Shadow 9 Such a Bad Day

I didn't know whether to be grateful or not because the raw punch wasn't aimed at me. However, seeing Mahesa who fell due to the severity of the blow made me panic and try to catch Mahesa's large body that staggered.

"Dad!" Danastri's call had gone out of earshot to the village.

"Where have you taken her, huh?!" An angry exclamation accompanied by a finger pointing at Mahesa. If the sun was still out, Hamlet Chief's face might have been very red. "How dare you bring her when we have outside guests and only come home at this time of day!"

The adult man grabbed Mahesa's shirt and lifted him. His clenched hand was raised high and ready to deliver another blow. Behind him, Danastri was hugging her father and trying to stop it. I was also trying to free Mahesa from the village chief.

The crowd didn't make people come out of their houses, they just quietly peeked from behind the door or slightly opened their windows. There was no point in asking for help either, people were too obedient to those obscure taboos.

"Dad, stop!"

Tears streamed down the girl's rosy cheeks. She tried hard to stop her father from behind while I had to do my best to release the chief's hand from Mahesa's collar. If the village chief was carrying a sharp object, I didn't want to imagine what would happen next.

"Dad, stop! It's not Mahesa's fault! He had nothing to do with it!" Danastri interrupted. "Mahesa and Chandra are the ones who accompanied me home!"

"Sir, Danastri is right! I'm her witness!" I said, not to be outdone. Hamlet Chief turned to me.

His grip on Mahesa's collar loosened. The battered Mahesa fell with me beside him. Danastri was still sobbing and her cries got louder when her eyes saw Mahesa's blue face with a slight cut on the corner of his lip.

"Dad apologizes to Mahesa now!" Danastri ordered with annoyance in her voice and face.

Instead of apologizing, Hamlet Chief clucked and stared at Mahesa from the side. He turned to Danastri and grabbed her hand roughly, pulling her into the house.

"Dad apologize first!" exclaimed Danastri trying to hold her pace but it was useless. She continued to pull Hamlet Chief back towards Mahesa and me.

"Shut up! How could you come home at this hour?! What if you disappear?!"

Danastri's sobs did not stop. She was no different from Arsa who cried when he lost his favorite rattan ball which was carried away by the river. 

"I hate you, Dad! I wish I was lost with Mahesa! I really should have gone with Mahesa instead of Kartika! I should have-"

"Danastri!" called Mahesa which instantly made Danastri shut her mouth. I never heard Mahesa call Danastri that loudly. He didn't look angry but was just trying to stop Danastri from whining to her father.

We all looked at Mahesa who seemed to be forcing himself to speak. Holding her blue cheeks, Mahesa continued her sentence, "Don't talk like that to your father. He's just worried about you. Go inside and rest, you must be tired from today's events."

Danastri's eyes glazed over as she looked at us. There was nothing she could do and nothing we could do either. She turned around and followed her father's pull reluctantly. Danastri would occasionally turn her head to check on our condition, which was not okay. 

One person was soaking wet, while the other was battered. 

What bad luck we had today. All Mahesa and I could do was pray that we could get home safely.

"It's late."

Mahesa's whisper in front of Danastri's house made a strange feeling come over both of us. The sunlight disappeared along with Danastri's closed door. We stared at each other in the darkness of the night, gulping each other's saliva slowly. 

There was no lantern in our hands. There was no fire either. The only light we could see was from the corners of the houses that were still awake. The moon was not yet in the center of the sky to help us light the way. 

I took a breath and tried to neutralize the pounding of my heart. "Ma... Mahesa, let me take you to your house."

"What? Why?" asked Mahesa playing dumb. "I can go home by myself."

I squeezed Mahesa's arm and gave him a serious look, though I didn't know if he could see it or not. "Don't. Let me take you," I broke off. "You have Arsa at home who can't be left alone, right?"

"And you only have Aunty Adhisti at home, right? What if she's worried? Wouldn't it be better if we went home by ourselves?" Mahesa asked.

Even so, I still didn't agree with Mahesa's suggestion. "My mom will understand. It would be dangerous if you went home alone."

"But you'll also go home alone later, right? Isn't that just as dangerous?"

I'd never seen Mahesa this worried about me before. I was happy to see him worrying about me, but- "Mahesa. Why are you so worried? Have you forgotten who I am?"

Mahesa was silent as if there was nothing else he could say to contradict me. He looked at me with a heavy heart. I saw his jaw harden. He was probably upset, but what could he do? 

This was all because I was 'the one who doesn't disappear even when walking in the middle of the village at night'.

Mahesa clucked and got up. "If anything happens, don't blame me!" I smiled and nodded firmly. "But, I hope nothing will happen," Mahesa continued softly and made my smile grow even bigger.

We were walking hand in hand and close to each other. It might be strange to hold on to each other for fear of one of us falling behind or suddenly disappearing, but that's exactly what happened now. Mahesa held my hand and I didn't resist at all.

The more we walked away from Danastri's house, the stronger Mahesa's grip became. The initially warm hand turned cold. Apparently, despite his silence, Mahesa was trying to fight his fear.

Walking in the dark like this is scary. Even if there was no such taboo, I would be able to understand why no one would dare to do it. Especially if there is a hamlet taboo. No one wants to disappear suddenly and leave their loved ones worried.

Silence enveloped both of us. It was not the sounds of children running and playing, nor the noisy livestock, nor the mothers talking about the latest rumors, but the sound of feet on the ground, night insects such as crickets, frogs, and grasshoppers, and the howling of dogs in the distance.

I felt Mahesa flinch at the sound of bats screeching and moving restlessly after hearing the sounds of birds that were active at night, searching for their quarry along with the bats. Mahesa's body was big, but I never thought he would be afraid to walk at night like this.

"We've arrived," I said and woke Mahesa up. Mahesa's initially tight grip loosened. Although he did not make an exaggerated expression, I could feel Mahesa's relief.

Mahesa looked back at me and smiled a little. "Thank you very much, Chandra. I didn't expect to make it back safely."

I smiled widely. "Yes, no problem. Maybe the myth about people going missing at night is just a lie. We're fine, right?"

Mahesa nodded firmly. "Maybe the myths are true and maybe you are special, but I still don't want to go out when the sun has set."

I agree with Mahesa's last sentence. Who would want to walk in the dark with no direction and only rely on their instincts to get to their destination? After all, life in the village also stops after dusk.

However, for the first sentence he spoke, I didn't know how to react.