An instinct

"Heat!"

Dina gave a very serious, vengeful look. Her hands were clenched into fists, and her teeth were chattering. She was already very annoyed that she had to be scolded every day by these naughty boys in front of her. This time she wasn't going to be silent.

To be honest, Dina was not a child who was good at fighting. However, the nurturing and strict attitude of her parents made her able to survive when she had to deal with people. Like this time, she was desperate to fight four boys by herself.

The four boys came forward to attack Dina. And the girl prepared to fight back. But,

"STOP!" A woman's screaming voice sounded shrill. Dina turned, and the four boys stopped. The woman walked over to Dina and the five boys. "Tino, Dede, Azhar, Ryan, and Fadil, what are you doing?" The woman turned to Dina. "Are you bothering Dina again?" the woman in the teacher's uniform asked with bulging eyes.

"No, Miss, we just wanted to buy the cake, but she got mad!"

"LIAR!" snapped Dian quickly. "You disturbed me! You even knocked over my sales basin on purpose until my cakes fell all over the floor!" Dina said, her eyes sparkling with sadness. She was afraid that her mother would be very angry with her. She also couldn't imagine how angry her mother would be with her. Her hand rubbed her arm. The pain was still there and would never go away every time she did or didn't do something wrong.

"You know, my mom would be so mad at me! She'll beat me up if she finds out the pies don't sell and the cake is dirty like this!" Dina suddenly softened.

"Alaaah... too much. Just like that..."

"Shut up, Tino, you should apologize to Dina, not insult her!" the woman snapped. "Do you know it's still class? Why are you out? Do you want to skip school?"

"No, Miss!"

"Then hurry up and come inside!" she ordered. The five boys came in with grumpy faces. And Tino still didn't accept that he couldn't hit Dina just once. He deliberately bumped into Dina and stepped on the cookies to vent his frustration.

The woman looked pitifully at the large number of cookies scattered on the floor. "Well, Dina. Let's go get your cookies," the woman invited. But Dina froze. The woman understood and began to help her pick up the cookies.

"Let it go, Mom! It's no use picking them up, no one's going to buy them!" said Dina, annoyed and sad. She was sitting on a cement bench outside the school.

The woman sighed. She couldn't stand the girl. The woman who worked as a teacher stopped her activities, she realized that Dina was a girl who did not go to school, but she admired her since she was a child and had worked to help her mother. The woman sat down next to Dina. "Dina, why don't you go to school?"

"I don't have the money. My mother said poor people don't have to go to school," she shrugged.

"Do you want to go to school?"

"I told you, I don't have any money, Mom! How can I go to school without money?" Her tone rose at the mention of school. Her ears were too sensitive.

"How about you come and study in my class? I'll pay the fees?"

"Is that true, Miss?" Her expression changed quickly. He was very pleased with her words.

"Yes. Do you want to?" Dina nodded immediately without being told. She wanted to be able to write and read every letter that was displayed everywhere.

"Yes, let's go with Me," the woman said. With the woman's help, Dina began to learn and read. To her delight, it turned out that Dina responded more quickly to what the woman taught her.

Yes, the girl did not forget what the woman gave her. She was like a second mother to her. But things changed when it was late in the afternoon. When she finished learning to read, write and count. Dina easily forgot about the five boys who had been harassing her. The five of them still harbored resentment and anger toward Dina. They also knew by heart where she went home every day.

"You guys finally came!" said Tino.

"You guys?" Dina was quite surprised to see them on their usual route. "What are you doing?"

"Still wondering what we want?" said Tino. "Attack her!" The other four ran and prepared to beat Dina up.

She turned and ran away. The four boys ran after her. Dina's feet kept moving, but unfortunately, she wasn't fast enough to avoid the boys. Dina was caught, then punch after punch landed on her face and body. It was something she had seen before. She received this kind of treatment almost every day.

The four boys stopped when they were satisfied. And Tino's arrival caused the four boys to step aside. "Feel this!" Tino kicked him several times in the stomach and chest. It was very painful.

Dina fell silent, leaving her body curled up on the dirt road. The pain was there, but she could take it. Cries could be heard because she never expected it to be like this. However, he could not do much against his opponents or the person who had hurt him.

Then she stood up, her face haggard and tired. Her head was bowed, and her feet began to stagger, helplessly weak. She wanted to go home. But she stopped again. Her eyes searched the area around her. Searching for something, she found the trail of those naughty boys. She followed the trail where the five boys had gone.

What was Dina doing? She looked different, her gaze was empty and cold. Her expression also changed, looking more cruel than before.

Her footsteps stopped, and she saw that the boys weren't going straight home, even though it was late in the afternoon. They were playing hide-and-seek in an empty, half-finished building. A grin spread across Dina's lips, and she approached one of the five boys who was hiding.

Azhar would be their first target. The boy was hiding away from where his friends were hiding and away from Tino who was on guard. Dina bent her body, then bent her head. "Can I join you?" she asked, the tone of the girl's voice making Azhar scream.

Dina rushed to cover his mouth. "Shh! Don't fill it, you'll get caught!" she shouted. Azhar was scared. He saw that his friends were already hiding. Alone, not with Dina. The look on their faces made Azhar even more afraid.

The boy quickly removed Dina's hand from his mouth. "W-what do you want?" asked he stuttering. He was very nervous to talk to Dina.

"No, I just want to play," Dina said, looking at Tino. "Do you want to know the safest place to hide?" asked Dina. Azhar was silent, the aura inside Dina was very different. The girl before him was not the usual Dina.

"Hey... don't be afraid. I will make you the winner of this game," Dina said, realizing that Azhar was scared. "How? Do you want to know the safest place to hide?"

Azhar nodded hesitantly. This time he wanted to win this game. He also didn't want to be called "stupid" by Tino.

The little girl stood up. "Come on, follow me!" Azhar stood up too. He stepped behind Dina and followed where her feet went.

They reached a part of the empty building. Dina and Azhar's feet stopped. Dina's grinning smile grew again. Like someone who knew the building by heart, she opened the door with ease.

Azhar frowned. Fear haunted him. But his desire to be a gymnast made him put this fear aside.

"Let's go inside!" Dina invited. The boy obeyed like a buffalo shoved up his nose.

Then,

Krieeeet.

Blam.

The door slammed shut.

****

To Be Continued.