Staggering a few minutes after we had chatted, Pram brought along a young man walking with a cane.
The young man's right leg was bruised blue, as if someone had beaten him. It was left uncovered. Occasionally, the young man with the blue leg would cry out; his walk was halting.
"This is Agus, Pram's younger brother. His hobby is mountain climbing and nature travel. The charm of nature and adventure is his sustenance. He's actually the same as Cacak and me, hungry for exploration."
"But a past incident with him made me feel faint-hearted until now. Fortunately, the khodam (spiritual companion) from my great-grandfather descended to me, so no unseen entity dares to approach me carelessly. I feel like a champion from the Gautama family line."
"Please, sit down, Mas!" said Cak Dika.
Agus nodded his head, and Pram helped him sit down.
We were facing each other, except for Cak Dika. Cak Dika was seated facing the three of us, along with Pram and Agus.
Cak Dika examined the bruise covering Agus's right leg. Cak Dika brought his right palm close to the top of Agus's right leg.
He channeled his spiritual power again, and Marsya and I could only watch. Agus and Pram were also watching Cak Dika who was busy.
"It's hot, isn't it?" said Cak Dika, then he opened his eyes.
"Yes, Cak, and it hurts too!" said Agus, enduring the pain.
Cak Dika just nodded upon hearing that. Then he looked at me this time.
"What?" I asked him.
"Ready to mediate?" Cak Dika asked me.
"For what?" I asked him.
"Marsya's job is to guard our bodies here. But you, you're going to Alas Purwo first for the mediation!" he answered.
"Wait, try to explain the plan!" I said to him.
Cak Dika folded his arms and then let out a heavy sigh. Then he looked at me.
"Why is his leg like that? It is indeed related to that wood. Actually, we don't need to physically return to Alas Purwo! We can return it using our abilities. As long as the wood is here! Rachel, you return it to its place, I'll guard you here with Marsya! Only if the situation becomes unfavorable will I step in!" Cak Dika explained to me.
I swear, this person is really making me annoyed right now. Crossing over to the other realm requires a lot of energy and strong mental fortitude, because what we encounter there comes in various forms.
"Why don't you go, Cacak?" I asked him.
"I'll be guarding Agus here! Because there's a chance that the entity won't let go of his leg. Regarding that wood, it was like a gravestone before! That incident happened a long time ago, before we were born. Someone was buried under that big tree! Agus accidentally kicked the headstone of someone who died and was buried there!" explained Cak Dika.
Hearing that, I was naturally moved with pity. I looked back at Agus's blue bruised leg. Alright, I won't overthink this anymore. I'd be a coward if I said I didn't want to do it.
Since this ability came to me, I will use it to help people. This unseen entity is truly insolent.
"Alright then! I want to help!" I answered.
"Wow, that's great spirit, Mbak, I like it!" said Marsya, clapping her hands beside me.
Cak Dika smiled hearing that. Then I slowly closed my eyes. Darkness slowly enveloped me, then I opened my eyes again, and another dimension greeted me with a vast wilderness.
I could feel how gloomy the energy was here. It was like teleportation. With the help of Nyai, I was brought here by her energy. My footing was on dry leaves that had fallen from the trees.
It seemed the leaves had fallen and dried up quite some time ago.
A greeting of red eyes spying from the darkness began to approach me. Their gaze was sharp; their roars echoed.
The wild grass was motionless. The tree leaves were also silent. There was no gust of wind blowing here. There were no sounds of animals here, only silence.
My body in my world was being occupied by Barend. After I released my spirit, I deliberately pulled Barend in. Because if my body was left empty, many other spirits would try to enter.
The ringing sound of a woman's laughter filled my ears. It was very crowded here; the woman flew from one tree to another with a long white dress and long hair.
"Nduk..." someone called from my right side.
I turned towards the sound. An old man in traditional Javanese clothing was looking at me. He stood with his cane amidst the darkness of this dimension.
He didn't approach, and neither did I; we just stood still, staring at each other.
The old man opened his palm, and the wood appeared there. As fast as a gust of wind, he came towards me and handed the wood to me. The wood was indeed quite wide and long, and it wasn't heavy.
The aura of this old man was good. After handing it to me, he disappeared.
"Keep walking, Nduk, look for the biggest banyan tree here and place it there!" the voice of Nyai began to guide me.
With the courage I tried to muster, I walked along the path of dry leaves.
"Human, why are you here?" a large voice said along my way. It seemed to be the voice of the owners of the red eyes that were watching me.
The path was increasingly gone. The bushes became thicker and darker. I felt like I was going deeper into the heart of the forest.
Several small children with hollow heads ran in front of me. I remained silent and kept walking.
"Nyai, is my path correct or not?" I asked Nyai.
But there was no answer from her for me. I stopped in the middle of the forest alone, with thousands of terrifying creatures there staring at me.
However, a pair of eyes caught my attention at that moment. A woman dressed like a hiker. She carried a shoulder bag, but it wasn't a Carrier; it was more like a Daypack. She also carried a trekking pole in her hand, staring at me.
Her face looked so sad, pale with bluish lips. She didn't speak to me, just stared. Curious, I immediately approached. But the closer I got, the further away the distance between us became.
So I stopped, and she suddenly raised her hand to the left. I didn't know what she meant. But my feet walked following the direction indicated.
Not long after, she reappeared. This time she was far in front of me.
Then her index finger pointed up, and I instinctively followed the direction of her pointing finger.
I was stunned to see Nyai there, engaged in a battle with the large figure I had seen earlier. I felt like I was watching an Avengers movie here.
Or maybe this was like a Mobile Legends fight. Nyai, as the enchanting yet fierce mother Kadita. And that large figure was Balmond.
It's okay to indulge in a bit of fantasy in this position, isn't it? After all, it was already too tense here. So, I'd better spice it up a bit with my strange imagination.
After I knew why Nyai didn't come when I called her. My eyes turned back to the figure of the hiker ghost.
This time she did not move her hand. Instead, she turned and walked, ignoring me.
Carrying the gravestone wood, I followed her through the dark wilderness where spirits reside.
When the hiker ghost stopped, I also stopped. Finally, we arrived at the big banyan tree.
The figure of the hiker ghost turned back toward me and smiled. The body slowly disappeared, replaced by a sturdy but headless figure.
The figure was now standing exactly ten steps from where I stood. My hair stood on end seeing the severed neck area, which kept oozing blood.
At his waist was a sickle, which Javanese people usually call a Celurit. Slowly, his right hand began to reach for the celurit and then pointed it at me.
"Don't disturb my grandchild!" said my ancestral great-grandfather, who suddenly appeared in front of me as my shield.
The headless figure remained silent, not moving when he saw the great-grandfather's presence.
The two spirits seemed to be talking to each other, but I didn't hear them.
When both of them disappeared, the wood I was holding also disappeared.
The large banyan tree also disappeared. It seemed like this was over.
I closed my eyes. The next moment, when my consciousness returned, I opened my eyes again. I saw Cak Dika there, smiling and giving me a thumbs-up.
Agus's leg was no longer bruised. Overjoyed, the young man threw his cane carelessly to the side and jumped up and down happily. He shook my hand and thanked me.
For the first time, helping someone else felt this happy. I was glad to see him able to walk normally again. Our journey of exploration does not stop here.
There are still people calling for us to come. It seems I will often visit the other realm with Marsya and Cacak Dika.