In the end, Vina did not fantasize that day. Instead, she immediately took her dirty clothes in the laundry basket and went to the well behind her house. She does not have a washing machine to be able to wash clothes automatically; at least she could not afford it just yet. Every time she had planned in the previous month to buy a washing machine, for some reason there was always another, more important plan in the next month.
She couldn't blame anyone for that. After all, it was her own brain that had such plans. She used to think about buying a washing machine, but then finally decided that buying land and building a house was more important than that. Barely a year later, had her plan worked.
Her house is small and simple, roomy enough for just two adults like Vina and her mother to live. However, she is a human; Vina sometimes has dreams of renovating her house to be even better. Fortunately, for her, she has a little common sense to prioritize work so that she earns more, so she can more easily realize what she wants.
Vina threw the dirty clothes in her arms into the big black tub beside the well. For a second or two she lost her mind and just stared dumbly at her dirty clothes. After that, she sighed softly and then began to draw water, again with a blank mind. In between drawing, her mind subconsciously began to question herself why the ants that had just crawled under her feet could live, or why the ducks in their cages there always seemed like hungry animals.
One could have watched Vina's movements and thought that the girl must have been out of her mind. That is, if someone cares enough to pay attention to what she is doing.
Less than an hour later Vina finally finished washing clothes, then took a shower and had breakfast—even though it was a few minutes past eleven—and without doing anything else, she went straight to bed in her room.
She couldn't help herself that she was still quite annoyed with her mother, but also regretful at the same time.
"You're so stupid, Vin," she grumbled to herself, then replied to her own words, "But somehow people can lose their temper once in a while too, right?"
She thought for a moment, but her brain somehow dared to run out of things to think about. The girl finally just sighed. "That's right, Vina, you always have an empty brain!"
She buried her face between the bolsters and pillows with an attitude no less annoyed and exasperated. Just as she thought she was going to daydreaming again, her cell phone on the nightstand rang.
With a groan, she picked it up and saw who had called out to her.
A courier she had known from a package delivery service.
Without further ado, Vina picked up the phone call and said, "Package, sir?" and immediately regretted it.
"Hello, Miss, is this Vina Hansen?" a woman's voice answered from the other side.
Vina looked at the name on her cellphone once more before finally putting it to her ear again. She cleared her throat, trying to overcome the awkwardness. "Sorry, Miss. Yes, I'm Vina Hansen."
"Okay, Miss. The couriers are currently on holiday, so if you don't mind, your package that has arrived will only be delivered tomorrow morning."
Vina's forehead automatically furrowed in confusion. "But this is the courier's number."
The voice of the female officer on the other side was heard laughing awkwardly. "Yes."
Vina thought the officer would explain further, but she didn't. Therefore, Vina could only give in. It's no big deal anyway, she thought. After all, the distance between the shipping office and the house is not too far.
"I'll just take it now by myself," Vina decided. "It can be like that, right?"
"Oh, yes, of course you can, Miss. Please."
"Okay, I'll be there in minutes."
Vina arrived at the package delivery office in less than fifteen minutes. She had been involved in bargaining with the administrative officer because she didn't bring an ID card as a proof that Vina is… Vina. After all, she had never been asked the same thing before by any other expedition so she thought it would be the same.
In the end, Vina agreed to the administrative officer who looked a little confused by taking a picture of her face as proof of the handover of the package. Vina grumbled indignantly and felt relieved because she didn't have to fake a smile at the officer because everyone was required to wear a mask.
Why do I have the thought that you are the new officer of this office? Vina had time to think.
As she walked out of the office, something startled her and she turned her head twice.
Someone looked at her.
Vina didn't believe her eyes at first, thinking that maybe the person was staring at someone else behind her. However, when she looked here and there, there was no one but herself on the terrace of the office.
Vina finally just nodded slowly, narrowing just her eyes in such a way so that the person can think she is smiling. The male figure who was dressed in a white, casual sport set and a black mask nodded back, but his eyes did not show any change, as if the man wasn't interested even in smiling fake using his eyes.
Vina tried to walk towards her parked motorbike with the calmest steps she could, even though her back was quite cold.
