CHAPTER 01: the beginning is so painful
Plumes of black smoke filled the air creating thick clouds, making day feel like night. A red rooster was seen going on a rampage devouring the entire two-story building. Initially the building was an orphanage but now it doesn't look like that because of the flames that engulfed it.
Everyone ran helter-skelter trying to distance themselves from the location without thinking about anything. A cacophony of cries, screams of fear combined as if to fill the air.
It didn't stop there, the flames immediately spread quickly to the surrounding trees, causing the red chicken to increase significantly in size.
A few moments later a girl managed to get out of the flames, the girl was holding tightly a 4 year old boy. His breath was ragged, he walked limply. Severe bleeding occurred in several parts of his body, and his body was even covered in burns. Anyone who saw her would know that the girl could fall at any time.
Even though his vision was slowly fading, he refused to lose consciousness.
"Sis, I'm scared!" The boy tightened his embrace.
The girl just smiled softly in response to the whining, she gently stroked the boy's head, "It's okay Daru, everything will be fine, believe me big brother." ***
It didn't take long for the horse-drawn carriage to speed towards the scene of the incident. A young man hurriedly got off the carriage without paying attention to the commotion that was happening. He was stunned for a while, his expression became even worse when he saw the scene before him. He swallowed hard, bad thoughts and worries mixed in his mind.
The young man then looked around trying to find someone he knew. His eyes widened when his vision managed to catch the person he was looking for, a feeling of slight relief appeared in his heart.
"Devi-!!" shouted the young man as he ran over to him.
The shout managed to catch the girl's attention. The girl quickly turned to the source of the sound and found a familiar young man running towards her.
Devi, that's the name of the beautiful girl who is holding a child, even her sweet face is now covered in ashes.
Good thing you're here, I'm glad to see you! Devi smiled bitterly.
Dirga looked at him blankly, many questions crossed his mind. However, he realized that this was not the right time to ask this.
"Come with me, we have to leave this place immediately." Dirga turned his gaze to the orphanage building which seemed to be shaking. Of course, the flames damaged the foundation of the building, it was just a matter of time until the orphanage building collapsed and was razed to the ground.
"No! But please save this child, because only a few survive." Devi begged with a pitiful face.
Dirga furrowed his eyebrows, "Wait a minute. Don't you want to come with me?"
Devi just shook her head slowly with a bitter smile, her eyes now filled with tears, "no. I won't go, how could I leave my sister and the children who have died here alone. After all, this building holds millions of memories, I can't just leave it like that."
Dirga didn't seem to accept Devi's statement just now, he wanted to try to argue further but his words seemed to get stuck in his throat when Devi touched his lips with her finger, indicating that she didn't want to hear the rejection.
Devi immediately walked quickly towards the horse-drawn carriage that Dirga was previously riding. He immediately released Daru and put the child on the horse-drawn carriage.
Daru looked at his brother worriedly, "Sis, are we going to be okay?"
Devi kissed Daru's forehead before gently stroking the top of Daru's head, tears began to roll down her cheeks, "Yes Daru, just trust my brother that everything will be fine." His words stopped as tears began to flow freely. However, Devi tried hard not to show her sad expression in front of the sister she loved.
"Come to think of it, big brother hasn't looked after you well enough."
"What are you talking about? I'm really happy with you so far." Devi smiled emotionally. He couldn't help but hug his sister for a moment.
Devi also turned her gaze towards Dirga who was not far from her. The young man's eyes were now filled with sadness.
"I'm entrusting Daru to you. Please hand him over to Jianzhen Nuraga, only he can help Daru for now," said Devi.
"B-but... I can't leave you like this," argued Dirga.
"Not the right time for you two to argue. With my condition like this I'm not sure I can last much longer." Devi smiled bitterly, while holding her chest, she could feel her heart beating fast as her breathing began to become labored.
"Good!"
Feeling he had no other choice, Dirga clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white before riding his horse. He glanced at Devi reluctantly before spurring his horse away from the scene.
Daru burst into tears when he found out his older brother was not with him, but remained silent. With his body shaking and tears flowing profusely, Daru tried to escape but in vain.
The girl's eyes widened sadly as the horse-drawn carriage slowly moved away. He looked up and closed his eyes, fragments of memories flashed through his mind, making him drift away in a sea of memories which had now turned into sadness.
She opened her eyes again, "sister will always love you Daru. Grow up well," Devi muttered, those were the last words that came out of Devi's mouth before she breathed her last as the building behind her collapsed on top of her.
"Older brother!!" Daru shouted loudly, his hands stretched out hoping to reach his older brother, even though it was in vain because of the long distance. What he witnessed really made him cry even more.
That was the last figure of his older brother that Daru saw before his vision slowly darkened.
***
The horse carriage only slowed down when it managed to get away from the location. There were no longer dark clouds covering the sky, instead they were replaced by the orange color of twilight which indicated the sun was about to set.
Dirga no longer heard Daru's cries since they left the scene because he knew that children his age could not push themselves and could lose consciousness at any time if their physical condition was too weak, especially as Daru's body was now injured.
Baskara Daru or commonly known as Daru. An orphaned child spent his entire life in an orphanage that has now disappeared. He didn't know who his parents were and only his older brother had taken care of him since he was little. Everything happened so quickly even though several hours earlier, Daru was still joking with his older brother.
Occasionally Dirga looked back to make sure Daru remained in his position. Dirga couldn't divert his confused thoughts when Devi's last figure kept flashing in his mind, haunting his thoughts and making his regrets even greater. Dirga tried his best to ward off the tears that were trying to come out, but his efforts were in vain when a feeling of tightness slowly enveloped his chest.
The horse-drawn carriage seemed to be almost entering a village not far from where he was currently.
***
"Ah, after all this time I was able to rest after my long duties, it seems sleeping is the right choice." A sigh came out of the mouth of a middle-aged man who was just lying on an antique carved wooden bed. Anyone who saw him would know behind his face. His masculine and dignified character harbors a deep calm.
He had just closed his eyes when the sound of horse hooves was heard and disturbed him. The man snorted in annoyance before getting up from his bed in a huff.
"Argh! Who is disturbing my rest! Even though I just want to sleep, it seems like God doesn't give me a chance to rest," he grumbled as he stepped out to see who the guests were who wanted to visit.
***
The horse-drawn carriage stopped right in front of a simple-looking residence. A young man hurriedly got off his mount and went straight to the back of his cart.
"Daru, wake up, we're here," he said, gently shaking Daru's body which was leaning on the straw.
Daru had just opened his eyes when he felt a soft vibration in his body. Finally he regained consciousness, decided to open his eyes which felt swollen and heavy.
Dirga then helped Daru get out of his cart, "Daru, are you okay? Wait here a moment, there's someone I want to see."
Daru nodded slowly and finally obeyed Dirga's words.
The tightness still tormented his chest, making him feel confused. Daru decided to squat down, folding his hands on his knees and hiding his gloomy face there, "Sis..." he groaned.
Without realizing it, there had been a man watching him and even greeting him right at the door, of course with his arms folded in front of his chest. Judging from the shape of his face, it doesn't look like he is a native of the archipelago.
"Dirga, why did you come here without telling me first? And what's with that look on your face?" he asked, pointing at Dirga's pale face, he suspected that the news Dirga brought was not good news.
"Actually, this..." Dirga explained his arrival here and told him everything that happened. The man's face turned pale after hearing Dirga's explanation.
Dirga took a deep breath before continuing, "Zhen, only you can help and guide