Her Silver Hair

Yada gazed at the woman lying weakly on the bed. Despite her pale and bruised face, her beauty still radiated magnificence.

The aristocratic lines on her face made Yada's heart tremble. Not to mention her fully white hair, yet without the appearance of wrinkles on her face, it made Yada question the true age of the woman with white hair.

No, it's not white hair, Yada mused. More like silver hair, like the hair of a fairy in the illustrations of a fairy tale book Yada had read.

"Has she regained consciousness, Sir?"

Yada turned around. It had been three days since they were in the house he specifically rented during their visit to Pacitan. And for three days, this mysterious beauty had remained unconscious.

"Not yet," Yada replied flatly.

"But she's still alive, right, Sir?"

Yada glanced at his assistant. Every day, a doctor was called to this rented house to examine the mysterious woman. It was from the doctor that Yada learned about the current condition of the patient.

The woman was in critical condition. Apart from external injuries, there were internal wounds of concern.

She should have needed intensive care at the hospital. However, Yada was reluctant to involve the police, who would undoubtedly question where the woman was found.

And Yada was willing to dig deep into his pockets to care for the woman at home. Doctors were brought in, nurses were specially hired, and the best medicines were brought to the house. Everything should be safe.

"She's still breathing, right?" Yada responded with a question.

Arum grimaced. She checked the IV line connected directly to the back of the woman's hand.

"The nurse will be here soon, Sir. I've prepared the money to pay her."

Yada nodded.

"What about our plan to explore Gong Cave, Sir?"

Yada let out a long sigh. Yada's only purpose for coming all the way from Jakarta to Pacitan was to conduct research on the legendary caves scattered throughout the city. Their schedule should have been to go to Kalak Cave, which had once been the burial place of Prabu Brawijaya (1).

However, Yada's entire interest in history and the mysticism surrounding Gong Cave vanished the day he found this mysterious woman.

"Cancel it," Yada replied firmly.

Arum's eyes widened. She wanted to argue, but she was wise enough to hold back.

Arum finally excused herself after hearing a call from the front. When she returned to the room, she brought the nurse who checked the condition of the mysterious woman and ensured that the medical equipment was still functioning properly.

The condition of the silver-haired woman had stabilized. Yada felt relieved upon hearing that. He made sure the nurse and Arum left the room before approaching the woman's bedside.

"Who are you really? Why were you in such a dark cave? Are you a victim of abuse? Or perhaps you were recently harassed?"

Yada touched the silky strands of the woman's silver hair. Suddenly, he jerked in surprise and quickly withdrew his hand.

"What was that just now?" Yada wondered. His gaze fixed on the pale face that still had closed eyes.

"Why does her hair feel like an electric shock? No. No. Not an electric shock. It's like..."

"Sir, don't you want to rest? Let me take over watching the woman." Arum suddenly entered the room carrying a tray of dinner.

"You haven't left the room all day, Sir. While the weather is nice, you can have dinner in the backyard."

However, Yada declined. The thirty-year-old man accepted the tray brought by his assistant and politely dismissed the woman from the room.

As he gazed at the patient on the bed, Yada reflected on his own life story from a few years ago. As a history lecturer at one of Indonesia's prestigious universities, he was expected to have extensive knowledge and stay up to date with historical developments.

Yada didn't mind. He truly loved the world of history. It was his passion that led him to accept the anger of his family when he refused to study medicine and instead chose a less popular program among many young people.

In the midst of enjoying his dinner, Yada's peripheral vision caught a subtle movement from the bed. Quickly, he set aside the tray and found the mysterious beauty slowly opening her eyes.

"Where... am I?"

Yada's heart skipped a beat. The soft voice, yet with a firm tone, delicately reached his ears.

"At my house," Yada replied shortly.

"Where... is your house?"

"Pacitan," he replied again. He gently wiped the perspiration from the beautiful woman's forehead.

"Finally, you've regained consciousness. Wait a moment, I'll get you something to drink."

It took Yada at least ten minutes to attend to the woman. When they could finally converse, it was already nine o'clock at night.

"My name is Yada. What's your name?"

The woman accepted the spoonfuls given by the man. Her stomach was indeed growling. She couldn't bear the hunger any longer.

"Kamaniya," she replied briefly.

"A beautiful name. Just as beautiful as you."

Kamaniya remained silent. Yada cringed inwardly. It was unusual for him to flirt with a woman. Now he found himself behaving like a child in front of his first encounter with a woman.

Yada cleared his throat. He quickly changed the topic of conversation.

"You were unconscious for three days. I found you in Gong Cave, in the early hours. What were you doing there?"

Kamaniya furrowed her brow. Her voice was still weak when she posed her question.

"Gong Cave? Pacitan? What are you talking about? I don't understand."

Yada was taken aback. "You can remember your name, but you don't know how you ended up here?"

Kamaniya nodded. She attempted to move her hand. It was painful.

"Well, I found you passed out on the cave floor. My assistant thought you were already dead. Thankfully, you're still alive."

