01. Encounter

A brand new world unfolds for the young boy. Unfortunately, it was dark and terrible, full of pain and suffering. Yet without it, time will not show him the past that lies dormant and blind him to his self.

He will meet the embodiment of death, and from that death, he will learn about life and find his true identity. But along the way, he would slowly lose himself. Then he will realize that even death will never escape the grip of time. Since death does not mean immortality, achieving immortality is not as easy as animating a body and filling it with the spirits of life.

Will the young boy ever find it? The true immortality where he can preserve his loved ones for eternity?

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At that moment, I never thought that I would be seeing her again.

My eyes are now stuck on a girl in a white dress, I can see her long hair blowing gently with the breeze. Only the sound of rustling banyan leaves in the moonlight accompanied me.

The long-haired girl was sitting on one of the biggest branches of the banyan tree. Her long hair hung down to the tips of her feet, while one of her black eyes glared at me. Strangely, I couldn't see her left eye because of her bangs.

In that torn white cloth, she looked charming with the night sky behind her. Charming yet terrifying.

"Come closer..."

Her tiny lips moving, she called out to me. There was no sound, just a buzz that sounded like a whisper in my head. Was it some kind of telepathy? Or was I too tired to hear strange voices in my head? I don't know, all I know is that I felt something pulling my body closer to her.

Under the moonlight, her pale skin looked as fragile as paper. Meanwhile, her soft black hair blew in the wind like silken threads. I admit she was really beautiful, but such beauty is not natural human beauty. Just like a mirage, that creature's beauty was just an illusion.

I stepped away from her with a pair of eyes that wouldn't leave her. Those dark black eyes seemed to flicker as if they were trying to convey something, I knew she was frustrated for reasons I didn't comprehend. But for what?

With her terrifying figure she should have had the courage to chase me, but why did she just remain silent? It was as if the banyan tree where she was sitting now was a prison for her. The maiden could do nothing but squeeze the hem of her dress. Her frustration with me made her unintentionally dispel her illusion. Making her delicate fingers become rotten with sharp nails, while her eyes looked reddened.

Those voices now disappeared from my head. Likewise, the girl's figure slowly disappeared like mist from my eyes.

I closed the back door of my house. The image of the figure and the sad eyes seemed to haunt me. Whenever I closed my eyes, her figure would pop up in my mind without being able to control it. Is this some kind of curse? Or was I just feeling lonely?

I laughed silently as I walked up the stairs to my room upstairs, laughing at my fate of being alone in my late father's house. As soon as I opened the door to my room, the first thing I saw was the open window. From that window, I usually watched the girl, and she knew that I frequently watched her secretly.

Her mysterious figure kept me wondering about her existence. Was she human? A ghost? Or some other creature? If she was a ghost, why was she the only thing I was able to see? If ghosts are the figures of people who have died, shouldn't there be a lot of them, and this world would be filled with creatures like them?

Even though I had gone to the hill of Sujati several times to visit my beloved father's grave, I never once saw a creature like a girl on top of the banyan tree. Weird, isn't it?

Besides, what's with that damsel on top of the banyan? Is she some kind of spirit or something? Or was there some other force that caused her to be trapped in that place?

I closed the shutters and laid my body on the bed. The dark ceiling of the room slowly created a shadow of the maiden's figure. I shook my head quickly to get rid of it, then I pulled up the blanket and tried to sleep.

Later that night, I had a strange dream. For some reason, it was as if I saw the other version of myself

He stood looking at me with an odd smile. On a hill with the same banyan tree as the one behind my house.

Then above her, I saw the girl leaping down to devour the figure of my other self.

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Sunset, when the sun begins to tumble and slowly touches the skyline. My eyes briefly gazed at the empty and deserted street with leaves falling into the wind.

From this sidewalk, I sense everything. The quietness, the serenity, and the silence. Also a hint of dread. As a human being destined to be a social creature, I was afraid of being alone. When my life is on the line, and no one comes to keep me safe what will I do?

Even though I have felt this feeling many times, somehow there is something unusual about this feeling of isolation.

It's as if this isolation is just a fake, and someone else is here. Watching me silently without me realizing it, then when I let my guard down that figure would assault me and eliminate me mercilessly.

