A whispering tree…
To those who listen,
Touching branches,
To those who feel,
Caressing leaves,
To the crestfallen,
In silence the tree whispers,
Embracing every passing soul,
Inside a forest like an orchestra,
Merging whispers forming a song,
Cutting a small heart!
Clenching a breath!
Strangling a mind!
Until the only thing left felt,
Are only the whispering trees…
Munir's finger speedily changed the radio channel, making a profound poem change to a rock song that pierced the ears. Munir never liked the literature channel. He had never even tuned in to it but for some reason, after turning on the car radio as he started his journey, that channel basically filled the entirety of his Proton Gen2. Even stranger was that Munir, who never had any interest in literature or poetry, did not immediately change the channel. Instead, he was silent… and ordered his mind to empty for a moment so as to make space for a gruff voice of a man talking about trees.
For the first time in his life, Munir actually paid attention to something artsy. For the first time in his life, Munir opened his heart to something fine and filled with mystery. For the first time he tried understanding something that's implicit. But with the end of the poem recital, he realised that he was not being himself. He's not someone with a soul for art, someone who spent their time with fine things that were considered trivial. Even if you explain it with his personality, he's the type that vehemently opposed those things. He's a practical man. Someone who only responded to black and white. His food was facts. His drinks were clear information. Presumably, living 5 years as a police officer had cemented his personality as so. Hard and cold.
Entertainment for Munir was something that's clear and significant, not something that needed special attention and appreciation. It's not entertainment for him if thinking was involved. What did that old man in the radio mean? A whispering tree? Nonsense! Trees don't have human characteristics. They're merely a life form that scientifically existedfor the sake of balancing the ecosystem. Giving oxygen and food. That's why Munir hated literature. Or anything that contained artistic characteristics or values. But for some unknown reason today, he was willing to spend six minutes of his precious time listening to the poem about whispering trees. His ears were as if they were snared. His heart attracted. His hands were heavy to change the channel, as long as the poetry had yet to reveal its meaning. For six minutes, it was as if he was petrified, becoming a different person for a moment, before finally returning to himself.
Munir shook his head hard, trying to throw the poem out of his mind. He increased the radio's volume until the rock song from his favourite band shook the car's mirror. Munir smiled while shaking his head. Sometimes he laughed. It was fun listening to lyrics that only spoke of aggression and sexy women. Perhaps two things in the world that greatly piqued his interest. Aggression was the norm in his life considering his occupation and women were what every man in the world yearned for. For as long as he had lived his adult life, only those two things alternating between them. Work and women. Like a strong weave forming a mat that became his very being.
Suddenly, his phone rang. Munir grabbed his hands free and put it on his ear.
"Hello."
"Assalamualaikum…"[1] a soft voice of a woman came from the other side of the line.
"Waalaikummussalam."[2] Munir answered with a flat voice.
"Have you reached the village?"
"Not yet. It's still quite a distance away."
"Where are you now?"
"I've just arrived at Pahang."
"Oh… have you eaten before moving?"
"Yes."
"What did you eat?"
"Sura, I'm driving."
"Oh, sorry…"
"I'll call you later when I arrive."
"Okey… you…"
"Hmm?"
"I love you…"
"Yup!"
A red button was pressed, ending the call. Munir smiled. He was happy getting a phone call from Suraya. He felt touched with the caring personality of his lover. However, it was in his nature to not show those emotions. He's always serious. Strict. Far from being a romantic. Only God knew how much he loved that woman. It's true. Only God knew since even Suraya had never heard words of love coming from Munir's lips. During the 4 years they were together, Munir had never once spoken love. When Suraya was the one saying it, Munir simply nodded or affirmed it, acting stubborn, locking his lips from saying those sacred words. Other women would not have tolerated Munir's emotionless personality. In fact, some of his past lovers even mentioned that even robots had more emotions than Munir. But Suraya was different. To her, love meant accepting everything, be it good or bad. More importantly, even though Munir never said or showed it, Suraya knew that he loved her because true love would show. Even when it's buried in the deepest sea.
Munir slowed down his car. His neck turning, looking around. The area was alien to him. He had never gone through it when going back to his hometown all this while.
Did I take the wrong road?
Munir drove carefully. The car became slower when he realised he had entered a rural area. His eyes wildly observing, in case there's a villager that he could ask help pointing the way for him. The area was quiet. Munir drove his car in front of an old house. His car had passed it but he reversed back, stopping directly in front of the house. Munir got out of the car. His eyes pointing straight to the stairs of the old wooden house. Then, he looked around. No one. His eyes went to the stairs back. There's a kid there. A boy. The boy sat there alone. His head craned downwards, reading a book. Hiding his face, Munir walked closer to the kid.