He is so creepy, Vina thought with a shudder; luckily, I did not waste my real smile on him.
When Vina got on her motorbike and left the small parking lot, she took the risk to glance at the strange and scary man earlier. The man was still staring at her, but his eyes formed a smile and the part of the mask covering his lips moved.
Vina blinked quickly, then immediately drove her motorbike and left the place.
Vina was sure that a man, who looked at someone in such a frightening way and then suddenly smiled at the last minute, was not a man who fell in love or was fascinated by her.
"Damn, that's awful!" she cursed in the helmet.
The girl took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm her heart that seemed to be colliding with one another because it was beating too fast. Even so, all the way home she kept staring in the rearview mirror on her motorbike.
"Geez," Vina grouched again behind the helmet she was wearing. "I've been imagining fun things so much that I almost forgot there's a scary side."
For a split second, she stopped muttering and then felt ashamed of herself. In fact, she always remembers both sides, only she always imagines that she is a character who is fearless and has super powers so that no one can match her.
"If only the readers knew how stupid I am as an author!" grumbled the girl again.
She checked her rearview mirror again to make sure she wasn't being followed. She could only breathe a sigh of relief when she finally arrived home safely. Hastily, she entered the room and closed the door with a loud thud.
"Vina, what are you doing?" Vira exclaimed in surprise.
"It's okay, Ma!" Vina answered, trying to sound as convincing as possible. "Just forgot that I haven't uploaded the new chapter that was supposed to be for last night!"
After that, there was no answer from Vira. Vina sighed in relief. She clutched the side of her head with one hand and tossed aside the package that actually only contained a new hard case for her phone. The girl crawled onto bed and lay on her back.
She could be said to have been waiting for her package to arrive; a similar feeling every time she shopped something online. However, the image of the man in front of the package delivery office bothered her too much.
Vina shuddered again. She hugged her bolster and closed her eyes, then opened them again. She picked up her phone and played a playlist of her favorite Chinese flute music on one of the music platforms, setting the stop timer to one hour. Then, she put her phone on the nightstand and closed her eyes.
Right when the timer-setting active, Vina is already asleep. God knows how long she's sleeping, but when she woke up, she felt her whole back hurt. The girl blinked, rubbed her eyes and tried to get rid of the dirt from her eyes. At that time, she looked down, not fully awake yet, when she saw that her mattress had turned into ground floor.
Vina quickly cleaned her eyes and tried to see clearly. She looked up again and looked around her.
She wasn't lying down and sleeping in her room. She was under a tree that looked like a cherry blossom tree, in the large yard of a wooden house… and a door with a soft blue glow behind it.
God, this is so beautiful. I hope this is not a dream.
Vina stood hesitantly, her body spinning as her eyes traced where she was now standing. The large courtyard around her looked so cool. Some of the trees looks alive and lush, their flowers falling in the gentle breeze that felt friendly on her skin. On one side, there is a pool with water that looks steamy.
The girl then sighed softly, subconsciously expressing her admiration in a "wah" whisper.
The water that stole the pond seemed to flow from the rocky hill behind it. The hill was neither high nor too small. However, the hill looked low, then almost flat, like a normal hill, and then got higher and higher. Some distance away, a mountain stood majestically, its beauty as if not from the real world, so ethereal.
Vina took a deep breath, admiring and gazing from a distance at the white clouds covering the top of the mountain. The wind blew again, ruffling her long, loose hair. The girl looked down, watching herself.
"Dream, why don't you change my clothes into better clothes?" she complained, rolled her eyes and snorted in disbelief.
At least she's wearing a plain red cotton pajama instead of something that could be embarrassing.
Suddenly the pale blue light on the strange door glowed more intensely. Vina inched backwards while watching what would happen to the strange sight. However, at the same time, she's thrilled and excited because she rarely had dreams as realistic as this.
"Let me guess," Vina whispered to herself. "A murderer with a body full of blood will come out of that door."
She smiled to herself, but for a full minute, the door wouldn't open even though it was still shimmering. Vina started to frown and pursed her lips. She didn't expect that something magical would take that long. Not to mention she couldn't wait to see who would emerge from behind that door.