But even so, I kept walking on this sidewalk. Stepping on the black and white striped sidewalk while carrying my bag on my behind me. Not because I was courageous, but because of my fear.

I'm afraid that everything I've been worrying about is just a deception. I find it hard to trust myself, and sometimes it gets me into trouble. I didn't usually come home from school too late today. I was stuck in this situation because the usual bus I take had already left hours ago.

Furthermore, today I had something to do with my homeroom teacher and this wouldn't have happened if my mother hadn't gone to live with her new husband. That's why since my mom's leaving, there are a lot of things that I have to solve alone.

Suddenly, I faintly heard footsteps, I decided to ignore them completely. I would soon reach the crossroads, the place might not be as empty as the one I was walking on. But the sound of those footsteps bothered me a little.

As if, the footsteps were trying to match mine to hide. Instantly I tried to speed up my pace and then slow it down, a bad feeling immediately came over me when my guess was exactly what I expected.

I tried to turn my body around, hoping to find my acquaintances or classmates behind my back. But unfortunately, there was no one there. My goosebumps instantly rose, but I tried to remain calm. I continued my footsteps until the tip of my eye caught sight of an old man standing at the end of the intersection.

Once we got close enough, the figure of the old man became more apparent. He stood facing away from me wearing black clothes and pants. His head was covered by a black-colored blangkon-an traditional Javanese headgear while her hair was white in contrast.

I stood beside him, attempting to cross the road. A car that had stopped near us was blocking our view. I don't know if any vehicles were traveling in the other lane. But seeing the deserted road made me think nothing of it and immediately crossed the street.

A gentle pat stopped me, I turned my head. The old man smiled mysteriously while holding my shoulder. His eyes were as dark as the night. His face was full of wrinkles, a sign of his age.

"It's too soon for you, son!"

I was speechless, the old man was saying something I didn't understand. What did he mean? Besides, why did he stop me?

"This death is not for you!"

The old grandfather pulled my body forcefully, then made me tumble and fall right behind his body. It was then that my eyes caught sight of something speeding noiselessly behind my body.

I turned my body around, and that's when a big truck hit a cherry tree so hard. I don't know what was inside the truck, but I saw the cargo explode as soon as it hit the tree. Flames shot out with the image of death dancing in front of my eyes.

At that speed, my body would have been crushed if I hadn't dodged the monstrous truck.

"Your name was... Aji Saputra, right? Young man?"

The look on the grandfather's face was calm. Despite the death, he had just witnessed before his eyes. Wait, did he just say my name? Does this old man know me?

I quickly stood up and cleaned my clothes which were soiled by the dirt.

"Yes, where do you know me from?"

"That's not important. My name is Slamet, and I've been waiting for you."

The old man fell silent. He then placed his hands behind his body. His head lowered, then his eyes closed for a few moments. Not long after, he opened his eyes and showed me his right hand.

On his right hand, he now held an iron rod the length of a metal ruler, it's color reddish-black. One end of the iron was pointy and the other end was blunt, forming a disk. It looked like a giant nail.

"I give this relic to you young man, it is called the Puntianak Nail."

I was speechless, feeling intimidated by the strange feeling that arose when staring at the reddish-black nail.

A mysterious old man who could tell the arrival of death, and also the name of the person he had just met. And now he's giving me a relic?

"'Be aware, young man, that I am not giving this relic to you for your good. But for the good of the long-haired girl who always watches you every night.

You must realize what I just said, right?"

My mind drifted to the girl who always sat on the banyan branch behind my house. The reason why she always called out to me, and that lonely look in her eyes, and the reason why she could never leave that tree. Will I be able to answer those questions with this?

I grasped the relic with both hands. The nail was so cold against my skin. There was an uncomfortable feeling when I held it. I touched the tip of the sharp nail. A small wound formed on my finger, and I wiped off the melted blood with the handkerchief in my pocket.

" Old man, what should I do?"

There was silence, no one was there. And I was once again in my solitude. While my words evaporated in the air, without being conveyed to anyone.

Once the mysterious old man disappeared, suddenly the streets became crowded. Police and fire trucks competed with the sirens of the ambulances that had just arrived.

I continued my steps. Acted ignorant of the crowd of people who began to arrive around me.