2. You Will Die

2020

Zalina breathed a sigh of relief when she arrived at the building where she worked. She was almost late on her first day of work. After a long wait, she was finally accepted to work as an accounting staff member.

"Excuse me, I'm Zalina, a new employee here and will work on the accounting staff." Zalina greeted a woman who had just turned on the computer at her desk.

The woman looked up at Zalina from top to bottom. "Ah, you've come. Mr. Robert is waiting for you in his room."

Zalina turned towards the door. "Thank you, Miss."

After knocking on the door and hearing the answer from behind the door, Zalina entered Mr. Robert's room. A man about 50 years old is standing holding a telephone receiver.

Seeing Zalina's arrival, the man immediately ended the conversation on the phone and extended a friendly hand.

"Welcome, Zalina. I am Robert, who will be your boss."

However, Zalina did not immediately welcome Mr. Robert. She swore in advance that whatever she saw would not affect her.

"Thank you, Mr. Robert... "

 'No... Please not now. I promise not to interfere with other people's lives. Okay, Zalina, pretend you don't see anything.'

Zalina muttered in her heart. A worried expression overshadowed her face.

Something terrible will happen to Mr. Robert. She had to keep herself quiet, not give a warning or tell the man. No one can resist the bad luck that God has ordained. She had to remember that.

"Zalina?" Mr. Robert Voice brings Zalina back to her world.

Zalina immediately let go of their handshake. "I'm sorry, sir."

Mr. Robert gave some brief directions to Zalina, but none of which Zalina could understand. The man's voice sounded far away because Zalina was restless to hear the contradiction inside her.

"You can start working now. If something is not clear, you can ask Gema." Mr. Robert ended his directive.

"Mr. Robert, may I give you a suggestion?"

Me. Robert frowned, "A suggestion? What is it?"

"Today, you shouldn't go out of this room. I mean, you shouldn't come out of this building. If you need to, you can stay the night." Zalina said quickly, making Mr. Robert surprised.

In-room fell silent for a few seconds. It sounded like an order. Mr. Robert cleared his throat and pointed at the door without saying anything.

Zalina doesn't care if her boss thinks she's weird. Before closing the door, Zalina said, "Please, do as I say, sir."

After Zalina left his room, Mr. Robert felt something was wrong with his new employee.

"Did she wake up from a dream? I hope she doesn't cause any trouble."

All day, Zalina kept glancing at Mr. Robert's door and watching the man's movements. Mr. Robert realized this, making him even more convinced that there was something wrong with Zalina.

"She looks weird. This company can't recruit people who have mental problems." Mr. Robert muttered to himself because he felt strange about Zalina's behavior.

Finally, the time that seemed so long for Zalina was over. Exactly five o'clock in the afternoon, after working hours were over, Zalina was standing in front of Mr. Robert's door.

Not long after, Mr. Robert came out, and Zalina blocked him without hesitation. "Mr. Robert, you can't come out!"

"You're so weird, Zalina. I feel like you're a stalker. You've been watching me all day. What's wrong with you? You can't possibly be interested in me, can you?"

"Wh-what? Interested in you? No. I just wanted to save you."

Mr. Robert rolled his eyes as he walked away from Zalina. "Sorry, Zalina, I don't have time to hear nonsense. Superman will save me."

Zalina followed Mr. Robert and tried to prevent the man from leaving the building.

"It's up to you to think I'm crazy, but please listen to me!" said Zalina, holding Mr. Robert.

"Zalina. Stop, don't talk anymore, or you'll get in trouble tomorrow." Mr. Robert snapped while slapping Zalina's hand, which drew people's attention to the two of them.

"You will die. I tell you again, if you leave now, you will die!"

Finally, the words Zalina had been trying to hold back came out of her mouth. Mr. Robert looks surprised and angry at Zalina's words. The people were equally surprised and began to whisper.

Zalina realized that all eyes were on her, but she couldn't return her words. They might think Zalina is out of her mind, but if the stubborn man keeps stepping out of the building, they will believe it.

However, that is not what Zalina wants to happen. Maybe she would be happier if other people thought of her as a crazy woman than if something terrible happened in front of her eyes. Zalina will feel sorry for her if she stays quiet and does nothing.

"Stop this joke, Zalina. You make me angry. Starting tomorrow, you don't have to come anymore because I can't work with troubled people like you." After saying that, Mr. Robert walked out of the lobby door in quick steps.

"No, don't come out. Stop right there!" Zalina is still trying to stop the man by giving him a final warning.

She looked at the watch in her hand and saw no time. Zalina surrendered by closing her eyes. Two seconds later, there was a loud bang from outside the building.

People in the building rushed out to see what was going on. Zalina slowly walked out with unsteady steps, hoping her efforts would change fate.

A large truck lost control and hit Mr. Robert and the road divider.

"He has already died of serious injuries."

Zalina immediately retreated from the crowd. Zalina saw a big truck, blood, an ambulance, and several pairs of eyes staring in horror. Everything was the same as the image she had seen this morning when they shook hands. Mr. Robert was about to have an accident and, unfortunately, it happened in front of their building.

"Hey, did you guys hear that strange girl say?" An employee there pointed at Zalina.

 "Of course, we heard her. She said, 'Mr. Robert is going to die. How cruel of her to say that."

"Right, that sounds like cursing. Who is? It's the first time I've seen her."

"Looks like she's a new employee here. She's indirectly responsible for what happened."

"Could she be a psychic? Just look at her appearance. Very old-fashioned. She tried to tell but couldn't stop Mr. Robert."

"If that girl hadn't gotten in the way, maybe the poor guy could have survived because he wasn't there at the same time the truck accident happened."

"That's right."

"She has a sharp and promising mouth! We must watch out for her!"

"She deserves to be blamed."

Zalina shook her head when several people made accusations. "No, that's not what I meant," she said in a weak voice.

The longer the people cornered Zalina, the more It made Zalina think back to when people accused her of being a girl who brought death.

This is not the first time Zalina has had an inadequate response because of her efforts to prevent a disaster from happening. Zalina is fed up and bored. If she had kept quiet and didn't say much, Zalina's conscience wouldn't allow it.

Now people have gathered around Zalina. Some of them are still cursing, and the rest stare at Zalina sharply and in horror.

Zalina wants to go, but her body feels stiff. She can't refute their accusations but only close her eyes, hoping those people will leave in front of her.

Suddenly, a strong and warm hand grabbed Zalina's hand and immediately pulled the girl from the crowd.

** Check out my other story: The Revenge of Rana