2. Mori

Mori chose to go home early this time after getting a call from Alysa who informed him that Mr. Ali would pick him up to go help solve a problem that only Mori could solve.

On the way to the parking lot to pick up his bike in the parking lot, Mori's steps stopped when he saw Mr. Ali who looked scarier than usual because he was not wearing a uniform.

That day, Mr. Ali was wearing a leather jacket under his shirt, sitting on a motorcycle that belonged to no one, who could certainly sit enjoying the afternoon while smoking, and that's what made him look even more thug-like and scary.

Because his appearance this time was like a thug who was ready to wait for prey, Mori quickly hid behind a pole not far from the student parking lot. It was not only Mori who avoided Mr. Ali but other children also immediately avoided him when approaching the parking lot.

"Hey..." called Mr. Ali with the cigarette still attached to his lips to a pair of children who were seen approaching the parking lot, making the pair of children without thinking immediately reverse direction and re-enter the school. "Kids these days, they're called to run!"

          Tired of waiting in the parking lot, Mr. Ali decided to go looking for Mori inside the school.

When he saw Mr. Ali moving into the school, Mori, who was hiding behind a pillar, immediately ran, covering his face with a book so as not to be recognized. But suddenly Mori's steps were intercepted by Alysa who happened to be looking for him too.

"Where are you going again, Mori?!"

"Mori?" Mr. Ali turned to Alysa and then to the boy who was being confronted by Alysa who was covering his face with a book. Mr. Ali approached Mori and stood right in front of Mori. "You know what, I've been waiting in the parking lot until I get bored?"

"Yes sir, I told you earlier, but he just ran away."

Mori lowered his book while shaking his head and stifling a laugh. "Sir, did you forget that the school is a smoke-free zone?" Mori diverted the conversation and attention.

          "Ah... yes sir, there's no smoking in the school!" Alysa confirmed Mori's words and Mori's mission to divert attention was successful.

Mr. Ali quickly threw away his half-cigarette near his feet.

"Sir, also don't litter, you said cleanliness is part of faith..."

          Mr. Ali picked up his cigarette and was about to throw it into the nearest trash can when Mori spoke again.

          "Put the cigarette out first sir, it could cause a fire!"

Mr. Ali dropped his cigarette, stepped on it, and picked it up again before Mori's chatty mouth could lecture him.

Mr. Ali knew he was wrong for smoking on school grounds, but he didn't expect to be lectured by a child as fussy as Mori because it was usually Mr. Ali who lectured people.

          "There, now what?"

Mori shook his head with a laugh.

          "If nothing else come with me, there's work I can't finish!"

          "Mr. Ali is counting on me?! So touched..." Mori turned his head to the left, smiling shyly like a girl.

          "Why are you blushing?" Alysa shook her head at her best friend's behavior.

"Why are you more grumpy than usual Alysa, I'm so scared..." Mori screamed dramatically while stifling a laugh that immediately made Alysa pat Mori's head with a book. "Aw..." Mori rubbed his head with both hands and made Alysa finally smile with satisfaction at his suffering.

          Mr. Ali sighed. "Not satisfied playing around yet?"

         "Hahahaha... Not yet." Mori giggled with satisfaction at his teacher's expression. "What about my bicycle anyway, even though it's just a bicycle, I bought it with my own money and it's not cheap, sir!"

          "If it's a bicycle, take it easy..." a man dressed in all green Forest Police style appeared from behind Mr. Ali which immediately got Mori's attention.

"Really, how?" Mori approached with eyes sparkling with excitement. It was the first time Mori had met the policeman but he liked him immediately.

          "If you put it on top of an open cabin car, is it okay?"

          "Of course, it's okay sir! By the way, who are you?"

          "Aam... Just call me Yandri, I was sent by Mrs. Bunga."

Oh... Queen Bunga's messenger..." Mori said, losing heart. "So..."

"Eh? So..." The policeman was at a loss for an answer, because if he misspoke, the boy in front of him, who had many conditions, would sulk and not cooperate.

Yandri had been told by his seniors that they would be working with a boy who understood the supernatural but liked to be arbitrary and he had been assigned to bring Mori to the police station.

          "Don't think about it too much sir, he just wants more," Alysa said.

          "Oh... Thank goodness then..." Yandri breathed a sigh of relief.

   ***                                                                    

A three-hour journey that could have been much quicker if it wasn't for the late-night forest path and the drizzle that hadn't stopped since the start of the journey.

The previous day's rain made the journey even slower, due to puddles. Several times we almost got stuck in the mud and if it wasn't Yandri driving the car, we would have been stuck in the mud from the start.

According to Yandri's story, he was chosen by Mrs. Bunga to pick up Mori because he used to participate in offroad racing during his school days, making it easier to pass the path in the forest if it was full of mud and Mrs. Bunga also still remembers very well how Mori's mouth was, she no longer wanted to hear Mori's complaints that seemed endless.

Yandri's driving skills made Mori admire him even more because from previous experience, several times meeting Mrs. Bunga, Mori was forced to help push the car that was stuck in the mud. [Cold, muddy, dirty, sticky, itchy, smelly... I don't want to be like a Sumatran rhino...]

A permanent building, small but beautiful, can be seen in the middle of the forest where Yandri stopped his car. It was the nearest Forest Police post on the edge of the Rimbo Panjang forest.

When Mori got out of the car, his gaze was immediately drawn to the dark forest, where a pair of yellow lights were glimpsed.

Mori knew exactly what the light was because he had been told by Mrs. Bunga when he first met her. "Datuk" is what the Malays call the Sumatran Tiger, but this time the light was not an ordinary one, making Mori shiver. Fear! A common feeling.

Mori didn't dare to stare at the pair of yellow lights once she realized it, let alone after feeling an unusual fear and not being able to tell anyone about what she just saw.

When starting to step because of not being careful and also the slippery grass Mori slipped instantly, but fortunately Yandri who was nearby could move quickly to help her so that Mori did not fall.

 "You have to be careful stepping on slippery roads," Yandri said understandingly.

"That's why when walking carefully, use your eyes too," Alysa interjected with a chuckle at Mori's carelessness.

Mori remained silent, continuing his steps into the Forest Police post making Alysa and Mr. Ali look at each other, surprised to see Mori unusually silent before replying.