Shadow Scent

Sarka's heart immediately beat twice as fast when Doctor Vino said that he would soon remove the bandages covering Sarka's eyes. Sarka felt both happy and scared.

"Mom?" Sarka swallowed harshly. He tried to feel for something. And after finding his mom's warm hand, he immediately grasped it tightly.

"Yes, I'm here," his mom replied while stroking the top of her youngest son's head, which she loved so much.

Sarka repeatedly sighed and took a long breath. He did not need to be excessively afraid because his mom would still be by his side. Sarka tightened the grip of his mom's hand even more. He was afraid that suddenly his mom would not be here beside him.

"Mom?" called Sarka once again.

"Yes, dear."

Sitting on the hospital gurney, Sarka turned his head to the right, where his mom's voice was coming from. The rhythm of his breathing was getting faster. He began to feel afraid, afraid that his long-awaited wish would not happen.

"Mom, is it true that soon I will be able to see?" asked Sarka, just to be sure. After all, he needed reassurance. He didn't want to be lied to.

His mom smiled warmly, even though Sarka could not see her. Sarka's mom then gently ruffled the top of his head, followed by a peck that landed on his forehead.

"That's right, soon you will be able to see again," his mom said, sounding very confident. A split second later, Sarka felt relieved.

"You're not lying to me, are you?"

Sarka's mom smiled, then gently kissed the forehead of the youngest son she loved. "I wouldn't lie to you. Soon, what you wanted all this time will be achieved. Doctor Vino also said it himself, right?"

Sarka had to believe what his mom said. He nodded firmly once again while emphasizing to himself that this was all real, not just a dream.

For the first time in six months, Sarka could smile brightly. His black world would soon end, and Sarka would be able to see again. He couldn't wait for this to happen.

Not long after that, Sarka heard the door to the room open. It must be Doctor Vino, he thought. Apparently, Sarka's guess was not far off. Doctor Vino really did come and was ready to show Sarka how beautiful this world is.

"Sarka, are you ready?" asked Doctor Vino.

Taking a deep breath, Sarka nodded once firmly. His lips immediately pressed together. "I'm ready!"

"Alright, I'm starting, huh?"

Sarka's grip on his mom's hand tightened. It wasn't just Sarka's heart that was beating fast, his mom felt it too. In addition, there was an overwhelming sense of anxiety experienced by them.

The bandages wrapped around Sarka's eyes were slowly removed one by one by Doctor Vino. Until it was finished, Sarka still closed his eyes. He waited for further instructions from Doctor Vino. Sarka's heart was beating uncontrollably.

"Sarka, now try to open your eyes slowly," Doctor Vino said gently.

Sarka complied, his head nodding. He opened his eyes slowly, then blinked for a few moments. Although Sarka's vision was blurry at first, a few seconds later, he could see the room he was in. Everything was very clear.

Sarka's tears just broke out. He immediately hugged his mom very tightly. "Mom, I can see again."

Sarka's mom patted her son's back gently. "Yes, you can see again; I'm glad you finally got through this." His mom pulled Sarka into her arms.

Their tears came out in unison. Doctor Vino, who saw it, just smiled with emotion. Sarka released his mom's embrace, then he rubbed his eyes. He didn't expect that he could finally see again.

"Finally, you can see now. I'm happy about this." Doctor Vino smiled kindly.

Hearing that, Sarka quickly turned his face to look at Doctor Vino, who had been very meritorious for succeeding in making his eyes able to see again.

"It's all thanks to you, doc. Thank you very much. Thanks to you, I can see again. Thanks again, I'm very happy." Sarka spoke at length. His eyes flashed with emotion and gratitude.

"You're welcome, it's my duty. I myself am also happy that you can finally see again."

Sarka nodded quickly, then he looked at his mom. Both of them were smiling.

"Thank you, doctor? I, as Sarka's mom, am really happy that my son can see again. I wish you good health and good fortune. I hope all your affairs are made easy. I don't know what else to say, you have done so much for me and my son."

"You're welcome, Thank you for your prayers. Then, I'll leave first, okay? There are other patients I need to check on," Doctor Vino said as he looked at the expensive watch wrapped around his left wrist.

"Yes, please."

Doctor Vino nodded once while giving a big smile before he turned around and walked out of Sarka's room.

After the doctor who had done so much for Sarka left, Sarka then cast his gaze around the room, then his eyes stopped and focused on the back of the door. There, Sarka saw something.

