White Payung

Chapter 5

It was late evening, and the corridor from the bedroom to the bathroom was dark. Ken hesitated before making his way to the back of the house. How much he hated going to the toilet and bathroom, especially at night. The atmosphere there always made the hairs on his neck stand up.

He tip toed round the corner in a hurry, but before entering the large kitchen he had to go pass this room. It was locked, and all the windows shut. There was no light inside this room, but then there won't be because it was most probably empty. Ken didn't want to look at the window in case he should see something that frighten him, but it was safer to do so.

Ken didn't know what the room was for but he did try opening it a few times. It was locked. He knew that every time he went by, he could feel someone watching him, from behind those dark glass windows. It was just a feeling but he was almost certain, someone was inside.

That night he fell asleep easily because he was tired from walking so much around the city. He started to dream, but his dreams had a quality that was quite real. A voice was speaking to him, calling for help. Even though he continued to sleep, Ken heard and understood every word that the voice said.

In the morning Ken sat up in his bed and tried to remember his dream. A girl had called out to him for help. He was sure of it. She was here in this very room, and a tall figure of a man was attacking her. Ken could almost see the scene, a young girl in a kebaya, running into the room and slamming the door shut. The man had kicked the door down, ripped the blouse off the girl. After he had raped her, he put his strong hands around her throat and strangled her.

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That day, Ken walked along the boulevard under the tall trees. His mind was still disturbed by the experience of last night. He kept going back to that scene, so vivid now, that he thought of it more as a vision than a dream. He had witnessed the rape and murder, but he only saw the back of the attacker, not his face.

The mysterious girl was walking towards him now. Ken's heart began to beat faster, but his mind blanked out, again like the last time. He couldn't think of a thing to say to her, however strong his desire was, to talk to this girl.  He could not get over his fear of her rejecting him.

They both paused slightly, and again she looked at him and smiled. It seemed like an invitation for conversation, but the pause was an eternity for Ken. She must be friendly, otherwise, why did she smile like that? Ken wanted to say something, anything, but nothing came out of his mouth, and the moment was gone.