The stone statue in the shape of a warhorse can move. It can even run fast like a real warhorse. Not just one, but a dozen statues of war horses running from the end of the hall to the end of the hall. Running scared. As if they were being chased by something.
The roar sounded quite loud. Shocked Ken. Ken saw with his eyes how the horse statue at the end of the hall came to life at the wrong moment and then galloped towards it. And how Petra suddenly flew into the air, was thrown quite a distance from where he was standing, and then hit a pole as a result of the act of one of his horses. Petra fell unconscious immediately.
The incident made Ken angry and frustrated. Ken stared intently at the horses as if he was speaking angrily. In the next second, Ken whispered very softly. It was as if he was talking to the horse statue something.
Miraculously, they stopped immediately when Ken instructed him to cast some kind of ancient spell. Ken was so panicked when he found out that Petra was suddenly lying on the floor helpless, after being knocked far enough away due to the rubbing of one of the stone statues of war horses in the front row. Then they turned back into idyllic statues as before.
Then Ken ran towards Petra. Confirming the condition of Petra who was unconscious. Limp drooping. Petra's left temple was bleeding, as if from a heavy impact with one of the hallway posts not far from where Petra lay.
"Petra, Petra. You ... how do you feel?" whispered Ken in Petra's closed right ear.
Then Ken hugged Petra gently. Whispering something in a language unknown other than himself. Like an ancient song without rhythm. Until finally Petra can open his eyes slowly. Very slowly.
"Brother Ken, I feel ... like a broken left arm," Petra said softly. Then Petra was unconscious again.
"Calm down, Petra. I'll take you to a safe place," whispered Ken then lifted Petra's body out.
-
Hospitals since ancient times have always been synonymous with white. Or at least a white-like color adorns the walls. However, when Petra struggled to open her eyes, what she found was a pastel pink color. This indicates if she is in a women-only ward hospital.
In Mestonia, in every hospital, there is a policy to separate male and female patients. And that is reflected in the color selection of the wall paint. Pastel pink for female patients. Navy blue for male patients. These rules must be implemented in all hospitals in Mestonia without exception.
There was a bouquet of white lilies lying on Petra's bedside table. It was Ken's gift. Ken
drove him to the hospital. And only Ken was not there when Petra woke up.
"Hi. Feel better?" asked a voice coming from at the door. Steven. Smiling sadly while carrying a box of oranges.
"Yes. Better." Petra replied softly. A little disappointed because she did not find Ken around. Petra
still has a few questions she hasn't had time to say.
"Thank God. I panicked so much when I heard the news about you falling from the second floor of the music building," said Steven. He's just sitting by the bed.
"Fall from the music hall ... what does that mean?" Petra said confusedly. Not necessarily believe what Steven said. Because Petra could remember she was unconscious because she was attacked by a statue or something and she was with Ken.
"Right," Steven replied firmly.
"Then my injured left hand? Is it broken?" Petra asked, trying to convince himself that what she was experiencing was not a hallucination.
"Yeah right. What's wrong with you Petra? What or who caused you to fall like this?" Steven asked, tilting his head to the left as if he was trying to find out what Petra said was true out of Petra's full consciousness or because of the lingering effects of the drug.
"I was with Ken. Then ... who exactly is Ken? Where is he now? Answer me Stev!" cried Petra, frustrated.
Is she crazy? Why should Petra be treated unfairly by Ken like this? Again and again. At least, or Petra hoped Ken would write on a piece of paper some parting words or something. As proof that his memory of Ken is real. Not just crazy girl bullshit.
Seeing Petra hysterical and screaming like that made Steven speechless. More from surprise. Steven did not expect that the question Petra asked him when Petra had just regained consciousness. At a time when the effects of the anesthesia from the surgery on his left hand might have been still lingering and making Petra's mind confused.
"Calm yourself Petra." comforted Steven patted on the cast attached to Petra's left hand. Trying to signal to the girl that he is still in a state of pain. There was a hand from a part of his body that was injured and needed rest.
"Please Stev. Tell me who Ken is? Don't tell me I've been dreaming." Petra roared impatiently.
Steven took a deep breath. Straightened his back and adjusted his seat before returning to answering Petra's barrage of questions.
"Calm down Petra. Prepare yourself. And trust me, okay?" continued Steven.
"Okay," Petra replied impatiently.
"Ken ... is ... actually, you could say as a spiritual being who looks after Upenina. Ken stays in the Mestonia Arca National Park and he can no longer get out of the park. At least after Ken reaches seventeen years of age, where the main task is what he has to bear is starting to weigh him down. So that's the reason he can't come to Finelan anymore. Ken's days of playing are over." explaine Steven.
"What do you mean Ken isn't human?" argued Petra, confused.
"You could say Ken is human but not human. After reaching the age of 17 years, Ken can only live in the Mestonia Arca National Park to keep the statues still where they are today," added Steven.
"Yeah I saw that horse statue alive and that makes me like this Stev. Or are they ghost horses?" said Petra, trying to digest the meaning of Steven's words.
"What you see is indeed a statue of a real horse. It's just that, at a certain time they will live. More accurately there is a kind of Akuma in the belief that the Japanese possessed this object." said Steven again.
"Akuma, what is it?" Petra asked, growing clueless.
"Akuma can be interpreted as a devil but not evil at all. If in my family records they are called spirits." Steven replied, lowering his voice.
"Ken is in the occult world? Then what does that have to do with your family?" investigated Petra.
"Yes, if that's what you understand. No, because Ken was only one of the guards and mediators since Mestonia was born. And the Hartsons are historians of both real and invisible." said Steven.
-TBC-