Before saying anything, he observed the condition of the kid. His clothes were shabby. His palms were filled with dirt that it entered the gap of his nails. His legs and knees were coated with dried mud.
"Little brother…"
The boy was silent.
"Little brother… what are you doing here?"
Still no response.
Munir sat on the stairs next to the boy.
"Do you live here?" Munir asked that question even though it seemed unlikely from his observation since the house was too run-down. It's as if it was abandoned.
The boy shook his head.
"Who did you come here with?"
The boy lifted his head, showing his face to Munir. Calm. Too calm. His eyes were hollow as if they were emotionless.
"Who did you come here with?" Munir repeated his question.
"With grandma…" the boy answered quietly.
"Oh, where's your grandma?"
The boy pointed a finger towards the house.
Munir stood up. He pushed the door that was ajar and entered. The house was complete with furniture like any other house. However, all of them were covered with dust and cobwebs. There were a few bags filled with clothes in the living room. Munir saw that on one of those bags was a white headscarf. Probably the kid's grandma's, he thought.
Munir checked the house thoroughly. Every inch of it was dilapidated. It's definitely been abandoned for years. Munir looked until he reached the back area. Strange, there was not even a shadow of the kid's grandma. Munir went back to the front, sitting back at his place next to the boy on the stairs.
"Do you know where your grandma went to?"
The kid shrugged.
Munir sighed. His head did not stop observing his surroundings. Still, there was no one. He didn't have the heart to just leave the kid there. The house was old and there's no other house nearby. What if something bad happened? Munir decided to stay there until the grandmother came back for her grandchild.
Two hours passed. In his heart, Munir cursed the old woman who had the heart to leave a young child for two hours in the old house. Munir made a plan. He'll wait another 30 minutes. If the old woman did not come back, he'll bring the child with him.
Another half an hour passed. Munir asked the boy who was silent the whole time to follow him. The boy followed without any question.
Before taking the boy away, Munir decided to ask around if anyone knew the boy. However, after circling the village and asking everyone he saw, no one knew who the boy was. When asked about the house, everyone said that it had been abandoned for seven years.
"How old are you?" Munir asked while patting the boy who showed confusion on his face.
"Seven years old…"
"Sven years old?" Munir wanted confirmation.
The boy nodded.
In his mind Munir inadvertently related the boy's age and the period the house was abandoned for. Seven years.
It's probably a coincidence…
Munir denied it. He can't be bothered about trivial things at this moment. Now, he needed to think about what to do with the kid.
Before leaving the village, Munir left a note containing his name and phone number in case the grandmother of the kid went back looking for her grandchild.
The clock struck 11.35. For some reason, the journey this time felt so long. Along the road, there were many hindrances and troubles. A tyre flattened. The engine smoked. And many others. A journey that should have taken six hours had now reached 11 hours.
"It's good thing you're here, Adib… I didn't become so bored," said Munir while patting Adib's head next to him. Finally, after asking and coaxing for a while, the boy finally told Munir his name. Adib. Even then, that's the only answer that Munir got, compared to the tens of questions that he asked from the moment he met Adib at the abandoned house.
Munir rubbed his eyes a few times. The amount of time he yawned was uncountable. He was truly sleepy but he forced his eyes to stay open. He did not want to lose against his tiredness. He did not want to stop again. He's tired of it. He's been stopping countless times on the way because of various reasons. This time, he was determined to not stop again. So be it if he's sleepy. What's important was that the journey must go on. So that this tiring day would quickly end.
Munir turned on the car's hi-beam so that he could see further in the distance. Going through rural roads was really challenging, especially in this pitch black night. At times, Munir would look to his side to make sure that Adib was doing fine. The usual. He simply sat there in silence while reading a worn-out book. He didn't even want to sleep. He's been like that since the beginning. His eyes were focused only on those old pages. Only during times when Munir talked to him would Adib turn and show his face. When Munir smiled at him, Adib would reciprocate with a brief and bland smile.
"Aren't you sleepy, Adib? You should sleep first. It would still take a while before we reach there…"
Adib was silent. His eyes focused to the front. Munir divided his sight to the road in front and Adib. Adib's face looked worried; making Munir glance at him a few times. There were even times when his eyes went off the road.
"Are you okay Adib?"
