7. Angkasa Ardiansyah

"When despair almost killed me, you came and brought a ray of hope that managed to free me from endless darkness."

- Angkasa Ardiansyah

***

The car is traveling at an average speed. Laura sat pensively in the back seat of the car with the man she knew named Angkasa who was asleep while leaning on her shoulder. Angkasa looks dirty and smells bad. I don't know how long he hasn't showered. But, strangely, Laura was not bothered by it.

Laura carried Angkasa into her arms when she felt that the man was uncomfortable in his sleep. Her hand stroked his shoulder-length hair. Her eyes stared at the sleeping face of Angkasa with an indescribable look.

"Laura, I have information about that man." Vikram hesitated, his eyes darting at Laura through the rearview mirror.

"Explain in detail. Don't miss a single piece of info." Laura said in a cold voice, giving Vikram goosebumps.

"According to the information I got, his name is Angkasa Ardiansyah. Ten years ago, he was entrusted to the Hope Mental Hospital by a man who was suspected of being his father when he was 6 years old. The reason is because he has a mental disorder, often injuring himself and even killing his pets. His father sent him to the hospital because he almost killed his stepmother." Vikram stopped his speech because he wanted to see Laura's reaction.

Laura fell silent with a frozen face. I don't know if she was angry or that was the look on her face. However, one thing is certain, that the man named Angkasa has managed to get Laura out of her 'comfort zone'.

"Hm, I see. Is there any other information about his family? Especially his father." Laura glanced at Vikram with a sharp and piercing gaze.

"There's no information about his father. The names and addresses registered with the Mental Hospital are all fake. He used to always send large sums of money once a month. It happened for 2 years since leaving his son in the Mental Hospital. At first, the Mental Hospital refused Angkasa, but because there is a guarantee of money every month, they are willing to accept Angkasa as a patient and take good care of him."

"Then why is it like this now?" There was anger Laura was trying to hide in her voice. Laura tightened her embrace on Angkasa, who Laura had not realized had woken up from his sleep because his sharp ears caught Vikram's voice.

"In the third year, his father no longer sent money to the Mental Hospital, and at that time they realized that his name and address were fake. Since then, there has been no more information about his father Angkasa and since then, Angkasa has become an outlet for the anger of the Mental Hospital owner who felt cheated. The Mental Hospital finally went bankrupt and the building is abandoned until now. Hope Mental Hospital has few patients, many patients died of serious illness or suicide, and maybe only Angkasa was left despite being tortured many times. Finally, they're leaving the life and death of Angkasa in a locked room in the Mental Hospital building."

Punch!

"Damn it!" Laura's tightly clenched hands hit the windshield with such force that it cracked in several places. Laura's fist was bleeding as it rubbed against the glass surface of Vikram's car.

"Ra! Don't be crazy! Your hand is already injured. Don't add to the wound."

"Oh, I forgot." Laura casually rolled up her sleeves and saw the bandage on her hand stained with blood as the wound on her hand opened again. Likewise, the palms of her hands are used to grip broken glass.

"Akh…" The husky voice issued by Angkasa managed to make Laura avert her gaze. Her hands cupped the face of Angkasa who was staring at her intensely. A trail of blood was left on Angkasa's face because Laura's palm was on Angkasa's face.

"Hm, you are my adorable pet." Angkasa's face which has traces of blood actually looks different in Laura's eyes. It feels like you're dressing your pet to make it look adorable.

Angkasa's gaze that had previously been on Laura, turned to Laura's palm which was covered in blood when his nose caught a whiff of the scent that caught his attention. Angkasa grabbed Laura's hand with great enthusiasm, his long fingernails running down Laura's blood-drenched palm.

Laura winced as Angkasa's sharp nails pierced her palms and gave her several cuts so that the blood flowed again. Laura was silent as she watched her 'pet' sniff the scent of blood coming out of her palms, and his eyes stared enthusiastically at the incision he had made himself.

Laura lifted Angkasa's chin to look at her. "You like this? Do what you want."

Angkasa nodded like a pet dog obeying his master's words. He returned to his activities by giving Laura incisions in several places. Laura doesn't mind because at least Angkasa can fulfill her abnormal disease. Don't forget that Laura suffers from a masochistic disease, which is self-injury. It didn't matter who hurt her as long as Laura was hurt, then Laura could feel a sense of satisfaction within her.

"Angkasa Ardiansyah. He doesn't have a surname, but that's impossible if he doesn't come from an influential family. Because there's no way an ordinary person could do something like that for a long time without being discovered by outsiders."

***

Angkasa stared at his reflection in the mirror with a blank stare. How long had he not seen the outside world or even the light of the sun and himself? Everything had changed, he who was once only as tall as an adult's waist, had now become that adult.

He was locked up in darkness with no light at all. At first, he was afraid, especially with the treatment of people in white uniforms who always stabbed small sharp objects around his neck which made him weak and helpless. His hands and feet could not be moved freely, when he rebelled they would beat him with sticks in the corner of the room.

No matter how hard he screamed and asked for help, no one responded. They closed their eyes and ears as if nothing had happened to him. It was painful at first, but eventually, he got used to it. However, the pain was always painful, even though it was used to making him scream helplessly.

Angkasa, who was 'entrusted' in the Mental Hospital because of his abnormal behavior, always waited for his father, who promised to pick him up. He always waited for his father's arrival, but his father never came, no matter how much Angkasa hoped.

"Angkasa, you must obey while staying here. Stay here until father picks you up to come home."

The face of 'father' who said those words had even been forgotten. All he remembered were those two sentences that kept him going. But, his abnormal illness always tormented him, he wanted to smell the scent of blood and the sensation that stirred something up within him. It was both fun and painful to realize that it was his abnormal behavior that made his father leave him to someone else.

"Angkasa!" The high-pitched voice snapped Angkasa out of its daydream. He looked at the woman standing in front of him with her arms folded across her chest.

It was the woman who helped him. It was the woman who brought him out of the darkness that imprisoned him. The woman is also the one who realizes his small wish that even his father didn't fulfill.

"Akh…" Angkasa tried to grab Laura's hand, who was looking at him with a frown.

("Thank you.")

"Looks like you have to be taken to the hospital, huh. There's not a single word that you can say clearly. Maybe there's a problem with your vocal cords?" Laura nodded her head in agreement with her words.

("Because you want to take me with you.")

Laura was about to turn to call Vikram but Angkasa gripped her hand tightly. His teary eyes stared at Laura with pitying eyes, like a puppy about to be abandoned by its master.

Laura's hand patted the top of Angkasa's head. "I'm a good employer, so I won't throw away my pet as long as you're a good pet."

("Laura.")

***

Notes:

- Angkasa (name in Indonesian) = Space (name in English)

- Angsa (animal name in Indonesian) = Swan (animal name in English)

I prefer to use the name 'Angkasa' instead of 'Space'. Then, as a leak, Laura will call Angkasa by the name 'Angsa', which in English is 'swan'.

Dialogs in "( )" are words in the heart. In this chapter it is used for words in Angkasa's heart.