Editor: Matsan
Proofreader: Lagged
Day one
"Give your salam[1] when coming in, Irfan,"
"Why should I, mom? It's not like there is anyone inside. We just came back anyway…"
"Just do it. Even if there is no one, other things are there…"
Irfan then gave salam and then entered the house that was empty for a week. His whole family had gone to their grandparents' house for a funeral.
"Assalamualaikum…" said Zakiah when she stepped in with her right foot.[2]
Zakiah put the bags near the stairs. She then took off her scarf and fanned her neck with it. It was hot and stuffy. It was as expected since the house was left with the windows closed for a week. At least that was what Zakiah thought.
"Honey… Can you open the windows? I feel hot," asked Zakiah towards her husband, Bakar.
"Eh… it's almost dusk."
"It's just for a short while. We'll close it when the adhan[3] call. I want to get out the heat…"
"Hmm… okay."
Just as Zakiah was about to head upstairs to take a shower and change clothes, the sound of someone giving salam was heard coming from outside.
"Who could that be, honey? Can you take a look?"
Bakar peeked through the window.
"It's a woman. Probably one of your friends. Go see what she came for."
"Sigh… Just who would come at this time?" complained Zakiah to herself as she grabbed her scarf.
As she opened the door, Zakiah saw a young and pretty girl wearing a blue kebaya.
"Waalaikummussalam… what's the matter?" asked Zakiah while heading to the gate to open it.
"You are aunt Zakiah, right?"
"Yes, that's me…"
"My name is Suraya. I'm a friend of Azwa."
"Oh… Azwa's friend. Why didn't she answer my call the last time I called her? I wanted to tell her that I wasn’t able to finish the baju kurung[4] that she ordered. There was a funeral back at my hometown and I had stayed for a week. Now that I've come back, I finally have some time to finish. Even so, it will still take a week," explained Zakiah.
"Oh, is that so? I came here to pass you a message. She said to call her."
Zakiah's forehead frowned.
"Why can't she call me herself?"
Suraya was silent. Suddenly, the sound of the Maghrib[5] adhan reverberated.
"I'll go home first, aunty. It's already Maghrib. Please call Azwa later, okay?" asked Suraya again before hastily leaving, disappearing around the lane behind Zakiah's house.
"What's wrong with that kid…?" asked Zakiah to herself.
Zakiah went back inside. Then, she grabbed her phone to call Azwa, one of her most loyal customers. However, just as she was about to press the green button to call, she realised that it was already Maghrib.
"It's not good to disturb people around this time. Maybe later."
Then Zakiah completely forgot to call Azwa until the next day.
Day Two
Zakiah sat in front of her sewing machine for the whole day, trying to finish Azwa's order that had been delayed by a week. The sky was getting darker. Zakiah stopped for a moment to prepare for Maghrib. She headed to the stairs. Before that, she passed by a window in front of the house. Zakiah stopped walking. She saw a figure standing in front of her house's gate. Zakiah quickly opened the door.
"Suraya?"
As Zakiah called out her name, Suraya whose head was facing down, raised her head and smiled.
"What are you doing here standing in front of my house? Why didn't you give salam?"
"I was about to but you saw me first…"
"Oh…" Zakiah observed Suraya from top to bottom. She was still wearing the same apparel as yesterday. Red kebaya Nyonya and blue batik.
"Why are you here?" asked Zakiah.
"I want to ask. Have you called Azwa?"
"Not yet. I was going to but forgot about it. Then I thought in doing it after her order is finished. I can tell her to come to take it as well."
"Don't, aunty… Don't wait too long. You need to hurry and call her…" asked Suraya as if she was pleading.
Again, Zakiah was confused. Why can't Azwa just call her herself?
"Very well. I'll call her tonight." Zakiah agreed.
"Thank you, aunty… I'll go back first."
"Okay."
Just like yesterday, Suraya was in a hurry while leaving and finally disappeared in the lane as the Maghrib adhan echoed. Zakiah could only shake her head.
"What kind of girl would walk around at this time…?"
Zakiah went back into the house. This time, she immediately called Azwa but it she did not reply no matter how many times she called.