Adib kept his silence. Suddenly, he raised his right hand slowly and pointed forward. Munir turned his head. God knows how, in the middle of the road, there was a woman standing straight. Her head craned downwards. The long-haired woman was still and frozen without a single movement. Munir was shocked. He quickly stepped on the brakes hard. His car screeched and spun a few times before stopping at the roadside. Just a little bit more and it would've hit a big tree near the forest.
Munir tried inhaling but failed. His chest waved, too scared to even breathe. He massaged his chest a few times while reciting "istighfar"[3]. Munir looked to his left, wanting to make sure that Adib was fine. He felt relieved seeing that Adib was not affected at all. However, his relief was only for a moment as he felt that Adib was too calm. As if nothing happened.
Munir unbuckled his seatbelt and alighted. His mind only hoped that the woman was safe. Munir walked to the middle of the road, covered in darkness, where the woman stood. However, she was no longer there. Munir looked around. Still, no one. The light on his phone became his flashlight. Still, there truly was nobody there. Strange.
Munir simply stood there for a while. He's confused, not knowing what to do. He started questioning what he saw. Was it really there or it merely existed in his eyes? There's only one way to figure that out.
"Adib… did you see the woman earlier?"
Adib shook his head.
"I didn't see anything," answered the boy, nonchalant.
"But you're the one who pointed it out to me."
Adib shrugged.
"Did you remember? While I was looking at you, you told me to look in front. You raised your hand and pointed as if there's something on the road. When I looked, there's a woman there. Right?"
"I don't know. I didn't see anything."
Munir sighed, perplexed with Adib's answer but there's nothing he could do about it. Then, Munir wiped off the cold sweat that covered his forehead. Sweat that appeared because of his disturbed mind and heart that's unwilling to accept the situation.
After taking a few minutes to calm down and rationalise, Munir started the engine back and continued driving. Images of the woman kept appearing in his mind nonstop throughout the journey. Various reasoning and theories were formed but he could not accept even one of them. 12 midnight. In the middle of the road in a forest with no nearby settlement. A woman. Alone. Standing still in the middle of the road in the darkness. What's the explanation for that? What was she doing there and where did she disappear off to? Every question floated in Munir's head unanswered.
"Ah… there must be an explanation for it…" thought Munir to persuade himself. Even so, his heart could not accept the persuasion. The brain said something different while the instinct felt something else. The brain said that there's a logical explanation. The instincts told that something very wrong and strange was happening. Which should Munir trust?
The more he thought, his personality who only see the clear and truth gradually calmed his mind. To him, thoughts that came from the mind were the truth. Instincts, on the other hand, were never proven scientifically on its accuracy. In the end, Munir managed to find his bearing regarding the situation. The thing that happened earlier was something normal and had its own logical explanation.
"Maybe it's a lost, crazy person… Yes. That's definitely the explanation," said Munir, confident.
2.30 Sharp, they finally arrived at their destination. Munir called the house phone and asked his mother to open the door.
"Assalamualaikum, mom. How are you?" Munir grabbed Ramlah's hand as the wooden door open.
"I'm good. Why did you arrive so late?" that's the first question from Ramlah though in truth she was more interested in knowing about the boy that her son brought with him.
"It's a long story, mom." Munir grabbed his bag and prepared to go in. However, just before he took a step in, Ramlah stopped him.
"What's wrong, mom? You're not letting me enter?"
Ramlah's eyes were wild, looking around the surroundings.
"Stay outside for a bit. Recite the al-kursi verse[4] three times and blow around you. Only then should you enter," she instructed.
Munir obeyed and took back his right leg.
"Come, child. You should come in first. Don't want to catch a cold now, do we? Brother Munir will enter later…" said Ramlah while softly pulling Adib's shoulder.
"Whose kid did you bring back?" Ramlah had the time to question Munir before entering alongside Adib. Munir whose mouth was muttering, reciting the al-kursi verse stopped a moment to answer.
"I'll tell you all about it later. Help clean him a bit, Give him a change of clothes," requested Munir. Ramlah nodded. Even if she wasn't asked, she was already planning to do so. It was obvious how dirty and messy Adib was. Thus, her first instinct as a mother was to bathe and change the kid's shirt before putting him to sleep. And that's exactly what she did. She even combed his hair neatly and powdered him layers. After laying him down on a bed and covering him with a blanket, Adib immediately fell asleep. He was probably very fatigued.
When she exited Munir's bedroom, Ramlah grabbed her son. Explanations were needed. Munir who was sitting in the living room was shocked by a hard pat from his mother.
