11 Years Ago, Sentul, Indonesia
Twinkle, Twinkle, little star
how I wonder what you are
up above the world so high
like a diamond in the sky
Twinkle,Twinkle little star
how I wonder what you are.
Little Fori closed her eyes after listening to the lullaby sung by Sister Elsa. She could see other children pretending to have already fallen asleep in their respective beds, burying their heads under the blankets.
There were six children in the same room as Fori, and almost all of them were around eight or nine years old. Each of them slept on small iron beds with mattresses and pillows that weren’t too soft, and were given thin blankets like those in hospitals.
Immaculata Orphanage was a large old building, but it only had ten rooms, each with a capacity of six children. There were about 58 children in Immaculata Orphanage, and the seven years old Fori was one of them.
Fori squinted from under her blanket, trying to catch a glimpse of Sister Elsa as she tiptoed out, turning off the room light and then closing the door slowly. A quiet atmosphere settled as Sister Elsa left, but it only lasted about a minute. After that, some children would resume chatting and giggling from their beds.
Not so with Fori. Usually on Friday nights, she and her friend from the next room, Sega, would sneak out of the window to head to the grassland area where they could see lots of fireflies.
On that Friday night, a soft knock was heard on the window right next to Fori’s bed. Fori quickly put on her maroon sweater and her thick sandals before slowly opening the window from inside.
Sega was already outside waiting for her with a wide smile. The nine-year-old boy was very close to Fori. He was the longest-serving child in their orphanage, and no one had adopted him yet. While Fori had only been there for a year after her parents died in an accident.
They became fast friends because they both liked fireflies. That’s why on Fridays, which were the last day of school each week, they would sneak out at night to catch fireflies in the grassland near their orphanage. Only Fori and Sega were willing to do it, and it was their typical ritual.
“My teacher said in class earlier, there will be a meteor visible from the Sentul area tonight,” Sega said after Fori jumped out and stood beside him.
“A meteor?” Fori asked, confused. They both tiptoed slowly past the rocky area that bordered the orphanage wall with the front garden. “What’s a meteor?”
“They say it’s an object from the sky that falls to the Earth. People call it a shooting star,” Sega whispered.
“Can stars fall?” Fori asked innocently.
“A meteor isn’t a star, people just call it that. They say it’s just rocks from the sky falling to Earth.”
“What if we get hit?”
Sega laughed. “You’re so silly. Meteors falling to Earth are just fragments like dust. There’s no way we’ll get hit; meteor falls aren’t like apple falls.”
Even though she didn’t grasp Sega’s intention, Fori simply nodded, placing her trust in her friend’s words and following his lead. She watched Sega’s back as he slowly opened the foliage on the orphanage wall and crouched to slip outside.
Fori and Sega had often sneaked in and out of the orphanage through that hole. Despite the gardener’s efforts to cover it with shrubs, the two children had already discovered its location. They ran after successfully penetrating the streets outside without being caught.
“Wow, the night sky is so bright tonight! Lots of stars shining brightly,” Sega exclaimed, looking up at the sky as they arrived in the grassy field near the orphanage.
“Will we be able to catch fireflies?” Fori asked, busy looking around with a pout. There were no fireflies to be seen that night.
“Let’s catch stars instead. I want that one,” Sega suddenly said, pointing to a star that shone the brightest and had a silverish hue in the entire sky. “Which star do you like, Fori?”
“Me?” Fori asked, confused. She slowly walked towards Sega and also looked up at the sky to see the large silver star that Sega had pointed out. “Can we catch stars?”
“Just pick one,” Sega replied casually. “If a star falls, they say you should make a wish, and it usually comes true. So… which star do you want to make a wish on? Who knows, we might be lucky tonight.”
Fori tilted her head to choose. After considering, she pointed to one of the stars that also shone silver and was near the big star Sega had chosen earlier.
“I’ll choose that star,” Fori said to Sega. “Since it’s close to the big star you chose, we’ll never be separated.”
“Hmmh, that star is still very small, like a child of that big star,” Sega muttered, observing the star Fori had chosen. “But its light is bright too. They’re both silver. Usually, starlight looks white or golden, but why are those two stars silver?”
“Eh? The star is moving,” Fori suddenly exclaimed, her voice filled with enthusiasm. “My star is moving!”
“Moving?” Sega said, squinting to see the small star pointed out by Fori.
The light surrounding the star seemed to move slowly in circles, then elongated and grew brighter little by little. Sega rubbed his eyes in disbelief. He had never seen a star move before, let alone with his naked eyes.
“T-that’s strange, why is the star moving?” Sega said, looking puzzled. Meanwhile, Fori remained enthusiastic, despite not fully comprehending the situation.
Sega, on the other hand, was transfixed, continuously staring at the strange star. “Do you see its light, Fori? Why does it seem to elongate?”
