The Mediums Help

22

Tere hid behind a sizable mango tree. Her attention was focused on the long-haired girl near the school gate. Since earlier, Tere, did not see the conversation between Silva and Supri. Both of them were silent, Silva seemed to be waiting for a pickup that was not sure when it would come, and Supri was busy listening to music from an old tape inside the security post.

Waiting for Silva's movement, made Tere sigh irritably. She had been standing behind the tree for a long time, and the girl never got picked up. Even though they had waited for a long time, even the beautiful ghost's legs were aching now. However, Silva seemed fine until this moment.

"When did that girl leave?" muttered Tere irritably. She felt like taking Silva home, but she didn't have enough strength to make herself human.

Tere tried to be patient again, eliminating the annoyance that had been building up for so long in her heart for her own good. Fortunately it paid off, the car stopped in front of Silva, and the girl got in without saying anything. Of course Tere followed carefully, she sat in the back of the car without Silva ever knowing.

The luxurious house became the center of Tere's attention, she was amazed to see Silva's house so spacious, and clean. In contrast to Resa's house which was very simple, and very small. The boy's house can only be inhabited by four people, and even then it feels so cramped when everyone is at home. Tere, who was just a curious spirit, and just observed, felt cramped and claustrophobic.

The car stopped at a special parking lot, and Tere got out as Silva walked into the big house with a happy expression. There seemed to be a pleasant surprise inside the building, but Tere found nothing. She only saw the warmth of family that she had never seen in Resa's house, so much affection, and a warm hug before Silva left for her room.

Tere no longer followed Silva, she chose to look around the big house from the back to the front. Strangely, there was no one in the house, it was so clean as if a cleansing ritual had been performed or there was a spell so that spirits or ghosts could not enter. However, Tere strangely could not feel the effect of the spell, as if she was allowed to come without fear.

Twenty minutes was all it took for her to walk around until Silva's fence, and Tere went back inside the house. She saw the small family cooking dinner. Laughing merrily with no burdens in life, it was really nice to be Silva. The luxurious life, the many loves received, and not having the burdens of life made Tere envious.

"Dad, I'm tired of the piano. Can I take a vacation or just get out of there? I want to live like my other classmates, they go out to play after school. I want to be like that," Silva said sadly. She sat on one of the chairs with fried chicken in her right hand.

"Finish your fees first. You've already paid for one year, wouldn't it be a loss if you left suddenly?"

"Right, after all you have talent there. The smartest student your teacher said, right? Why don't you stay? After all, going back to school and playing is no fun. You'll get bored," Sofi added as she set down several plates of delicious food. She began to sit next to Tengku as usual. "What's the real reason you want to take a vacation?"

"I'm just tired, I want to enjoy school like other teenagers."

"Finish it first, and you can go out comfortably. I'd be happy if you had something else to do, but not now because I've already put money there."

Silva gave Tengku an encouraging smile, and raised the hand still clutching the fried chicken bone. "Of course, I'll be a good girl, and finish my work at the tutoring center. Dad, and Mom don't have to worry because I'm an obedient child."

Seeing Silva's parents laughing happily made Tere sneer. She was annoyed by the warm atmosphere of the kitchen, a feeling of annoyance with regret just arrived because of that scene. Tere chose to leave, leaving the kitchen unseen.

***

The kitchen was hot as the fire in the stove burned brightly. Sweat soaked the temples and backs of everyone there. However, the older woman in the kitchen chose to bring herself closer to the hearth. She tried to fix the firewood so that the fire wouldn't be so big, and her efforts were successful even though it took quite a long time.

Resa felt sorry for Anik, she looked so tired from being in the kitchen all day. "Mom, don't you want to sleep? I can finish this with Regina."

"Right, I'll fry all the donuts, while you shape the dough into rounds," Regina said excitedly.

Anik turned around with a huge smile, and it was obvious that she was exhausted from the look in her eyes. "This is Mom's job, and your job is to learn. You just need to help a little, I'll handle it all."

"But Mom looks tired, I'm serious about helping this time," Resa explained. His face looked so sad, he couldn't bear to see the woman he loved the most exhausted.

"No need, thank you for the offer. Mom is fine, do your job well, don't get exhausted just because of these donuts."

Resa let out a deep sigh, he sat back down quietly while shaping the doughnut dough into a round. The kitchen was silent again, it was sad because everyone seemed to be busy with work, and the contents of their own heads.

Regina disappeared from the stove, she chose to sit cross-legged near the plate cabinet. Sorting out the beautiful donuts that had been sprinkled with powdered sugar for her to pack in thin plastic. She was serious enough to do the light work, but it became tedious over time, even though it was something she did every day.

"My friend got punished for fighting the teacher in class. It was during math class, and we happened to have the fiercest teacher," Regina said. Her story made the two adults in the kitchen turn to her.

"What did he do, and what did your teacher do to make him like that?" asked Anik curiously.

"Dava is known as a naughty student, and he is disobedient. It just so happened that our math teacher couldn't come, and was replaced by Mr. Joana. He came unexpectedly, and the class was out of order. We were all playing, some went to the cafeteria, and Dava was playing cards while enjoying his delayed lunch." Regina took a deep breath after saying that long sentence. "Mr. Joana didn't like Dava, and Dava fought back for every sentence that sounded insulting. They yelled at each other until the principal came, and several female teachers burst into tears because of Dava. The war ended after they talked in the principal's room, but unfortunately Dava got a summons for his parents."

"Why do you look so sad?" now Resa began to worry at the change in him younger sister's expression. "Did that boy scare you?"

"No, I pity him because he doesn't live with his parents. He lives alone, his Mom and Dad work abroad. They just send him money without expecting anything, I don't know if it's true or not, but that's the story."

"Poor child," Anik's tone of voice softened, sounding so sad with the same expression. The look in her eyes never lied, and now she was stroking Regina's left shoulder despite some difficulty due to the distance. "Everyone has their own problems, our job as friends is just to be good friends, willing to listen to what she wants to tell. That's all, don't get into other people's lives any further."

"Isn't having empathy a must for every human being, Mom?"

"Yes, you're right Dear, but we should also know our limits. We have our own problems, and we have to love ourselves more. You have to do that first, give pity to yourself before starting on others."

"What I mean, Mom, is that most humans are more concerned with other people's problems than their own, huh?" Resa nodded in understanding, he just realized about it too because he had always been looking for ways to help Tere without ever looking at himself.

"Yes, that's right. Anything too much is not good, and it will hurt yourself. Think of yourself first before thinking of others!"