CHAPTER 1 : The Black Robbed Man
Its it true that loneliness
Will kill you?
That afternoon I walked along the rocky path to return home, sweat pouring down my body after a day of gardening, my hands felt numb because they did not stop to hoe and pick the ripe corn. solitude is already my friend, but I do not feel lonely because I am busy with work that haunts me every day, I live with my uncle and aunt, they are very kind to me and consider me as their own son. at that time everything was so beautiful, so peaceful, until everything disappeared so fast.
My uncle was a religious person, he did not stop praying to God for his family to be given long life and fertility for his fields, but fate said otherwise, all vanished when his wife died, yes ..he loved his wife, as told by fairy tales, they seemed inseparable.
He felt devastated when he found out his wife died, he just sat pensive in his rocking chair everyday, in front of the fireplace holding his wife's clothes. not wanting to go into the fields to plant corn, he argued if it all reminded him of his wife. he no longer wanted to pray to the god, because he thought that the god had cheated him.
his wife died of an unknown illness, many people say his wife was poisoned by the black magician's shaman. but he dismissed all of these responses, because he felt he had no enemies
He becomes an angry person, sometimes he likes to cry alone in the middle of the night.
It seemed he was increasingly engulfed in the deepest sadness and anger, loneliness made him even worse.
Finally my uncle died of stomach ulcers, due to irregular eating, it seemed he wanted to immediately follow his wife up there(heaven),
forever together, eternal forever.
Before he died, my uncle told me that he wanted to be buried in his wife's clothes and everything about his wife, I agreed, I buried my uncle right next to his wife's grave and all their belongings, so that they are always together until the end,
Love doesn't have never ending,
Is that true?I also never knew that.
today exactly 2 years after everything is gone, this is my life, alone living a very monotonous days. every day I have to go to the fields, keep the corn from being attacked by pests, if I fail to harvest I might not eat for a month.
I walked because I didn't have a horse, the only horse my uncle had died of old age.
so I have to lift these sacks one by one to sell to the market, this is very draining my energy, sometimes I feel no longer able to lift these sacks, but I persevere, I have to be strong, I still have a future, that's my belief so far.
Sometimes i think why all those who are near me are gone? Is this my fate to live alone? destiny is cruel I thought.
actually my uncle had 2 children, but they left home shortly after my aunt died, they were very lost after realizing their mother was gone, they decided to go to the nearest town to work, until now there was no news from them and until their father died they did not know that, I just hope they are fine there.
I decided to stay here to take care of this house, unfortunately if it had to be left just like that, abandoned neglected, after all this house is full of memories, the house I lived in since I was a child
In the middle of the trip I felt my feet were tingling, "did I overwork?" I thought.
I decided to stop for a moment to rest, I sat on the grass on the side of the road,the grass felt soft, the smell of grass is very fresh, and thrives covering the soil.
The forest is indeed beautiful, the meadows in the middle create a breathtaking view, make butterflies come and dance around it.
the birds fly happily here, many shady trees used as their nests. beautiful flowers bloomed like fragrant carpets, adorning every corner of the forest. a herd of deer running around by the lake, many insects competing to make a unique sound, make the forest feel more alive.
not far away there was a squirrel watching over me, who knows what he wanted, maybe he wanted my corn, then I ignored him,
I lay for a moment looking at the sky that had been dark. the sun's rays could not penetrate it, the black clouds were struggling, impatient to bring down heavy rain. the birds flew low as if to tell them that there would be a storm, I wonder why this rain came suddenly, it shouldn't be raining now.
a cool breeze blew past my body, wiping away my sweat that had been gushing down my skin. while staring at the sky, I imagine my future wife is still in the clouds, waiting for me to find her, I want to build a happy little family, with my child and wife in a warm home, no need for luxury but sufficient, it would be nice if those times had happened , I'm still waiting for it.
the atmosphere here is very calm, the wind blows more and spoil my body, I feel these eyes are very heavy, do not want to open again, finally I fell asleep on the grass.
A drop of water began to fall from behind the clouds, wet the dry ground, the green grass waited for the water to wet itself. I woke up because I felt the water start to wet my face, who knows how long I slept before. then I saw my corn sack which I had tied tightly now was open.
"Damn squirrel". I told myself, I looked around and found the squirrel in the tree beside me, as if he was laughing because he managed to take my corn.
Suddenly from a distance a male figure was seen wearing a jet-black robe, hooded and veiled. I chuckled out of my reverie, got up and looked at her, he was tall and creepy.
the longer he drew closer, he walked towards me, his steps heavy as if he did not want to walk, his entire body invisible, clad in a long black robe, only a few fingers and areas of his eyes were still visible.
When he got closer to me, at once a different aura appeared, a dark aura, a pitiful, the squirrel that had been beside me disappeared, ran as if to tell me something bad was coming to me. I gasped, watching him without blinking, he just passed by, ignoring me. I looked at him carefully, from his fingers look wrinkled and pale, I glanced at the side of his eyes,
"his eyes are red! Is he sick?" I asked in my heart. I thought of my aunt who was sick yesterday, her eyes were also red,
"does she have the same disease as my aunt?" I thought.
then I remember bringing some medicine, I want to give him who knows who could help him a little.
"Wait, sir," I called while approaching him,
but he ignored me, he kept walking away from me. with a little run but in a hurry my steps approach him again,
"excuse me sir."
because my eyes fixed on the cloaked man I did not pay attention to my steps, I tripped over a stone in the middle of the road. BUKK!! my body crashing right on the back, I fell to the ground, he finally stopped his steps but still did not look back.
I winced in pain, while holding back the pain I asked whether the smell I had smelled, the smell that I had never smelled before, the smell came from the cloaked man.
while wondering I saw him stepping again. saw him go away I immediately stood up to chase him again,
"sir, wait sir! I just want to help" I said as I walked toward him.
but at that instant the wind blew hard, blowing dust and sand into the air. my eyes can't see clearly, I can only glance at him. I lift my hand to cover my face, I'm afraid that dust will enter my eyes. faintly I saw him stepping farther away from me, I stopped my steps because it was no longer possible to chase him, the sound of lightning above the sky made me realize that the storm had begun to appear, drops of water began to swiftly from behind clouds falling to earth, the storm seemed to want to immediately reveal itself, so I decided to go back and pack my things.
When I walk to the place where my belongings are, I see a small package on the ground, what is this package? I asked myself. maybe this belongs to the cloaked man who fell when I hit him. I was actually curious what the contents of this package were, but I was taught to be honest since childhood, my uncle and aunt were the most honest people I knew, so he taught honesty to his children.
lightning began to strike hard, like dancing in the sky. the sound of thunder stopped my reverie, which reminds me again of a storm, the wind blows harder, making the leaves fall and swept helplessly into the air.
then I decided to bring this package, I hope that tomorrow I will meet again with the robed man here and return the package. I hurried to tidy up my things and run towards the road back home.
