At night, the street in front of the house became even more deserted and dark due to the lack of lighting, except for the neighboring place which was very crowded as it was also a drinking spot. Today, customers came in with a decent number of simple needs such as printing, cutting, and clipping. So, as usual, everything could still be done in a relaxed manner. Tonight, after one customer finished , Julius intended to close his shop. His two employed students also went home to finish their assignments, so they said their goodbyes to their boss first.
"Alright, I'm going home now. See you tomorrow, sir."
"Okay, be careful on the road. Thank you for your help," Julius happily replied.
It seemed like everything was done. As for cleaning up the place, it usually would be done in the daytime before the shop opened. So, everyone could leave at their own leisure. But it was different for Mr. Hendri, he was still here typing on his laptop. Like any other writer, he was the one who enjoyed sitting all day just to think about what he would write. If there were ideas, his hands would work, but if there weren't any, he could only daydream.
"Um, did a lot of new ideas come today?" Julius asked.
"Huh? Since when did you become interested in someone who writes books?"
"Well..., hahaha."
"It's not easy, is it, being a parent? Especially if they're not your own children," Mr. Hendri replied while packing his things to go home.
Julius looked down, unsure of how to answer. Actually, he just wanted to relax and deal with problems like earlier. But as a human being, he also felt annoyed when his simple requests were always violated by a child who was very close to him.
"About Zeyn... that child is always hard to talk to, he is already an adult but even more careless and stubborn," Julius said.
"Isn't that a bit too much?" Mr. Hendri replied.
With ease, Mr. Hendri sat back in his chair. He sipped a cup of coffee that had been on his desk since this afternoon.
"There's an old Javanese saying that goes, 'Mikul dhuwur mendhem jero.' You should also realize that not everything goes the way you want it to. Especially if you think you can handle everything on your own."
"Hmm..."
"Zeyn is not a child anymore. I'm not asking you to stop being firm, but it's good to start trusting him. Anyway... he might be more mature than us, considering he often meets The Serpent Queen," Mr. Hendri said.
Julius suddenly jerked in surprise upon hearing that name. But whoever was referred to as 'Serpent Queen,' his previously relaxed expression turned serious. That title... made the hairs on his neck stand up until he swallowed his saliva.
"Sigh~ you're right, maybe I was too harsh, pulling his collar like earlier."
"Getting scolded in front of others like earlier must have been painful."
With both of his fists clenched, the desire to curse himself ravaged his heart so deeply. A look of regret immediately haunted the man. Julius had just realized that he had embarrassed his foster son in front of others.
"Zeyn..."
"It's okay, we humans are emotional beings, especially when we're under stress. Besides, copy shop businesses are not so modern anymore, considering that nowadays many people do their own printing."
"Yeah, that's true, hahaha."
"Okay then, because it's already time, I think I'll have to massage my feet later at home since I've been sitting for too long."
The man then got up and took his coat from the jacket rack. He walked out lightly, patting his boss's shoulder before leaving. This made a smile spread across Julius's face. So he stood up to escort him to the front door. As usual, they walked out and looked at the surrounding sky, which was already devoid of stars.
"Uh, Mr. Hendri... about Zeyn... can you... umm..."
"Hm? If you're talking about your problem with him, it's better to talk to him directly. My problem is just to be his spiritual teacher."
"Well... that's true, but..."
"Okay, see you," said Mr. Hendri casually as he walked away.
"Oh, okay. Thank you for your advice."
A sign of respect was given by Julius with a light bow of his head. Anyway, that man was older than him. When it came to noble values, he felt that his psychological knowledge could never be the same as Mr. Hendri's.
* * *
The silence of Friday night always made the hair on the back of one's neck stand up. Here it felt dark, accompanied by the dim street lights on the path. The traditional atmosphere of a village isolated from the density of Grimoir city. A village with a gateway that displayed the name "Dewi Ijo Village''. Located in the easternmost area, adjacent to dense forests and hills. The atmosphere was very quiet, without any sound of residents' activities.
The houses here were still quite old-fashioned, even resembling elevated houses that were not neatly arranged and only followed the direction of the road. At one of the green-painted houses, the front door was slowly opening from inside and two people were coming out.
"Thank you so much, dear. Thanks to you, our child has recovered," said a middle-aged man handing over some money.
Zeyn adjusted his glasses slightly and put his hood back on his robe. Then he bowed slightly to say goodbye and left the homeowner.
"Oh, is he gone? Why don't you offer him something?" Suddenly, the man's wife also appeared, carrying her young child.
"Oh, you know he doesn't like to talk. He's a mysterious young man. But thanks to him, our village is now safer. Although I don't like it when people here call him a sorcerer," the man replied.
The previous explanation made the woman suddenly feel pity for the guy. She felt sorry for him as he had no parents, lived alone in the forest, and was too quiet. Moreover, some people around here were still afraid of him. She wondered how the boy could still help others, even though many were afraid of him.
"That's his job. Besides, we give him money as a sign of gratitude, right? What matters is that he managed to cure our child."
"Thank you so much, Zeyn!!" the woman shouted loudly so that the young man could hear her.
"Hey! Shush, don't be loud. It's already night"
And finally, the two parents went into their house because it was getting darker and they were preparing to sleep.
On the other hand, Zeyn, who heard the shout, just smiled slightly. Somehow, he always felt warmth when his power could be used to help people.
Exactly 50 meters after leaving the village, there was a large gate that was very weathered and opened the way into the forest. If we walked a little further into the darkness of the night, we would find a simple house that was not too big but looked very scary from the outside. There were lanterns hanging on each side of the house.
The simple house had been built with more intention and funds that Julius had collected himself since it used to be just a ramshackle hut, because this is where this child lives since childhood until now. Its location was a little far from people because...they used to be very afraid of him.
Zeyn's red eyes narrowed suspiciously as he knew someone was in front of his house.
"Ohh..."
From across the way, we could see the person we discussed earlier was with Julius. Somehow he had already made his way to Zeyn's house. Mr. Hendri put on a vague smile as he looked around.
"Your house is also crowded. Don't you feel bothered by their presence?" asked Mr. Hendri casually.
"I'm fine. In fact, I already consider them as my own family. Surely, you also understand because you can see them," replied Zeyn.
They were talking about ghosts, or what we usually know as spirits. In a place like this, it would be strange if it wasn't crowded. In areas rarely inhabited by humans like this forest, they are scattered everywhere. From one layer to another. Some emit strong energy, while others appear weak. Some have a form, while others only take the form of spirit fragments. But this is still only the entrance to the forest, the ones here are not so scary.
"Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, The queen will come to visit," Hendri said.
Zeyn was about to open the door of his house. He stopped and took a deep breath upon hearing the news. He remained silent for a moment as he thought about what would happen tomorrow.
"By the way, how long until then? I still have a campus assignment to do. After that, I want to sleep," Zeyn replied.
"Oh, alright. Sorry for bothering you. I just came to deliver the message. Good night"
"Good night, uncle," Zeyn replied.
After that, Hendri walked in the opposite direction as he had to go back to his own house. He came here just to deliver the message he received through his intuition. Something always whispered to him in his mind, guiding every step he took.
" I hope she no longer thinks of you as a child," whispered Hendri softly as he turned around to see the guy entering his house.
* * * *