Sarka turned to his mom, and then he spoke softly. "Mom, why is there a little girl crying over there? Why is there so much blood on her clothes?" asked Sarka as he squinted his eyes. No, he couldn't have seen anything wrong. The little girl was very obvious.

Hearing Sarka's explanation, Maria stiffened on the spot. The middle-aged woman looked at her son intently.

Sarka's gaze did not shift at all from behind the door.

Maria, Sarka's mom's heart was beating twice as fast, her goose bumps were already bristling.

With trembling lips, Maria tried to force a smile. She moved closer to her son, then sat beside him as she embraced him.

No, this can't be happening. Maria said to herself. She suggested to herself that there was nothing to worry about. Everything was normal and successful. And look, Sarka can now see again. Just like what Sarka wanted, as well as Maria herself as his mom.

"Sarka, what are you talking about? There's nothing here, you can't talk out of turn." Maria said with a slightly trembling tone of voice, then she turned her gaze, following the direction of Sarka's gaze. "Where? There are no children, I don't see anything." Indeed, Maria did not see what Sarka was referring to, but Sarka could see that there was indeed a little girl very clearly.

Sarka shook his head vigorously. He ignored his mom's words. "No, I'm serious. I'm not making it up or talking nonsense. Look, poor little girl! Her clothes are full of blood mixed with mud. She also looks very pale, mom."

"Sarka, listen to me talk." Maria cupped Sarka's face, so that Sarka looked at her. Their eyes were now locked. "You can't see yet, Sarka. You must be seeing something wrong. Your eyes are not functioning normally yet. You also lack rest, that's why you're hallucinating now. That's enough; now you go to sleep."

"But..."

"Sarka, I understand. Yes, I trust you. Now you just rest."

Sarka exhaled harshly. He then nodded. He looked back at the door. The pale-faced girl who had been there earlier, complete with blood smeared on her clothes, was nowhere to be seen. Sarka blinked his eyes. Then he shook his head.

"You're right, mom. Maybe I saw it wrong. Now that little girl is gone." Sarka smiled at Maria.

"Well, you rest now. Maybe tomorrow or the day after, you can go home."

Sarka nodded without thinking. "Okay." With great caution, Sarka laid back down on the hospital bed.

Maria brought her lips to Sarka's forehead, and she kissed him gently. "During sleep, I love you."

"I love you too, mom." Once Sarka's position had changed to lying down, his gaze was now directed at the hospital ceiling.

Just as Sarka was about to close his eyes, he saw the little girl, who was just moments ago behind the door, now hovering right above him. Sarka was transfixed with bulging eyes.

The little girl was grinning widely with completely black eyeballs. Her body, which was so pale, made her look even more terrifying. A second later, her mouth made a giggling sound that made Sarka's hair stand on end.

Six months of not being able to see the outside world had made Sarka feel very miserable. And now his eyes are functioning normally again. How grateful he is that God still gives him the opportunity to see and enjoy the beautiful scenery in this world.

"Well, now we're home," Maria said with a big smile. She looked at Sarka. "How was it? You're happy, right?" she asked.

Sarka nodded enthusiastically. There was nothing different about the house as it was six months ago. Everything was almost the same as the last time Sarka had seen it. The only slight difference was that there were now a few flower pots on the terrace. The rest was just the same as before.

"I'm so happy," Sarka said honestly. "I'm really happy to be able to see you again."

"That's it, let's go in now."

Without another thought, Sarka nodded firmly. The two of them then stepped into the house. Maria took the house key from her bag, then she opened the door. After two clicks, she pushed the door open. They finally stepped into the house.

"I want to go to my room first," Sarka said to his mom. His hand had a bag big enough to hold some clothes because he had been in the hospital for some time to undergo surgery on his eyes.

Maria nodded. She said yes. "Yes. Do you want me to help you carry your things?"

Sarka shook his head slowly as he flashed a faint smile. "No need, I'm still capable of carrying these things myself, mom."

"Okay, I also want to go to my room first."

As soon as Maria turned her body and stepped away from where Sarka was standing, he started walking towards his room. When he reached his room, which was quite spacious, he cast his eyes around before he finally sat down on the bed.

His room had not changed, everything looked the same. Sarka smiled a little. That meant she had remembered his message not to change the state of this room.