Fori shrugged. Suddenly, she quickly closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, murmuring prayers.
“Are you making a wish? There hasn’t been a shooting star yet,” Sega laughed, watching Fori. His attention shifted from the odd star earlier.
“But the star seems to be moving towards us, maybe it can fulfill our wishes. Don’t you want to try praying too?”
Sega remained silent for a moment, then after thinking that there was no harm in making a wish, he closed his eyes and prayed.
“I want to be adopted by wealthy parents soon. I want them to be very smart and wealthy,” Sega muttered in his prayer.
“Sega, you want to be adopted by rich people? Oh, earlier I wished for a long life. Should I have wished for a new family with lots of money so we can buy many fireflies?” Fori asked innocently, looking at Sega with a grin that made her chubby cheeks look cute.
Sega laughed towards her. “You can make another wish if a meteor falls later.”
As soon as Sega said that, the atmosphere around them somehow seemed to rumble. The wind in the field began to blow very strongly towards them. Strangely, they suddenly felt hot rather than cold.
“What’s happening, Sega?” Fori asked, confused and scared.
“I don’t know,” Sega said while looking around. “Why is it suddenly so hot?”
Fori saw Sega waving his hands to his face, which had started sweating. She suddenly felt the air heating up, even though the wind made their hair flutter.
“Sega, shouldn’t we go home? It’s starting to get creepy here,” Fori whispered, feeling frightened. She saw Sega suddenly covering his face with his arms.
“Sega?”
“From above…,” Sega stuttered towards Fori. “There’s something dazzling up there.”
Fori reflexively looked up and saw an exceptionally bright silver light from the small star they had seen earlier, now elongating towards them as if approaching. Fori’s face felt hot, and her eyes felt dazzled. Initially, the light seemed to slowly creep downwards, but then it seemed to accelerate towards them. Fori stood frozen in place, her eyes wide with shock.
“R-run!” Sega shouted, quickly pulling Fori’s arm when he saw something like a big silver light seemingly falling towards them.
Fori turned around trembling and ran after Sega. However, unable to match Sega’s speed as he continued to pull her arm, Fori stumbled and fell due to tripping over her own feet. She landed on the grass, hearing a loud roaring sound from above her head.
Fori looked up and saw the silver light getting closer, making her eyes sting. She couldn’t move her body anymore. The girl knew that something would hit her in a few seconds. Her body just lay motionless on the grass, her eyes wide open – staring at the approaching silver light.
“Watch out, Fori!” Sega shouted, turning towards Fori and trying to hug her small body to protect her.
But it was already too late, something had hit them in seconds, and their ears buzzed momentarily. All Fori remembered was the painful ringing in her ears, the hot air on her back, and the incredibly bright light that made her eyes hurt.
For a moment, it felt like their bodies were floating in the air about a meter above, and then suddenly Fori and Sega fell, crashing onto the grass again. This time, everything suddenly felt dark.
A Few Hours Later at Immaculata Hospital
“Is she going to be okay, Doctor Yuda?”
The voice faintly woke Fori up. The little girl opened her eyes groggily and saw Sister Elsa looking at a doctor in panic. Fori took quite some time to realize that she was lying in a bed in the emergency ward of Immaculata Hospital, a facility under the same foundation as their orphanage.
“She’s fine, just fainted. She’ll wake up soon and be fine,” said Doctor Yuda, an elderly man with white hair, to Sister Elsa.
“What about Sega?” asked Sister Elsa, this time with a hoarse and more frantic voice. “He hit his head on a rock, will he be okay?”
“Sega has received stitches on his head, but further treatment is necessary for a thorough examination of the interior tomorrow to assess any potential severity. Presently, he is situated in the hospitalization room on the second floor.”
Sister Elsa took a deep breath and held the doctor’s arm in front of her. “Doctor, can we stay with him at the hospital? I need to make sure he’s okay. Tomorrow morning, the head of the orphanage and the foundation’s director will come here. Besides, the journey back to the orphanage is quite far, especially in the middle of the night.”
The doctor sighed. “Alright, you can stay with him. Room 201, where Sega is, has two beds. Since the one next to Sega is empty, you can sleep there.”
Sister Elsa nodded and thanked Doctor Yuda before he left the room. The woman in her twenties then turned to Fori and was surprised to see Fori already awake.
“Are you okay, Fori?” said Sister Elsa, stroking Fori’s head. The little girl nodded and sat up on the bed.
Sister Elsa then looked at her with a stern expression. “You two are so naughty to sneak out to the meadow at night. Luckily, someone saw you there when Sega fell and hit his head on a rock. What if nobody saw you? What if someone kidnapped you?!”
“Fell and hit his head on a rock?” asked Fori, confused, without paying much attention to the slight anger in Sister Elsa’s tone.