"Passed out... on the cave floor?"

Yada nodded. He didn't provide any further explanations as there was nothing more to tell.

However, he was relieved that the woman didn't refuse the food he offered. Yada felt a bit awkward as it was the first time he had ever fed someone. He tried to fulfill his duty to the best of his abilities.

That night, he gave Kamaniya a chance to rest. But the next morning, Yada's heart felt like it was about to leap out of his chest when he didn't find the silver-haired woman in the bedroom.

"Arum! Arum!" Yada panickedly shouted.

"Yes, Sir. What's wrong?"

"Where's Kamaniya?"

Arum looked at her boss with a puzzled expression. Yada immediately cursed himself internally. He forgot to inform Arum about Kamaniya.

"There's a woman here, her name is Kamaniya. She regained consciousness last night, but now she's gone. The IV has been removed too."

Arum pointed towards the backyard. "She's out there, Sir. I bumped into her this morning. She said she wanted to explore around the house and didn't want to use the IV."

Yada didn't pay any more attention to Arum. He quickly searched for Kamaniya's whereabouts.

He spotted the woman sitting on the porch chair. Her gaze was fixed straight on the well-maintained potted plants.

"Kamaniya."

The one called turned her head. There was no trace of a smile on her still-pale face. Kamaniya's eyes were icy cold.

"Where is this?"

Yada furrowed his brow. It was the umpteenth time Kamaniya asked the same question.

"Pacitan, East Java," Yada replied succinctly.

"The year?"

"2022," the man answered again. "Specifically, September."

Kamaniya closed her eyes. The sound of her exhale was audible.

"2022. So it's been a long time since the era of King Wijaya?" (2)

Yada's jaw dropped. Itched, he wanted to scratch his head.

"Well, it has been a very long time. Over seven hundred years ago. Are you a history enthusiast?"

Kamaniya shook her head. She closed her eyes. Her face grew paler again.

"Kamaniya, are you okay?" Yada couldn't hide his concern.

Kamaniya shook her head with her eyes still tightly shut. She attempted to stand, but stumbled again, wincing in pain.

"Hey, you're not doing well. Come on, I'll carry you to the room."

"I can walk on my own." Kamaniya politely refused.

Yada relented. He could only follow from behind as the woman began to walk.

"The object that was inserted into my hand. What is it called?" Kamaniya asked once they were in the room.

"An IV." Yada couldn't hide his surprise. "You really don't know what this object is?"

Innocently, Kamaniya shook her head. She almost let slip that such an object didn't exist in her world. However, Kamaniya managed to restrain herself.

"Well, never mind. I'll let you know about anything else you don't know."

Kamaniya doubted that the man in front of her could provide the information she needed. However, she chose to remain silent. For now, her task was to observe first before deciding on the next step.

"I'll get breakfast for you. You can eat here."

"Oh, wait."

Kamaniya hurriedly approached Yada, who was already standing at the doorway. The man patiently waited for her.

"Can I explore this house?"

Yada nodded. Finally, Kamaniya followed him to the kitchen and found two women of different ages engaged in conversation.

She simply nodded briefly when Yada introduced Arum as his personal assistant and Darmi as the housekeeper.

Their journey continued to Yada's workspace. While waiting for breakfast to be prepared, he led his guest to the place where he worked during his stay in Pacitan.

A floor-to-ceiling bookshelf surrounded a large teakwood desk in the middle of the room. The laptop was on, displaying a series of graphs that Kamaniya couldn't comprehend. Meanwhile, a large window behind the desk offered a view of a row of papaya trees in the backyard.

Kamaniya's attention was drawn to the row of books on the shelf. Yada, aware of her gaze, proudly showed her a portion of his collection brought from Jakarta.

"I'm really passionate about Indonesian history. From the Kandis era (3) to the Indonesian independence, I love studying it."

Kamaniya furrowed her brow. "What about the Majapahit era?"

"Even more so. I'm particularly fascinated by the history of the largest kingdom in Indonesia. My research this time should have been in Kalak Cave, not Gong Cave. But I needed some references about this popular cave as well."

"Why Kalak cave?" Kamaniya pursued.

"Because Kalak Cave was once the burial place of Prabu Brawijaya. The unsolved mystery is which Brawijaya it was who often meditated there."

"King of Majapahit," Kamaniya interjected.

Yada nodded. "It seems you're also interested in this kingdom."

"Just a reminiscence," Kamaniya replied, walking towards the cabinet on the other side of the room.

Suddenly, Kamaniya felt a strong jolt. Her body staggered. She looked at Yada, her eyes widening.

The tall cabinet behind Yada appeared unstable, swaying. Kamaniya's instincts kicked in. Without hesitation, she half-ran towards the tall man's body and pulled him towards the edge.

Within a split second, the cabinet behind Yada collapsed right where he had been standing. The loud crash shattered the silence in the room. Yada was startled, but Kamaniya quickly pulled him away.

"Yada, there's an earthquake. Don't stay here. Get out quickly!"