The fatigue that shrouded his body made Sarka immediately lay down on the bed. His legs were still dangling. His gaze was now directed to the ceiling of the room. In the next split second, he recalled yesterday's incident at the hospital, moments after he could see.

Sarka let out a long sigh. "I couldn't have seen anything wrong, everything was so clear," he muttered softly. The image of the little girl with bloody clothes mixed with mud made Sarka's mind even worse.

Sarka closed his eyes. He thought about the little girl again, especially when she suddenly flew over Sarka's body, then smiled widely and let out a giggle that made Sarka faint on the spot.

Sarka remembers it all too well, especially when the little girl grinned, revealing her black teeth, her two eyeballs-truly impenetrable-and her skin color! Sarka remembered this one very well. The girl's skin was completely inhuman-too pale, in Sarka's opinion. Almost white in color.

"Mom is wrong, I can't be hallucinating. I remember very well, I'm not lying. That little girl..." Sarka shook his head slowly. He chose not to continue his speech.

Not only that, yesterday, when Sarka and his mom were about to eat at the hospital cafeteria, he also saw something odd and creepy. And Sarka knew that the creature was invisible. How could it not be? Sarka could not possibly know about the creature. His face looked burned, completely black, like it had been burned. His body was wrapped in a white cloth, and his body was tied tightly. He looked like a bolster pillow. The ghost was called a pocong, obviously.

This was the first time Sarka had seen a pocong, before that, he had only heard of this ghostly figure from the stories of the community, as well as some stories on internet sites. Sarka had never seen the ghost in person, which was far scarier.

The pocong ghost was standing near a food vendor. Sarka's hair stood on end. The hospital cafeteria was crowded, but everyone seemed to be unaware of the pocong's presence. Sarka was scared to death when the pocong with the burnt face turned his body around and faced Sarka. The pocong's face was flat, but Sarka was sure that this ghost was looking at him. Sarka pretended not to see the ghost. He immediately averted his gaze. In fact, a drop of sweat had just fallen down his neck.

And after that, Sarka asked Maria to go back to the room. He didn't want to eat at the hospital cafeteria. The feeling of fear really made Sarka's guts shrink.

"I can't remember that incident anymore! I must be able to forget it. I have to." Sarka took a deep breath, then he changed his position to sit again. Sarka breathed in and out through his mouth.

Then, Sarka circulated his gaze again around his room. It was safe here, he didn't see anything strange. Realizing that, Sarka smiled. He could sleep peacefully. Then, he turned his face away when the bedroom door was knocked on from outside.

"Sarka, you're inside, right?" Maria's voice behind the door sounded quite loud. It was followed by a soft knock after that.

Sarka nodded even though his mom couldn't see it. "Yes, mom. I'm here." He then started to stand up, then walked towards the door and opened it wide.

Now, Maria was standing right in front of Sarka. She smiled widely, and so did Sarka.

"Why, do you have something to discuss with me?" asked Sarka, asking why his mom had called him. There must be something she wanted to tell him. Sarka looked at Maria, waiting for her to say something.

Maria let out a short breath, then nodded slowly. "You haven't eaten this afternoon, let's eat first. You must be hungry, right?"

Sarka didn't answer right away, but eventually he nodded too. Sarka gave a small grin. He showed his row of neatly arranged teeth. "I'm pretty hungry right now."

"Well, then let's eat first."

Sarka immediately agreed to that. He and his mom went to the kitchen. Sarka sat on one of the chairs, while Maria sat opposite Sarka.

"I haven't shopped yet, there are only eggs in the fridge. You like scrambled eggs with soy sauce. I thought it wouldn't hurt if you ate this first."

"No problem. I even like that food." Sarka flashed his a big smile, making Maria both relieved and happy.

"Then, eat quickly. Before the eggs cool down, they won't taste good. I'll accompany you to eat here," Maria said softly.

"You're not eating, mom?"

"I'll see you later. The important thing is to fill your stomach first. Don't forget to finish it, later, if it's still lacking, I'll cook some more for you. There are still plenty of eggs in the fridge."

"This is enough, mom." Sarka replied politely, after which he began to feed his mouth with Maria's food.

"Oh yes, I want to ask you something, Sarka."

"About what?" Sarka asked. He was curious. While chewing, his gaze was fixed on his mom again.

For a few seconds, Maria still kept her mouth shut. Sarka's forehead was already folded. He was confused. Then, his mom shook her head slowly, followed by a faint smile that graced her face.