All she remembered was the silver light from the sky and something falling on her and Sega. But Fori refrained from informing Sister Elsa, as she was still grappling to comprehend the situation herself.
“Can you get up and walk now?” Sister Elsa asked her while tidying up Fori’s clothes. “We’ll stay overnight in the room where Sega is being treated.”
Fori nodded and allowed Sister Elsa to help her get out of bed. They then walked out towards the elevator. Once they arrived at Sega’s room, Fori was surprised to see Sega being treated with a large white bandage wrapped around his head.
Sega seemed to be sleeping soundly and unaware of their arrival, but the nurse there had informed Sister Elsa that Sega was fine. Sega had briefly woken up and complained of a headache. Since he had just taken painkillers, he fell asleep right away.
The hospital was concerned that Sega had a concussion, so he needed further examination the next morning before they allowed him to go home. Sister Elsa was very relieved and happy with the information.
She told Fori to sleep with her in the bed next to Sega’s and hugged the little girl tightly to help Fori fall asleep without wandering again. But it was only Sister Elsa who quickly fell asleep. Perhaps because she was feeling very tired, Sister Elsa looked sound asleep.
An hour later, for some reason, Fori somehow felt restless. Suddenly, she felt the same heat as when she and Sega were in the meadow. The hot temperature permeated into their room, and Fori’s ears began to buzz again.
The sound of footsteps echoing outside made her suddenly very frightened. She trembled in her bed, feeling something familiar but not knowing what it was.
“Sister Elsa,” Fori whispered, trying to wake Sister Elsa up because she was suddenly scared. Unfortunately, the sister only murmured briefly to Fori before falling asleep again and making a soft snoring sound.
Fori opened her eyes wide as she looked around the room, trying to hear the echoes of footsteps getting closer. The little girl had a bad feeling, and sweat began to dampen her palms. She covered her head with the blanket when she heard a long breath echoing in front of the door to Sega’s room.
There was a dark shadow as if peeking into the room through the glass door. Some people seemed to be talking at the door, but Fori couldn’t hear what they were saying clearly because of the faint buzzing in her ears.
Fori’s heart pounded as the door opened, and she heard footsteps entering the room. She held her breath in fear and could now hear several people speaking in a foreign language that Fori couldn’t understand.
However, the little girl decided to peek despite her fear. She slowly lifted her blanket and saw four people in long black robes with hoods trying to move Sega on a stretcher. They were all very tall but Fori couldn’t see their faces.
Their black robes looked so frightening to Fori that she dared not continue looking at them. She covered her face again with the blanket and felt sweat starting to drench her body. Fori felt that those people were very dangerous and she trembled beneath her blanket.
Shortly after the people left, pushing Sega on the stretcher, Fori immediately tried to wake up Sister Elsa to tell her. But strangely, Sister Elsa seemed even more deeply asleep than usual. Fori shook Sister Elsa’s body, but unfortunately, the woman remained unresponsive and even started mumbling.
Fori quickly got out of bed and left the room to go to the nurse’s station, but the hospital corridor was filled with hot silver-colored mist. There, Fori could see the night shift nurses standing frozen in their places with blank stares. Fori approached them and shook their shoulders to tell them that Sega had been kidnapped, but the nurses remained stiff as if they heard nothing and showed no reaction at all.
She then began walking towards the source of the faint sound of the stretcher from the front of the elevator and heard the elevator doors opening. She hurried there with gasping breaths and saw that the people who had taken Sega were no longer there.
When she arrived, the elevator doors were already closed. Fori tried to look around for help, but the people in the hallway still looked frozen. Somehow, only Fori could move and see what was happening. The little girl looked at the small digital location indicator screen and saw that they had stopped on the top floor of the hospital.
Quickly, Fori opened the emergency stairwell door and ran to the upper floor to see. She was surprised to see that the top floor looked exactly the same as the second floor. Everyone there seemed frozen in silver mist.
Fori could see a wide-open door leading to the rooftop of the building and hear voices from the rooftop. This time, taking slow steps, she climbed the stairs to look up.
The little girl was stunned from behind the door when she saw the scene on the rooftop. There were many people there in black hooded robes, and many red candles were lit around them.
Sega’s stretcher was there, next to a large bed where a strange old man was lying critically ill. In the middle, there was a figure who seemed to be leading a strange ritual. He was the only one there wearing a red hooded robe and seemed to be murmuring in an incomprehensible language.
The others there knelt with their robes and formed a spiral circle with the candles now shining pale. They surrounded Sega and the old man. Shortly after, Fori’s ears began to buzz again. She saw the person in the red robe dancing alone in the middle of the circle, flanked by the two beds.
Fori stood frozen in place. She had never seen anything like it before. But from her Sunday school at her church, she had seen depictions of what she knew to be satanic worship rituals. However, Fori had never seen such a terrifying thing in person. She wasn’t even sure what she was seeing at the moment because it was so strange and horrifying.