To whoever make this dream, please don't blame me, Vina criticize, but it reminds me of Doraemon's door, only in a more exquisite version.
The sound of another door opening made Vina turn her head. The direction is from the big wooden house. She just realized that even though she called it the wooden house, it looked as if it was like the façade of a mansion built of lacquered wood.
The pillars, walls, and some parts of it are carved with various carvings to resemble flower and plant designs that look very elegant. Some flowers and plants that are cornflower-blue in color hang on the front of the wing of the house.
"I want a house like this," Vina whispered to herself.
The girl turned her gaze to the seven women who were approaching her in plain silk dresses, matching the colors of the hanging flowers and plants. As they got closer, Vina could see that their expressions were worried.
It made Vina's heart feel touched in a dramatic as possible way. No one had ever looked at her with so much attention as her own mother had.
The seven of them finally arrived in front of Vina, stopped and still looked at her with worry that couldn't be separated from their faces. The woman in the middle and walking at the front examined Vina's body from head to toe.
"Are you hurt?" finally the woman who has a mole at the bottom corner of her right eye asked.
Again Vina could only be silent, her eyes blinked twice. She was too speechless, too shocked, too touched that someone suddenly came asking her how she is and not asking whom she was, where she was from and such questions.
However, the girl was only silent for a few seconds. She cleared her throat twice, then answered the question of the nice woman in front of her with great respect for the other person, "No, I'm not hurt." She was silent for a breath, then continued wholeheartedly, "Thanks for asking how I'm doing."
The woman in front of her smiled, as did the other women behind her. They were all slightly taller than Vina, but she didn't feel the condescending look in their eyes at her. Vina didn't know why—perhaps as a result of receiving treatment that she never got, maybe because of other things—but suddenly her eyes felt a little blurry, teary.
Vina didn't shed a tear, but her throat was sore from holding back the cry that threatened to escape.
"Don't worry," the woman said again. "Don't be afraid, we are here. Someone will check your kanuragan and after that we will know if you can go back to Siji or should you stay here in Lara."
The other six girls nodded in unison. Her brain suddenly went blank. What did they say? Three of her words can be said to be Javanese. Kanuragan… as far as Vina knows, this is related to the great power possessed by many people in ancient times. Siji means one, Lara can be interpreted as two or sick: sick as sick or hurt, not like sick crazy.
However, what exactly did they mean? Most importantly, why would Vina dream about a scene like this?
Confusion must be clearly printed in Vina's eyes and face because the woman in front of her continued with the same concern, "You are in Lara, while Siji is your world. Kanuragan is a supernatural power that exists within a person. If you have it and your supernatural powers are high enough, you can return to Siji via the Portal."
Vina looked at the eyes of the women in front of her in turn. "Portal…?"
The woman who was always in the middle pointed with her chin towards the back of Vina. "Something like a glowing door behind you. However, if you still want to push yourself, we will not forbid you and can do nothing but respect your decision."
Vina half turned back then looked back at the seven women. "What will happen if I don't know magic and return to my world through that door?"
They all sighed and smiled sadly, but the woman in the middle replied, "You will turn to dust; whether it's in the middle of the Portal or in your world, both depend on your own strength."
Vina suddenly felt a little doubtful; she doubted whether these seven graceful women in front of her really sympathized with her or just a pseudo-concern.
Was it because Vina wants to expect recognition from others? She cursed herself in her heart. She had always forced herself not to seek the attention of others because it would be useless. All this time she just thought that even without people needing to pay attention to her, she already had a mother by her side.
However, was it because Vina has that kind of heart? That Vina has a personality that doesn't care about the attention of the public, and only needs to be at the end of a space called solitude, was it true or just a bullshit?
Vina swallowed imperceptibly.
What do I want? What did my heart really want to achieve that all this time?
As her heart was racing with her own thoughts, the Portal suddenly opened like a curtain being pulled to the side. Vina gasped in surprise and her eyes scanned the Portal, staring into the dark void behind the magical door.
Suddenly, something flew out quickly. Vina jolted and receded back a few steps, but then had to face another shock that almost made her heart stop.
The thing that was thrown out just now turned out to be a person, a human, a man. He was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt, and fell right at Vina's feet in a curled state.