Day Three
As usual, Zakiah was working hard in front of her sewing machine, still finishing Azwa's clothes. She was alone in her house. Her son went to a tuition class while her husband had yet to come back even when the sky was already dark.
Zakiah stopped for a moment. She looked at her phone next to the sewing machine, staring at it for long. There was an unpleasant feeling within Zakiah.
Just like before, Suraya came visiting her again with the same request. Asking her to call Azwa. Zakiah realized something strange was going on with Suraya. She comes at the same hour and every time she leaves immediately right before the Maghrib adhan. Zakiah also felt suspicious about why Suraya wore the same clothes every day. Red kebaya and blue batik. But when asked about it, Suraya said that she wore those clothes every day. Zakiah assumed that it was Suraya's work uniform. Maybe she worked at a beauty spa or a traditinal-themed restaurant.
Suddenly, Zakiah's house phone rang. She stood up and picked it up but there was no one on the other end of the line. There was only a buzzing noise. Zakiah put back the receiver and returned to her sewing table.
Crasshhh!!!
Zakiah's heart leapt out of her mouth. She rubbed her chest a few times. When she could finally breathe again, she went to look at what fell in the kitchen. Perhaps the huge pan that was hanging by the window. But as she entered the kitchen, everything was nice and quiet. Not one thing was touched. Zakiah felt something ominous. Goosebumps rose on her skin.
Just as she was about to leave, she heard knocking on the window that was covered with a curtain. Again, Zakiah's heart restarted to beat fast. It did not sound like the work of an animal. Only humans could make knocks like that.
"Who's knocking on my window this time of the night?"
Zakiah gathered her courage to get closer to the window. She said nothing, even though she wanted to know who was knocking since she knew that it should be impossible for somebody to be there. Behind her house there was a stone fence and beyond that a jungle. There were no other houses in that direction so no one would walk by.
Zakiah took a deep breath. The knocking sound gradually became louder. The soft and calm knocking was now fast and violent. It was as if someone who was in an emergency. As if someone needed help. As if they wanted to enter the house because they were chased by something.
Zakiah's body was shivering, her hands shaking. Only God knew how scared she was. Zakiah clutched the curtain's fabric and with a deep inhale, she pulled the curtain open in one fell swoop.
"HEEEEEEEEEELPP!!!!"
"Oh, Allah!" cried out Zakiah as she saw a girl covered in blood yelling for help as she knocked on Zakiah's window.
Zakiah immediately ran to help the injured girl. She opened the kitchen door and went out. However, when Zakiah stepped a foot outside… there was nobody there.
Zakiah entered back inside, shutting the door and locking it. She recited the shahadah repeatedly. Her knees went weak and she fell down on her bottom. Her gaze was directed nowhere in particular. She did not know what to think, still seeing the face of the bloodied girl in her mind. Zakiah tried to remember her face but failed as the girl's face was covered by her long hair.
Zakiah's phone rang again. This time, it was her mobile phone. She quickly got up to answer it. Zakiah smiled as she saw the name of Azwa in the display.
"Assalamualaikum Azwa. I tried calling you for days but the line never connected. I wanted to tell you that your orders aren't ready yet but I'll try to finish this week, is that okay?"
…silence.
"Hello? Azwa… Azwa…?" Zakiah called out a few times but Azwa was silent.
Then, the line was cut. Zakiah try to call again but no one answered.
Day Nine
Zakiah was doing laundry outside since the sun was shining brightly that day. It was not as cloudy as usual. Suddenly, she was greeted by a man who was standing outside of her gate.
"Assalamualaikum, aunty.."
"Waalaikummussalam…"
"My name is Sahar. I'm looking for my younger sister, Suraya. This is her picture. She's been missing for a week now. Perhaps you've seen her around? We live in a nearby housing area."
Zakiah took the picture given by the man.
"Azwa's friend…?" exclaimed Zakiah in surprise.
"Have you seen her? Her name is Suraya…" said the man with hope shining in his eyes.
"Yes… She comes to my house every evening, saying that she's a friend of one of my customers."
"Really? How is her condition?"
"She looked fine to me."