Several minutes later, the buzzing sound in Fori’s ears became louder. The atmosphere grew hot again, and the person in the red robe looked up at the sky. There was a silver light shining again and getting closer and closer to them, casting a dazzling light on the rooftop of the hospital building.
The person in the red robe shouted even louder, and this time two individuals stood up and approached Sega and the old man’s bed. The person in the red robe uncovered Sega’s arm and extracted blood with a syringe, then emptied it into a silver cup. What shocked Fori even more was that the person then poured Sega’s fresh blood into the mouth of the dying old man.
Shortly after, the old man coughed, and the person in the red robe picked up a large syringe and raised it towards the sky. After uttering a few words that intensified the buzzing in Fori’s ears, they immediately thrust the large syringe forcefully into the old man’s heart.
Fori was startled and took a step back. Her body trembled as she witnessed the person in the red robe drawing blood directly from the old man’s dying heart and pouring it into a smaller silver cup. Fori was even more shocked when she saw them pouring the old man’s blood from the silver cup into Sega’s mouth, all while murmuring mysteriously. She wanted to scream, but her throat felt constricted.
The hooded figures congregated around the old man, their movements indicating a solemn farewell. With a collective gesture of reverence, they bowed halfway, placing their right hands on their left shoulders simultaneously, as the old man emitted another weak cough.
This time, the old man raised his right hand towards the sky, as if reaching for the silver light, before finally taking his last breath. As he passed away on his bed, a small wisp of silver smoke suddenly emerged from the man’s heart and swiftly entered Sega’s body.
Fori was stunned by what she witnessed, and unconsciously froze in place, causing the floorboards to creak beneath her. She tried to conceal herself, but the person in the red robe had already spotted her from the center. Their gaze bore into Fori, paralyzing her with fear. She remained frozen as the person in the red robe appeared to move slowly towards her.
The eyes peering through the red robe were yellow and menacing, causing Fori to hold her breath in terror. But before the person in the red robe could draw any closer, a voice suddenly emanated from Sega’s mouth. All eyes turned towards Sega, including those of the figure in the red cloak, who momentarily diverted their gaze from Fori.
Seizing the opportunity, Fori fled in fear. She raced down the stairs and into the elevator, then out of the hospital and far away from there. Her small body trembled violently, and she was too terrified to look back. Somehow, that nighr, she felt it was the last time she would see her little friend Sega.
The next day
After what happened last night, Sega didn’t return to the orphanage. According to Sister Elsa, Sega was actually in good condition, contrary to Fori’s fears that Sega had been killed by a group of devil worshippers. The results of Sega’s head scan showed that there was nothing wrong with him, and that morning, the Director of the Immaculata Foundation informed them that Sega had been adopted.
Fori’s friend had been adopted by a wealthy foreign family who had just moved to their city. The foreign family also made a very large donation for the development of their orphanage. Sega himself was immediately taken to occupy a mansion-like house that had long stood on the hill, near the meadow they had been in yesterday. He didn’t even return to their orphanage to bid farewell.
Thinking that everything she had seen last night was just a dream, Fori tried to visit Sega’s new home, which was very beautiful with its very high iron gate. She hoped to see Sega, who was said to be very healthy. However, when she arrived there, she couldn’t enter because the front gate of the house was tightly closed without a bell or security guard.
The girl then climbed a large tree and leaped into the flower garden inside the luxurious house. She wanted to see her friend Sega once more before they truly parted ways. And Fori did see him.
Sega was running in the garden and playing with a large black dog nearby. There were several tall and handsome strangers surrounding Sega, laughing together with him. However, they didn’t call Sega by his name. They called him ‘Xynth’ and spoke to him in Ancient Latin language. Yet Fori knew very well that Sega couldn’t speak Ancient Latin language, but somehow he suddenly appeared very fluent in conversing with the strangers.
Fori intended to call Sega, but the large black dog suddenly sensed her presence and growled. A moment later, the dog quickly moved towards Fori to pounce on her. However, a lightning-fast movement from Sega stopped the dog in its tracks before it could attack Fori.
The boy seemed to command the dog to stay still, and the dog obediently complied within seconds. Fori stared in amazement at Sega before her, who was speaking in Ancient Latin language to the dog.
Her friend then looked at Fori expressionlessly, as if not recognizing her at all. What was more unsettling, somehow, Sega’s eyes were no longer black. Suddenly, his eyes changed color to silver, leaving Fori stunned as she gazed at him.
“Se-Sega?” Fori exclaimed in surprise at the color of Sega’s eyes. “Sega, are you okay?”
Sega looked at Fori with confusion, as if not understanding what Fori was saying at all.
“Who are you?” uttered the boy who just a day ago had been Fori’s best friend – with a gaze that was now cold and unfamiliar.
Optimized by Seraphinite Accelerator