Vina gaped and glanced at the women beside her. However, she had to turn her head a second time in astonishment. The seven women didn't look worried or concerned, but angry and furious. Their attention was focused on the Portal, which was still open.
The man under Vina's feet turned on his back while groaning. The girl finally bent down and helped the poor man to his feet.
"Come on, let me help you up."
The man's body was so heavy that Vina was overwhelmed enough to help him.
"Are you okay?" the girl asked him again while helping pat his dirty back.
"Shénme?"
Vina froze and then quickly looked at the face of the man who had just spoken in Chinese. God knows how many times she became surprised in this dreams of her.
Standing in front of her was Liu Xingsheng, an actor from China whom Vina knew through a drama he starred in "Cool Dew on Your Face". This handsome-looking actor is on the rise and his fans are increasing day by day because of his charming acting.
Vina was astonished, not expecting that she could share a dream with her favorite actor. A few moments later she blinked, then cleared her throat and smiled at the actor.
"I'm sorry," Vina said in English. "I can't speak Chinese even though I watched several Chinese dramas."
Liu Xingsheng smiled hesitantly and nodded slowly. He replied in a fluent English. "It's all right, Miss."
Vina almost returned the actor's words with a smile as the seven women beside them exclaimed, "You heartless devil!"
Vina and Xingsheng were startled and turned their heads just as a shadow shot out of the Portal. The white shadow stopped under the tree where Vina had been lying before.
It was another man in a white shirt and pants, with black robe that waved by the wind. His expression was flat, eyes shine cold with jet black irises and silver hair, while his skin was extremely pale. Suddenly, the man grinned, his eyes full of sharp cynicism.
"Stop doing this, Lord Immortal!" cried one of the seven women from the wooden house. "Why do you keep doing useless things like this?"
"Tch!" the man whose called as Lord Immortal put on a look of cruel disdain. "That is none of your business, Seven Beauties. Just take care of that Goddess Residence you love, before the time for someone to destroy it comes."
The woman in the middle replied sharply, "What do you mean by that?"
Lord Immortal's disdainful smile vanished, replaced with an unfathomable expression. He snorted sarcastically, and then suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke that seemed to appear just like that from under his feet.
Vina approached one of the Seven Beauties in the middle. "Sorry, who is he?"
The one in question turned her head and then answered in a stiff voice, "He was the one who brought you and many other inhabitants of Siji to Lara. Some of Lara's residents were also thrown into Siji. Lord Immortal is responsible for events like the one you are currently experiencing."
Vina blinked twice and then nodded, while Xingsheng was just dumbfounded because they were all speaking Indonesian. Thus, Vina explained their conversations to him in English, who listened in astonishment.
"Impressive," Vina suddenly muttered in English; decided that it would be better if she didn't use Indonesian so Xingsheng could understand and Vina would be free from having to translate everything to him.
However, the Seven Beauties simultaneously shouted angrily at Vina. The girl gasped, not expecting that they would understand English, much less to be so angry with her.
"What exactly is on your mind, Miss?" the woman in the middle rebuked loudly in English. "You are now in danger of not being able to return to your original world because of Lord Immortal's behavior, and you are acting as if this is fun?"
Vina made a waving gesture in front of her chest with both hands. "That's not what I meant, uh… what should I call you?"
"Seven Beauties!" they answered in unison.
Vina looked at them all and couldn't say anything. She just decided to obey instead of them getting mad at her. The girl had faith that they had the same power that Lord Immortal had, so she had to be careful not to cause trouble.
"Okay, Seven Beauties," Vina continued in a soothing tone. "Look, I don't mean to feel happy about being in trouble, especially when you guys are concerned about me… us. However," Vina made a pitiful expression, "it's just a dream, isn't it? There's no need to worry—F*CK!"
One of the Seven Beauties slashed at her with something and injured her arm with quite a deep scratch. Xingsheng immediately helped Vina while Vina herself screamed in pain and cursed.
"What the hell are you doing?" Vina snapped angrily.
The woman who hurt Vina stepped forward, forcing the girl from Siji to look her in the eyes.
"I hurt you so you can wake up and realize that your sweet dream is over."