"It looks like I'm not going to ask you."

"I've been waiting," said Sarka, a little disappointed.

"It's nothing important, you just finish the food."

"Then I'll ask, shall I?"

"What do you want to ask about?"

Sarka did not answer immediately. He thought for a while before finally asking hesitantly. "If I may know, who donated an eye to me?"

Maria stiffened in place with her breath held in her throat as the question fell from her youngest son's lips. And Maria could not answer that question.

It was too difficult.

Maria swallowed her saliva roughly. Her brain was already thinking hard to find the right answer to his question. She then smiled slightly, then stood up, stepped around the table, and sat next to Sarka.

Maria gently stroked the top of her son's head before she finally said something to answer Sarka's question. "Sarka, you don't need to think about that. It's not important for you to know who donated your eyes to you, the most important thing now is that you can see again."

"But I want to know who donated an eye to me, mom," Sarka replied quickly. "Who was the kind person who gave up their eye for me? Is that person still alive or dead? I just want to say thank you. That's all."

"No need," Maria said firmly, shaking her head. "You don't need to know about that. The point is, this person is very nice. Never mind, let's not talk about it anymore. You just got back from the hospital, Sarka. You shouldn't think too much. You'll end up getting sick."

Not getting the answer he wanted, Sarka finally gave up. He nodded languidly, although he was very curious as to who this person was who was kind to him.

"I've finished eating, your cooking is always delicious, mom. I love it!"

The praise from her son made Maria smile widely.

Sarka stood up quickly and said, "I'm going to my room. You want to ask me to do something, don't you?"

"No, I don't. You should just go to your room and rest first. Don't forget to take a shower."

"Okay." Sarka replied. Then he started walking again towards his room. Sarka intended to blame his cell phone, which was kept in his drawer. It had been six months since his cell phone had been activated, so there must have been a lot of messages.

Sarka was about to return to his room. He didn't know why he was suddenly standing in front of Alan, his brother's bedroom door, which was slightly open. Sarka stopped walking and looked through the crack in the door. There was a desire in Sarka's mind to enter Alan's room.

It was four o'clock in the afternoon. Alan was still at work. Alan usually came home at five in the afternoon, which was the earliest.

The door flew open when Sarka pushed it wide. Then, he looked back, just to make sure that Alan really wasn't home yet. There was no harm in Sarka going into his brother's room, right?

Sarka closed the door again once he was inside Alan's room. What Sarka liked about his room was that there were a lot of comics neatly placed on the shelves in the closet. Indeed, Alan was a comic book maniac. Sarka liked to borrow comics from Alan. And Alan's collection of comics had grown considerably since the last time Sarka saw him, six months ago.

Sarka moved closer to the cupboard. He was about to pull a comic from the shelf, but before he could do so, Sarka was first hit by a pile of comics that fell by itself.

"Ow!" Sarka winced softly. He looked at the floor, which was now full of comics. "How come the comics fell out of the cupboard by themselves?" Sarka asked softly. He let out a long sigh. Before he crouched down and picked up the fallen comics, Sarka first looked up.

And that's when Sarka fell backward. With his eyes wide open, Sarka's lips were already trembling. His gaze refused to move from the thing sitting on top of the comic cabinet. Sarka was about to say something, but he was struggling for words. His mouth could only open and close, no sound came out at all. Sarka wanted to scream as loudly as possible, but he was unable to. His tongue felt very tongue-tied.

What Sarka saw was completely beyond him. On top of Alan's comic cabinet, a woman in white clothes sat there, her long black hair covering her entire face. Sarka was already starting to get scared, his goosebumps were already bristling. Moreover, his entire body was now shaking.

Cold sweat quickly broke out from Sarka's temples. "Who are you?" Sarka ventured to ask the long-haired woman wearing long white clothes a question. Her legs were completely invisible, floating, and transparent.

Sarka swallowed harshly. With fear completely taking over his body, he saw that the woman sitting on top of the comic cabinet, the woman he was sure was not human, slowly showed her face.

It felt like Sarka wanted to scream as loudly as possible, but he couldn't do it. It was too difficult.

The woman's ghostly face was covered in blood along with worms mixed with pus, making Sarka feel like vomiting his guts out. The unpleasant odor quickly made Sarka unable to stand it.

