The night after meeting Dimas, Sendi couldn't stop thinking about one sentence.
That house isn't empty.
It was a simple sentence, but it filled his mind.
Sendi sat on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
“If someone really lives there, why is the house left looking empty?”
He rolled over.
“Why is everyone afraid to talk about it?”
He grabbed his pillow and covered his face with it.
“Why can't I stop thinking about this?”
From outside the room, Mom called out.
“Sendi, go to sleep!”
“Okay, Mom!”
“You said you were already asleep.”
Sendi fell silent.
“Yeah, I mean I was going to sleep.”
Mom opened the door a crack.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Usually when you get this quiet, something’s up.”
Sendi smiled faintly.
“You really know me, huh?”
“Because you’re my child.”
Sendi looked at Mom’s worried face.
Suddenly, he wanted to tell her everything.
About the empty house.
About Dimas.
About everything that made him curious.
But he changed his mind.
“You have school tomorrow. Don’t stay up too late.”
“Okay, Mom.”
After Mom left, Sendi pulled up the blanket.
But his eyes still refused to close.
Eventually, he fell asleep without realizing it.
“Sendi!”
Mom’s voice rang out loudly.
Sendi opened his eyes.
“Huh?”
He looked at the clock.
Then he sat straight up.
“Oh no!”
The clock already showed that it was past seven.
“Why didn’t you get up earlier?”
Mom stood in the doorway with her arms crossed.
“I overslept!”
“Yes, I know.”
“Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“I woke you up three times already.”
Sendi fell silent.
“Three times?”
“Yes.”
“And then?”
“You answered me.”
“I did?”
“You said, ‘Five more minutes.’”
Sendi covered his face.
He remembered.
But he’d thought five minutes was a short time.
Turns out, he was wrong.
“Hurry up and take a shower!”
Sendi dashed straight to the bathroom.
The house was bustling again that morning.
The sound of footsteps.
The sound of doors opening.
The sound of Sendi looking for his things.
“Where are my socks?”
“In the usual place.”
“They’re not there.”
“Because you didn’t put them in the usual place.”
Sendi stopped.
“Oh, right.”
Mom just shook her head.
A few minutes later, Sendi came out with his hair still wet.
“Your lunch.”
Mom handed it to him right away.
“Did you remember it yourself this time?”
“No.”
“Very honest of you.”
Sendi smiled.
He grabbed his bag and ran.
“Sendi!”
He stopped.
“What now, Mom?”
“Your shoes.”
Sendi looked down at his feet.
One shoe was on.
His other foot was still wearing a house slipper.
Mom burst out laughing.
Sendi laughed along, embarrassed.
“What a rough morning.”
“A morning you made for yourself.”
Sendi quickly changed his shoe.
Then he headed to school.
But because he’d overslept, he didn’t have time to meet Joko on the way.
He didn’t have time to take the back alley, either.
That day, he took his usual route.
But when he arrived at school...
The gate was already almost closed.
“Sir, wait!”
The school guard saw Sendi running toward him.
“Sendi again?”
Sendi stopped, gasping for breath.
“Yes, sir.”
“Do you have a clock at home?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And?”
“I think my clock doesn’t like me.”
The school guard held back a laugh.
“Get inside.”
Sendi smiled in relief.
When he entered the classroom, all his friends were already seated.
Mr. Arman hadn’t arrived yet.
Sendi sat down immediately.
Joko turned toward him.
“Where’ve you been?”
“Home.”
“For that long?”
“I was asleep.”
Joko laughed.
“So today wasn’t because of an adventure?”
“Nope.”
“Impressive.”
Sendi stared at him.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Your first problem today wasn’t the empty house.”
Sendi took out his book.
“Don’t celebrate yet.”
“What?”
“Problems usually show up later.”
Joko laughed.
And it turned out he was right.
Because a few minutes later, Mr. Arman entered carrying a large box.
“Class.”
Every student looked up.
“You have a group assignment.”
The classroom immediately erupted.
“Groups again, sir?”
“Yes.”
Sendi immediately hated the idea.
Group assignments usually meant one thing.
A new problem.
Mr. Arman began assigning the groups.
“Group One...”
He called out the names.
Until finally...
“Sendi, Joko, Raka, and Nisa.”
The four of them looked at one another.
Joko immediately let out a sigh.
“The whole package.”
“The whole package of what?” Sendi asked.
“The troublemaking team.”
“Hey, that’s not fair.”
Nisa smiled faintly.
“At least we already know one another.”
Raka nodded.
Mr. Arman gave them their assignment.
“You have to write a report about the history of the neighborhood around us.”
Sendi immediately started thinking.
“The neighborhood around us?”
“Yes.”
“Can it be about an old place?”
“Sure.”
Sendi’s eyes lit up.
Joko knew exactly what he was thinking.
“Don’t.”
“What?”
“Don’t say it.”
Sendi smiled.
“That empty house could be our topic.”
Joko slapped a hand over his face.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“Problems showed up faster than expected.”
Raka looked thoughtful.
“But if it’s for an assignment, we do need to find information.”
Nisa turned to Raka.
“Don’t tell me you agree.”
“I’m just saying, logically...”
Sendi smiled.
“See? Now we have a reason.”
Nisa shook her head.
“You two really never learn.”
After school, they gathered to work on the assignment.
But of course...
The place they chose wasn’t the library.
It wasn’t Sendi’s house.
It wasn’t Joko’s house.
They chose to stand near the alley by the empty house.
“This isn’t working on an assignment,” Joko said.
“Then what is it?”
“It’s looking for trouble under the excuse of doing homework.”
Sendi opened his notebook.
“We’re just observing.”
“That line again.”
They began writing down what they saw around them.
An old house.
A rusty fence.
Closed windows.
No occupants in sight.
Everything looked ordinary.
Until suddenly...
A piece of paper fell from the top of the fence.
Sendi picked it up.
“What is it?” Nisa asked.
Sendi unfolded the paper.
There was only one sentence written inside.
Don’t dig any deeper.
They all fell silent.
Joko slowly backed away.
“Okay.”
“What?”
“I think we’re done with this assignment.”
Sendi kept staring at the paper.
Instead of being afraid...
He only grew more curious.
Because now he was sure.
Someone was watching them.
And that person didn’t want them to uncover the house’s secret.