"What's wrong? Is it about Danastri's disappearance too?" asked Mahesa with his calm voice shaking. Even so, he was like water that looked calm on the surface but held a storm inside.
Arsa frowned and was surprised. "How did you know?" Mahesa answered by referring to the young man on the side with his eyes. The boy pursed his lips. "I met Kartika earlier. She told me to say this: 'don't worry, Danastri is with me,' that's it."
Relief came over us as quickly as if we had just drunk water after working in the field for a long time.
"Good then," I said with a relieved smile. The anxiety that had been building up was drastically reduced. However, maybe I was the only one who felt that way because Mahesa still seemed a little worried. "Do you still want to look for her?" I asked him. All pairs of eyes looked at Mahesa and waited for an answer. "If so, I can help take care of Madame and her son," I added willingly.
Mahesa seemed to think for a while. I was surprised to see her shake her head. Although he refused, it seemed he was trying hard to refrain from looking for his girlfriend. "Danastri didn't see me, she went to see Kartika. That means she doesn't need me now. Kartika is already with her."
I smiled a little. I never thought of it that way. Mahesa was great at thinking calmly without getting carried away by emotions. "Alright then. If you need help, just say so."
"That's right, Mahesa. If, for example, Danastri and Kartika haven't returned until the afternoon, we'd better look for them," suggested one of our friends who immediately agreed.
"Mahesa! Chandra!" the call of that familiar soft voice made us both turn our heads quickly.
The figure who was rumored to have disappeared after being forced to accept a proposal from a stranger was suddenly walking quickly towards us. Even though it was less than a minute that we were talking about her disappearance, she suddenly appeared right in front of us. Our eyes all widened when we saw who was running.
"Danastri?!" We called out in confusion. Why did she have to run like this in such a hurry?
Panic was on Danastri's face, not much different from the faces of those who heard the news of her disappearance. Danastri looked disheveled, the cloth of her underwear was disheveled and tied carelessly, either because she was wearing it carelessly or it was messy because she was running in a hurry.
Her jet-black hair looked even shinier because of the water that had soaked through it. There were no droplets on the ends of her hair, but they had migrated to her wet top. Mahesa quickly removed the old woven cloth tied around her waist and wrapped it around Danastri's shoulders.
How could that girl not dry her body properly and run in this cold mountain air? What made her do that?
"What's wrong? Where are you from?" Mahesa asked, holding the girl's arm. "We were planning to look for you, but you were already here. What happened?"
Danastri's breathing was labored. She clutched her chest tightly. Mahesa and I competed with each other to tell her to calm down and take slow breaths. If you look carefully, Danastri looks pale. Her lips, which were usually bright, looked blue.
An uncomfortable feeling came over me.
Danastri, who had neutralized her breathing, said, "I'm sorry to worry you, but I really need your help!" Danastri's hands gripped my and Mahesa's arms tightly with a slight pull. Mahesa and I looked at Danastri seriously, trying to figure out what she meant. "Please help me find Kartika!"
"Huh? Kartika?" I babbled in confusion. "Is it Kartika who's missing now?!" I asked incredulously as if the news of Danastri's disappearance had never circulated before.
"What happened?" asked Mahesa.
Danastri clasped her fists in front of her chest. Her head was bowed and she bit her lip several times. She looked hesitant and scared at the same time. However, if she didn't tell the story no one would know what happened to Kartika.
"Tell me slowly," Mahesa coaxed by touching Danastri's shoulder. The girl looked at Mahesa for a while and gave a small nod.
The girl took a breath and started to open her voice, "You know that Kartika and I left the village, right? We took a walk in the forest for a while so that my head wouldn't be dizzy with what happened this morning. We told each other stories until we reached the spring. Being tired, Kartika and I decided to take a quick dip. I went in, but Kartika suddenly said she wanted to find something and she didn't come back until now. So, I decided to seek help. The first thing I thought of was you guys."
"She just left and didn't come back?" I asked once again.
Danastri nodded firmly. "She was gone for a long time. I thought she would be back soon, but until now I haven't seen her. I guess I swam for too long and didn't realize it."
"You just calm down, Danastri. Let me and Mahesa help you look for him," I said.
Danastri shook her head in disapproval. "Let me help you guys look for her! It's also my fault for not paying attention to Kartika."
"Don't! It's dangerous!" forbade Mahesa quickly. "We don't know what's in the forest, do we?"
"But more people are also better, right? That way we can find her before dusk comes. You guys don't know where she was before either. I'll show you. I won't look far from you," Danastri said with her eyes glazed over. She had tried hard to keep her voice from shaking.
Mahesa and I looked at each other then I nodded. Just me, without Mahesa. I whispered, "Dusk is approaching, we better find it together so we can hurry."
Mahesa frowned, probably annoyed that I wasn't on his side, but he accepted my decision with a heavy heart of course. He took a deep breath and looked at Danastri. "Please show me the way, Danastri."
***
The path made of grass that dried up because it was stepped on too much slowly disappeared, turning into small grasses and sometimes covered by falling leaves from the trees. Mahesa and I did not expect that Danastri and Kartika could play this far. This was as far as halfway to the neighboring village.
I was just trying to forget what had just happened, without realizing we had walked so far. That's what Danastri said when we asked.
After a while, I could hear the sound of water gurgling. It was no louder than the sound of the river that people used to wash clothes and bathe in.
Turning my head to the left, I saw a small river with its clear water glistening in the sunlight. My throat went dry just seeing and hearing the sound.
My feet itched and I wanted to dip into it immediately. However, finding Kartika was the important thing.
Seeing the fresh-looking water, I became curious about the spring that Danastri was referring to. I quickened my pace and followed Danastri from behind.
Behind a big tree that was almost covered by moss and mistletoe, Danastri showed us the place where she and Kartika were together last time.
As we walked past the big tree, I held my breath. I understood how Danastri felt when she said that she was so engrossed in her bath that she forgot about Kartika who didn't come back.
If I soak here, maybe I will also forget all my thoughts in a few moments.