While closing his eyes as tightly as possible, Sarka recited a prayer silently. Whatever prayers he had memorized, he just recited them. Sarka's body shivered even more. The air around him also suddenly felt gloomy and gripping. Sarka realized that the woman he saw earlier was a creature from another world. As proof, his face was completely abnormal. Blood, pus, and worms are all mixed together. Very creepy and disgusting. Not to mention, when Sarka opened his eyes, the female ghost had disappeared.

Sarka looked around him with his heart racing. His breathing was already irregular. He didn't know how long he held his breath in fear.

"She disappeared?" Sarka muttered softly. His eyes became more alert, and he was afraid that the creepy woman would suddenly reappear.

"I didn't disappear, I'm here."

The soft whisper in a hoarse voice sounded right in front of Sarka's earlobe. He was creeped out, and slowly he ventured to turn his face to the side. He immediately jumped in surprise. He staggered away. The female ghost's face was so close to him that now she showed off her smile very widely, all her teeth were black. The creepier her face became.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" Sarka squeaked softly, desperately clinging to his courage.

"I am the guardian of this room. Can you see me?" the female ghost replied.

"There's no way I can't see you!" Sarka replied quickly. "You look very clear."

The woman let out a long chuckle, which made Sarka's hair stand up again. "Glad someone can finally see me."

"Answer my question, who are you?" Sarka asked again.

"I already answered your question earlier, I'm the one waiting in this room."

"Who are you?" Sarka moved backwards, keeping as much distance as possible from the creepy female ghost.

"You seem to be afraid of my disgusting face." The long-haired woman giggled again before she finally appeared with a new face. This time, it was better. Her face was only pale. There was no more blood, pus, or that disgusting worm. Everything had disappeared. "It's better, isn't it?"

Sarka still couldn't believe she could change her face in such a short time. And Sarka was even more incredulous that he was currently interacting with an invisible being. This is crazy!

"How can you do that?"

"Sorry, I think I scared you. Don't worry, you don't have to go overboard, I won't get you hurt."

"Who are you?!" Sarka shouted once again.

"People call me a kuntilanak, but I have a name. Would you like to meet me? I'm Gwen, what's your name? I feel lucky to have met you. You are special to be able to see me, who is no longer alive."

Sarka's throat choked up upon hearing that. He still felt a little anxious, although he was not as scared as before. Now Sarka could relax a little more.

"You're a kuntilanak?"

"Don't be afraid, I'm not that scary."

"But you are!"

"No, I disagree. See, now you're not scared anymore. What's your name?"

"You don't need to know my name!" said Sarka.

The female ghost smiled sarcastically, then she levitated again and ended up sitting on top of the comic cabinet like before. Sarka was wide-eyed to see it right in front of his eyes. This was so strange that Sarka could not have expected it.

"Your name is Sarka, I already know it. I just wanted to test you." The pale-faced female ghost now showed off her black teeth.

"How did you get my name?" Sarka asked softly.

"I told you that I'm the one waiting for this room. You come back and forth here so often, I already know you. You are Alan's little brother."

"Why can I see you? This is... strange."

"You're still afraid of me?"

"Not so much anymore, because now I feel like I'm talking to a fellow human."

"Good, that's better. Because I hate being called a ghost, a curious spirit, or whatever. You don't have to be afraid anymore, maybe we'll meet more often."

"Why can I see you? I couldn't see ghosts before." Sarka held his head, which was now feeling very dizzy.

"Because now you have an advantage. We can be friends, I'm not bad. I'll be good as long as people don't bother me."

"Why are you here?"

"Because your brother is here, I like him. You know, Alan is perfect. He's a handsome guy, and I like looking at him. You yourself are also not less handsome than him, but I prefer your brother, who has grown up. You're still a kid, I'm not interested."

"Leave him alone!" Sarka was angry. He looked displeased at the Kuntilanak ghost, who openly admitted that she liked his brother. This sounded so crazy and reckless.

"I can't possibly be him. How could I do that? I like to see him when he's sleeping, reading comics, or watching movies. And what I like even more is that I like peeping at him when he's taking a shower."

"You crazy ghost!" Sarka cursed in annoyance. At first, he was scared, but after a while, the female ghost who was sitting on top of the comic cabinet became very annoying.

"Sarka, who are you talking to?" A voice that Sarka recognized suddenly sounded. Sarka quickly turned his face towards the source of the sound. Sarka widened his eyes in surprise. He stared at Alan, who was now standing in the doorway with his forehead folded and his eyebrows almost together.

Sarka did not know what to say.