Grandpa's house is big enough for Shanaya who lives alone. He took the time to tidy up some corners of the room which were a little messier than the other rooms. The kitchen, where his brothers had spent more time yesterday, was just there to make instant noodles, or fried rice to fill the stomach. Several packets of instant noodles and plastic spices were scattered just like that.
Shanaya snorted, but she deftly kept cleaning the place, wiping the table and stove until finally, the kitchen became tidier and cleaner. This was a situation where he had seen his beloved mother and grandmother making dishes several years ago. Even though her grandmother often used this place for cooking, she never saw even a drop of oil falling on the rim of the stove, or the messy dining table.
Shanaya wants the condition of this house to be as before. When his grandparents were still around. Shanaya went into the living room, swept the floor, and mopped until the whole place was sparkling and smelling good. He opened the window to let the morning air in and replace the stale air from last night. This house has five bedrooms located on the second floor. Shanaya chose her father's former room, where the large banyan tree beside the house could be seen as she approached the window.
So did the scarecrow that caught his attention yesterday. Downstairs, there is a living room, family room, and kitchen, each relatively large. Even the bathroom which is located close to the kitchen has urban facilities. It is undeniable that his grandparents were among the successful people in the village. Its vast land and abundant produce made the Shanaya family one of the wealthiest people in the village. It's just that things start to subside when Shanaya's father dies.
Some agricultural land was sold, leaving only the gardens around the house. The sun began to appear on the eastern horizon. Shanaya looked up at the sky with part of her face covered with her palms. He frowned, but his smile broke. In the depths of his heart, there was a calm and comfortable feeling of being in this secluded place.
Away from the hustle and bustle of the Capital. Shanaya was determined to stay in that place for a long time. Even the chirping of the sparrow sounded soothing to him. While some farmers find it a nuisance, Shanaya doesn't. The girl is now walking to the side of the house, where the garden field belonging to her grandfather has been abandoned for a long time. The sudden death of his grandfather, made Shanaya feel a little strange. Because as far as he knew, his grandfather was a fairly healthy old man. The 70-year-old old man always eats healthy food and has been living a healthy lifestyle since he was young. He even realized that his grandfather's stamina was much better than his younger self.
Grandpa had a heart attack. That was the explanation from Syahnaz when he contacted Shanaya by telephone. Shanaya froze for a moment hearing this. The girl with shoulder-length hair began to circle the house, checking all the fields belonging to her grandfather, which were not all abandoned. Some of his grandfather's fields are still fertile with a lot of crops that will be picked up soon. The house is surrounded by Abirama's garden.
The back and north side gardens planted with rice have started to turn yellow. Only the southern cornfields seemed to be drying up, and crops failed. The land is barren. Just like the fields belonging to the house beside him. Shanaya walked into a grove of completely dry corn trees. He noticed the structure of the ground he stepped on as he walked. Very different from the land in other fields.
"Could it be that Grandpa forgot to give water in this field?" he muttered as he picked up the lump of earth that looked like a cookie.
Without realizing it, Shanaya's steps were getting further and further into the field, until she reached the end of her grandfather's garden, and ended up in a neighbor's field. His condition is more worrisome than his grandfather's field. But the scarecrow that stands firmly in the middle of the barren land looks like it is very well cared for. It doesn't look dirty or dusty in the middle of dry and unkempt land around it. Shanaya drew closer, her eyes continued to stare at an object that was taller than a normal human's height. Behind the very human-made object, there are small wooden pegs in the shape of a cross, with each end used to tie the scarecrow to hold it in place. Underneath there is a large stone as if used for footing by the inanimate object.
Shanaya continued to pay attention to the human-like creature in front of her. He even walked around her. Wow! This is the most horrible scarecrow I have ever seen. The wind was blowing hard, making Shanaya have to close her eyes because of the dust flying around. He even covered his face with his palms and hoped to be able to leave soon to avoid the sudden strong wind. But when Shanaya peeked through her knuckles, she saw a human shadow standing near the empty house.
Shanaya reluctantly looked away, hoping to see clearly, trying to identify the person standing not far from her. But when she let go of her hand because the gust of wind had subsided, Shanaya didn't see anyone there.
"Maybe I saw it wrong," he mumbled back. But in his mind, he continued to believe that there was someone who had been standing there and was watching him. When Shanaya looked back at the scarecrow which she thought was unaffected by the strong wind, she was surprised to find that the object's position had changed 180 degrees from its original position. The human-like object is now standing looking at Shanaya with a bent body position, right in front of the girl. Shanaya who was originally looking the other way immediately screamed and fell backward. His forehead wrinkled, and his body trembled at the sight of the object that seemed to be intimidating him only through a blank stare.
There were no eyeballs in there, just dark empty cavities that scared Shanaya even more. Shanaya's hand reached out to reach the face of the doll made of rice straw. But suddenly someone tapped him on the shoulder. Shanaya, who was still in a state of shock, screamed again while closing her eyes.
"Hey! Are you okay?" A voice from someone nearby, now made the girl dare to open her eyes. It wasn't something terrible or another scary creature that had crossed her head earlier. But a dark-skinned, sweet-faced young man with a hat. the bowing straw looked at him.
"Sorry if I startled you. I was just passing by and saw that you needed help. I'm Erland. You must be Grandpa Abirama's grandson, right?" asked the young man again, he then reached out to help Shanaya up. The girl grabbed Erland's hand while petting his dirty ass.
"Yeah. I'm Shanaya. Nice to finally meet a human I can talk to," Shanaya said and the two shook hands