"Alhamdulillah… Aunty, can you give me her friend's number? Maybe Suraya was staying at her place without tell us. I'll try to look for her there."
Zakiah then gave Azwa's phone number to the man.
"One more thing. If Suraya comes here again, could you tell her that our whole family is worried? And if possible, can you give me a call?"
Zakiah simply nodded.
Dusk…
This time, Zakiah waited at the door. She was confident that Suraya would come because for the past eight days, she never failed to do so. Each time giving the same message from Azwa.
The expected happened. Suraya slowly walked to Zakiah's house. Before she could say anything, Zakiah spoke to her.
"Suraya. Your brother, Sahar, came looking for you this afternoon. You ran away from your house didn't you?" asked Zakiah.
Suraya dropped her head in silence.
"How about you come inside with me? We'll call your brother and tell him to pick you up. He's worried about you…" said Zakiah while pulling on Suraya's hand. Yet, Suraya did not budge. Her body was as stiff as a stone. Zakiah released Suraya's hand. She wiped her hand on a piece of cloth. The girl's hand was as cold as ice.
"I can't do that right now…" said Suraya.
"Why not?"
"Azwa needs me. Just as she needs you. We need to help her…"
"What’s wrong with Azwa?"
"Aunty, you gotta help her… Please call her. That's the only way we can save her."
"What are you talking about? Besides, I tried calling her every day but she didn't pick up the calls," explained Zakiah even though she started feeling something strange.
"You need to call her in the kitchen. In the kitchen… It can't be from anywhere else!" cried Suraya while breaking into tears.
The Maghrib adhan resounded. Suraya kneeled there while covering her face. She wept in her cry.
"Suraya… calm down. Okay, I'll do it. I'll do it right now."
Zakiah rushed inside. She turned to look at Suraya but found that Suraya was no longer there. Strange. But she knew what to do. Grabbing her phone, she immediately went into the kitchen.
Zakiah called Azwa. Unanswered, as usual. However, Zakiah suddenly detected something. A ring. The sound of a phone ringing. It ended just as Zakiah's call with Azwa ended. Zakiah called Azwa again. The same thing happened. Zakiah heard the sound coming from behind her kitchen. It was a muffled sound. As if the phone was buried under something.
Zakiah looked around for a few minutes until she realised that the sound became louder when she stood above a patch of land that looked like it had been recently ploughed based on the lack of grass on it. She noticed it only now since her family rarely went to the back of their house. There was nothing there but a rusted hoe that was left unused for a long time.
Zakiah called Azwa again. It was unmistakable. The ring came from that area. Zakiah went down on her knees and started digging. The deeper she dug, the louder the ring became.
Suddenly, Zakiah felt something soft and cold touching her skin. Zakiah digged it out.
"Aaaarrrgghhhh!!!" screamed Zakiah.
Protruding from the ground was a pale hand holding a ringing phone.
The girl wearing a red kebaya and blue batik hid behind a large tree near Zakiah's house. She could see many police car and people rushing, surrounding the house. The girl released a relieved breath. Azwa's body was found. Now, Suraya's body… and Azwa's soul could return to where they belong.
-End-
Before Munir could close the novel in his hand, he got a call from his station.
"I need to go back to KL mom…"
"Tonight?"
Munir nodded.
"Why?" questioned Ramlah. She closed the Quran in front of her.
"It's a long story mom…"
"Shorten it."
"You must have found it strange that I stayed here longer than usual, right?"
Ramlah nodded, awaiting her son to explain.
"I was actually suspended from work."
"Astaghfirullahalazim… Why?"
"One night as I was patrolling, I saw a couple arguing. So I tried to stop them. But then the boyfriend wanted to hit me. He attacked me so I punched him back. He was lucky I didn't put him in jail. But then, we found out that the kid was a son of some Dato'[6]. Someone important, or so they say. That Dato' then made a report on me, causing me a suspension for no reason.
Ramlah shook her head a few times, pitying her son. Ramlah knew. Although Munir was hot-headed, he was also a responsible person. He would never do something bad, not to mention breaking the laws.
"Hmm… it's fine, Munir. That's commonplace when working under someone. So, why are you rushing to go back tonight?"