"What is it, mom? Can't it wait till tomorrow? I'm tired…" complained Munir.
"Nonsense! There are many things that you have to tell me."
"What things?"
"He's actually asking… The kid that's sleeping in your room, whose child is he? Why was he in such a bad condition? What not with his clothes covered with dirt? Where did you find him?"
"He was left by his grandma. I took him in while looking for her. Pity…"
"Tsk tsk tsk… to think that his grandma would do that to him. And here we are praying day and night for a grandchild. She's already got one, and yet she could just abandon him. Tsk… how unacceptable."
Munir simply nodded with his eyes closed, complying with his sleepiness.
"Oi, wake up!" Again, Ramlah slapped Munir's shoulder. This time, she even twisted his stomach.
"Mom, that hurts… What more do you want…?"
"This… why did you all of a sudden decided to come back. I know you well. If there's nothing, then you wouldn't come back. If you're in a rush coming back, it means that there must be a problem. What's wrong? Did you have a fight with Suraya? No need to explain. No matter what, I'll be on Suraya's side."
"Is that how it is? Who's you child now? Me or her?"
"I can already guess it. Everytime you two fight, it's always your fault. It's because you're my child that I know. Your personality is really bad. Suraya is such a good person. If you two fight, it's definitely you who caused it. I know Suraya. She never causes troubles. It's always you. Undeniably!"
Munir ignored her. Truthfully, he can't help but nod inwardly hearing his mother's words.
"Hah. So did you really have a fight with Suraya?"
"No."
"Really?"
"Yes… we're doing fine."
"Hmm… that's good. I want to advise you. Take care of Suraya properly. It's not easy finding a woman who's willing to bear with your personality. Hot tempered, high ego, crass, insensitive…"
"Any more?" Munir interjected.
"Ridiculing me? To summarise, since someone's interested in you, take care of her properly. Especially someone as perfect as Suraya. She has a good face and a good personality, unlike you. Even though you have good looks, you personality… Goodness…"
"Eheh… you're saying I'm handsome eh?" Munir teased while grinning.
"Yeah. As handsome as a cupboard. Enough. Go to sleep. Wash your feet. I'll wake you up for subuh prayer," Ramlah returned her son's teasing with a sick burn.
"Like a cupboard she says…" complained Munir, alone. Ramlah smiled with satisfaction. It's been a long time since she teased her son. She missed it a lot.
Munir opened his eyes. He looked to the left. The passenger seat was empty. Adib was not there. Munir alighted from the car and went to the middle of the road. The woman was still there. Standing hunched with her head facing downwards. Adib was next to her, holding the hand of the mysterious woman. Munir neared the two. He pulled Adib's hand but Adib did not want to let go of the woman's hand. Munir pulled harder. Munir's action made the woman rose her head and shriek loudly, deafening Munir's ears. Munir covered both his ears. The woman kept on screaming with her mouth wide open. So wide that it showed her black teeth and bloody tongue. Her scream was getting sharper by the moment. The longer it lasted, the longer it became until finally the woman's body was lit by fire, licking from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. The woman struggled in agony. Her screeching nearly made Munir fall from terror.
"Arrgggghhhh!!!"
"Munir… Munir! Wake up!"
"Hah?! Mom, where am I?"
"In your room. You were dreaming… come, get up. Istighfar. It's almost dawn. Get up and pray."
Munir sat up and felt his body. It was drenched in sweat. He wiped his forehead and neck that was glistening with cold sweat. Looking at his right, Adib was sleep deep asleep. Munir adjusted the blanket and covered Adib's body properly before getting off the bed and going to the toilet to perform ablution.
"What dream was it? Seems so bad," asked Ramlah after finishing subuh prayer with her son.
Munir was hesitant in answering.
"I'm not sure…"
"Did something happen yesterday?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Just because…"
Munir stayed silent for a moment..
"I nearly hit a woman in the middle of the road. When I went looking for her, she wasn't there. Gone."
Ramlah was silent, her face serious.
"Why are you making that face, mom? It's nothing. Probably someone with a loose screw in the head…" continued Munir when noticing his mom's face changing after listening to his story.
Munir stood up and folded the prayer mat. When he walked past his mom, she suddenly grabbed his hand. She held it with a vice grip.
"Mom, what's wrong?" asked Munir who was shocked with his mom's action.
"I just want to remind you. We're not the only ones in this world. Sometimes humans are too arrogant, thinking that this world is theirs only."
