in the bathroom,” Gumarang replied, even more nervously. </p> <p>“Then how did you get into my house?” Awang shouted, making several heads turn, even at this hour of the morning. “Did she let you in and then decide to take a shower?” </p> <p>“Awang, calm down. I know what you're thinking, but nothing happened here. I came over and knocked on the door when I heard the phone ringing inside. The door opened when I pushed it, so I came in. Kuntum doesn't even know I'm here.” Gumarang finally managed to get the words out smoothly. </p> <p>Controlling his emotions so he wouldn't yell this time, Awang said, “Tell her to call me at the clinic,” before finally hanging up. </p> <p>“The phone was ringing from inside your ass. It only rang once!” Awang growled as he walked out of the tavern. Only one thing could calm him down now. The spare key was in his wallet, so he started his Mercedes-Benz SLS and sped away from the roadside, nearly sideswiping a passing car. Either high speed would ease his tension, or he would stay angry all day because of that damn old bachelor. </p> <p>The sports car shot onto the highway without hesitation, and Awang worked the gearshift to reach top speed. Devouring the road was his best stress-relief mechanism, and perhaps the only thing he could reliably do at that moment. Driving fast on winding roads was genuinely dangerous, but it completely distracted him from his marital problems. </p> <p>The car flew in and out of the curves with such a rush that he wished he could do this for the rest of his life. Before he realized it, the winding road had carried him back to the valley in the Tesso Nilo region.</p> <p>The hair on the back of his neck stood up as he remembered the earthquake and the near-death experience that had terrified him. His head throbbed with pain. He didn't know whether it was from his old injury, his newer injury, or the hangover following his prolonged drunkenness. </p> <p>Whatever the cause, a wave of pain nearly blinded him, and he swerved onto the gravel shoulder, narrowly avoiding plunging into a large ditch choked with weeds—just two fingers' width from the ditch's edge. </p> <p><i>Goddamn it!</i></p> <p>He screamed inwardly as he struggled to free himself from the seat belt and finally managed to escape the car. The pain wiped out all rational thought, reaching its peak when he stumbled over a small rock at the top of the ditch and fell into a gaping fissure newly formed by the recent earthquake. </p>