Ever since Aldi mentioned Ardi's name, the mood between them had changed.
No one spoke right away.
The name sounded unfamiliar.
But from the way Aldi said it, Sendi knew one thing.
Ardi wasn't an ordinary person in the story about the empty house.
“Who’s Ardi?” Sendi asked.
Aldi didn’t answer right away.
He looked around the classroom, which was starting to fill with noise.
“Not here.”
Joko immediately raised his hand.
“Oh, that line again.”
“What?” Aldi asked.
“Everyone with a secret always says that.”
Raka gave a small smile.
“But he’s right.”
Sendi slipped the paper into his book.
“We’ll talk after school.”
Aldi nodded.
But throughout the lesson, Sendi couldn’t focus.
Ardi’s name kept popping into his head.
Ardi guarded the secret of that house.
Ardi knew about Dimas.
Ardi might know why Sendi’s name was in the book.
The more he thought about it, the more questions came up.
When the dismissal bell rang, they immediately gathered behind the school.
“Tell us now,” Sendi said.
Aldi sat beneath a tree.
“Ardi used to live near that house.”
“Near it?”
“Yeah.”
“Did he own the house?”
Aldi shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who was he?”
“The person who guarded the house.”
Joko furrowed his brow.
“Why would an empty house need someone to guard it?”
Aldi fell silent.
“That’s what I never found out.”
Sendi looked at him.
“Have you met Ardi before?”
“Yeah.”
“When?”
“When Dimas and I went into that house.”
Sendi immediately focused on him.
“He was there?”
Aldi nodded.
“We thought the house was empty. But it turned out someone was inside.”
“Then what?”
“He didn’t get angry.”
“He didn’t?”
“He only said one thing.”
“What?”
Aldi looked at Sendi.
“Leave before the house learns who you are.”
They all fell silent.
Joko rubbed his face.
“I’m even more confused now.”
Raka asked, “What does it mean for the house to learn who you are?”
Aldi shook his head.
“I don’t know either.”
Sendi stood up.
“Where is Ardi now?”
Aldi looked toward the road.
“Sometimes he shows up around here.”
“Sometimes?”
“Yeah.”
“Then we can look for him.”
Joko immediately stood up.
“Don’t tell me.”
Sendi smiled.
“We’re looking for Ardi.”
That afternoon, the four of them walked along the road near the old market.
Aldi said Ardi was often seen helping people around there.
They asked several locals.
Finally, a vendor pointed them in the right direction.
“Ardi?”
“Yes, sir. The guy who often helps out around here.”
The vendor nodded.
“Try looking near the little park behind the market.”
They thanked him and left.
At the little park, they saw someone repairing an old bicycle.
A young man.
Not very old.
Wearing simple clothes.
“Ardi?” Aldi called.
The man stopped.
He turned around.
His expression changed immediately when he saw Aldi.
“You.”
Aldi said nothing.
“You came back?”
Aldi nodded.
Ardi looked at Sendi and his friends.
“And you brought another kid.”
Sendi stepped forward.
“I’m Sendi.”
Ardi stared at him for a long moment.
“I know.”
Sendi was instantly startled.
“Does everyone know me?”
Ardi gave a faint smile.
“That’s not what I mean.”
“Then what do you mean?”
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
That sentence left Sendi speechless.
“Waiting for me?”
Ardi nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
Ardi looked toward the empty house, barely visible in the distance.
“Because your name has appeared.”
Sendi felt his heart pound.
“In the book?”
Ardi didn’t answer.
But his expression said enough.
“Why is my name in there?”
Ardi took a breath.
“Because that house doesn’t choose just anyone.”
Joko immediately whispered, “Another mysterious line.”
Ardi heard him.
He gave a small smile.
“Your friend is right. A lot of things sound mysterious because it isn’t time to explain them yet.”
Sendi didn’t like that answer.
“I’m not some little kid you can keep telling to go away.”
Ardi looked at him.
“You’re not an ordinary kid.”
Sendi fell silent.
“That’s why I have to warn you.”
“About what?”
“Don’t go into that house.”
“Why not?”
Ardi didn’t answer.
He only pointed at Sendi’s bag.
“Because something inside that house has already started looking for you.”
Sendi immediately looked at his bag.
“What does that mean?”
Before Ardi could answer, a voice rang out from the road.
“Ardi!”
Someone was calling him.
Ardi turned around.
His expression changed.
“You have to leave.”
“Who is it?”
“Go. Now.”
Ardi’s tone was different.
He didn’t sound like someone offering advice.
He sounded like someone who was genuinely worried.
Sendi still wanted to ask more.
But Ardi had already started walking away.
In the end, they left.
On the way home, Joko bought meatballs from a roadside vendor.
“I need food.”
Sendi looked at him.
“Can you eat in any situation?”
“Yep.”
“We just met someone who knows a huge secret.”
“Yeah.”
“And you’re eating meatballs?”
Joko nodded.
“Because if I’m hungry, the secret isn’t going to solve itself.”
Sendi laughed.
For the first time that day, his mind felt a little lighter.
The meatball vendor smiled when he saw them.
“You kids go to school?”
“Yes, sir,” Raka answered.
“Do you come by here often?”
“Sometimes.”
The meatball vendor nodded.
“I saw you with Ardi earlier.”
Sendi immediately turned toward him.
“You know Ardi?”
The meatball vendor stopped stirring the broth.
“I know him.”
“Who is he, really?”
The man was silent for a moment.
“Someone who once tried to uncover the secret of that old house.”
Sendi grew serious again.
“You know about it?”
The meatball vendor nodded.
“But if you’re smart, you’ll stop right now.”
Sendi sighed.
“Why does everyone keep telling us to stop?”
The meatball vendor looked at him.
“Because there used to be a little kid who asked questions just like you.”
“Who?”
The man answered softly.
“His name was Ardi.”
Sendi fell silent.
So Ardi wasn’t just the guardian of a secret.
He had once been someone searching for answers, too.
And maybe...
He knew exactly what was going to happen to Sendi.
When they got home, Sendi looked at his bag.
Something felt different.
As if there were a new object inside it.
He opened it slowly.
Between his schoolbooks...
There was a small black key.
And at the end of the key was the same symbol.
The symbol on the kite.
The symbol in the book.
The symbol that had been chasing them all this time.
Sendi closed his hand around the key.
For the first time, he felt that he was no longer searching for the secret of that house.
The secret had already begun coming to him.