Munir felt strange hearing the statement.
"What are you talking about? Ghosts?" asked Munir straightforwardly.
"Go watch over the kid…perhaps he's already awake," Ramlah changed the topic. She released Munir's hand and reached for a Quran by her side. The holy book was opened at a page bookmarked with a pointing stick. Munir watched his mother's strange behaviour without saying anything. He didn't know how to respond to that.
Munir went to his room to check on Adib. When opening the door, he heard voices of someone talking. Even stranger, one of the voices sounded like a woman's. Munir quickly opened the door. He saw Adib sitting cross-legged on the bed. It was as if there was something in front of him.
"Adib, who were you talking to?"
"With my mom…"
"But your mom isn't here."
"Yeah. She went away. She was afraid that you would see her," said Adib while pointing towards the window.
Munir was quick in switching his view towards the window that was clattering, blown by the morning wind.
It was the fourth day Munir stayed in his hometown. Of course, the happiest one was Ramlah since her son would usually stay for only a day or two before leaving. However, she never complained since she understood Munir's tight work schedule as a police officer.
Even so, she felt a bit weird as he still hadn't told her the reason for coming back this time. He didn't really talk much with Ramlah as well. As if he's avoiding something. All this time, he spent it mostly with Adib who after being together for a few days, finally showed a bit of friendliness.
Finished showering and wearing clothes, Munir combed Adib's hair and put some powder on his face. Munir is an only child. He had wanted a little brother for a long time and perhaps his age that had reach 27 years started making him thinking about having a family and child. Wanting a child of his own, it's s till uncertain when the time would come. It's not that he had no candidate. Suraya was patiently waiting. Money was not a problem. More than enough, actually, but Munir was still not prepared. He himself didn't know why. What he knew was that he's still not ready for it.
After he finished combing Adib's hair, Adib quickly jumped onto the bed and grabbed the story book that Munir saw since the first day he met Adib. The book never left him. He even used the thick book as a pillow.
"What book are you reading, Adib? I see that you're so engrossed with it…"
Adib looked at Munir with a sharp gaze. Then he smiled cynically.
"It's a collection of horror stories…" he replied.
"Can I take a look?" asked Munir.
Adib shook his head.
"Why?"
"I haven't finished reading it yet. Please take a number and wait for your turn…"
Munir laughed.
"No. I'm just gonna have a look. I'm not going to read it. I'll immediately give it back afterwards…"
Adib was sill hesitant, making Munir suspicious.
"Adib… I'm asking you nicely here. Can you please lend it to me for a bit?" asked Munir while holding out a hand to take the book.
Adib relented. He handed the book to Munir. Munir kept looking at the book. Its cover was black without any writing or pictures. Munir turned to the back. There's not even a synopsis. Munir then looked at what's inside. It shocked him that everything inside was written by hand.
"Where did you get this book, Adib?"
Adib shrugged. The same answer for many questions that were directed to him.
Seeing the strangeness of the novel, Munir decided to investigate its contents first before he allowed Adib to continue reading. It's no big deal. He was just worried that there might be something unsuitable for children in the novel. Especially since it's a horror novel. Perhaps there might be scenes that were a bit too extreme for kids. He was afraid Adib might not be able to sleep because of being too afraid. Munir knew that Adib sometimes talked by his lonesome self, especially at night. Perhaps Adib was influenced by the novel, making Munir surer in his decision to check the novel first before allowing Adib to read more of it.
At first, Adib rebelled when Munir 'confiscated' the novel. It was as if he had a special connection with the novel. As if it was too hard for him to separate with the novel.
"Let me take a look first. I want to see whether it's suitable for you to read. After I'm done, I'll give it back to you. I promise," said Munir. Adib simply glared at him with bloodshot eyes.
Munir moved to the veranda. With a cup of coffee and a pack of chips, he started reading the old novel…
[1] Muslim greetings.
[2] Reply to the greeting.
[3] Asking forgiveness from God (Allah)
[4] A verse recited to stay away from supernatural beings. Used in other situations as well, but I won’t go in-depth since it’s irrelevant to the current situation.
A new project. Another horror. I guess I’ll just become a horror translator eh?
This book is the first book of the Jangan baca Novel Ini/Don’t Read this Novel trilogy. This book is a bit different from the other two as it consists mainly of short stories with one main plotline that somewhat ties them together I guess. Ain’t gonna go into details cuz spoilers.
So, yeah. Hope you enjoyed this first release. Thank you for reading and I hope that you’ll continue this journey with me until the end.