"Ha… now, this I have to tell you. Apparently, the girl who I saved that time was reported missing on that very night. But last night, her body was found buried behind a tailor's house. For now, the main suspect is her boyfriend. Since I was the last person who saw them together that night, fighting, the investigators want to hear my testimony. I may be an important witness."
"My… to think that it's like that. Poor girl…" said Ramlah.
"Yea. But no matter what, I'm satisfied. The guy who caused me to be suspended is now rotting in jail as a murder suspect. In his face!" said Munir with contempt.
"Hey! That's bad, Munir! You should sympathise with the girl that was killed. By the way, what's the girl's name?"
Munir was silent. Answering that question was harder than what it should.
"I'm asking you what is her name. I want to recite the al-Fatihah [7] for her…" Ramlah repeated her question.
"Her name is… Azwa," Munir answered while his eyes moved to the black novel on the table near him.
"Are you okay, Munir? You look pale…"
"I'm fine. Just a bit of a headache. Where's Adib, mom? I want to tell him to get ready."
"You're taking him as well?"
"What else?"
"You can leave him with me."
"No can do. I need to report about him to the station as well."
"Why? It's obvious his grandma left him there. Even if you make a report, best case scenario, he would be sent to an orphanage. It's better if we take care of him ourselves. I myself had been wanting a grandkid for some time…"
"This country has laws, mom. Adib is someone else's child. Not just a random kitten that you can pick up and bring back as you wish…"
Ramlah agreed even though she was dissatisfied. She couldn't understand why Munir wouldn't just adopt Adib. Even Adib looked to be comfortable and happy living with them.
Munir stood up to get Adib that was playing by himself in the room. Munir packed everything that he needed and then went back to Kuala Lumpur as his superior instructed.
In the car, Munir repeatedly brooded over the information given to him through the phone regarding the case. This matter reminded him of Azwa's face when he met her more than a week ago. In his memory, her tears were still fresh during her fight with her lover. Her eyes showed deep sorrow as if asking to be saved. Suddenly, a tinge of regret appeared in Munir's heart. If only he did not leave the girl with her boyfriend that night. If only Munir was sterner in handling the matter. Perhaps Azwa today would still be alive.
Munir's heart was torn when he heard the early report of Azwa's death. After Munir settled their argument, the two went someplace else for a discussion. A discussion that escalated into a bigger fight. Everything was because of one SMS in Azwa's phone that she got from a colleague. Her boyfriend accused her of cheating because of that SMS. Azwa explained repeatedly that the SMS meant nothing but because of jealousy and the whispers of the devil, her boyfriend succumbed to his anger and lost his sanity for a moment. He slammed Azwa's head on the car's windshield. Azwa died instantly. Her boyfriend who was panicking dragged her body behind a terrace house, dug a shallow hole and then buried her there. Fortunately, the house owner found her body a few days after they came back from their hometown. If not, Azwa's disappearance would remain as a mystery.
Mystery…
That word suddenly came out of Munir's lips. He sighed. Munir had never put any value in that word. Mysterious things never existed in his personal vocabulary. To Munir, mysterious things were merely a topic in conversations to have a laugh. But now… perhaps he would be the one being laughed at. If he told anyone, not one person would believe him. Some of the stories in the black novel became reality. It should be impossible since the novel was written a long time ago. Munir did not even know who the author was. It couldn’t be a prophetic book. And even if it was one, why were the stories about him and his life? Why did the stories in the novel brought up relevant and important questions to him? Mentioning people that he knew and loved. Talking about Suraya and her death. Condoning incomprehensible matters. And Adib was not helping one bit in decreasing his headaches regarding the old book. Any question asked would be met with a rise of his shoulders.
The only thing that kept Munir sane was Suraya. At least Suraya was still alive. Nothing happened to her. She was as healthy as always. This meant that the stories were pure nonsense. Even if they were a prediction, the prediction was inaccurate. As long as Suraya was alive, the stories in the novel would stay fictitious. Mere fantasies. The similarities between the stories and reality were merely a coincidence. That was how Munir was trying to assure himself, even though the abnormality surrounding the novel was hard to ignore. That and the strange things that have happened ever since he started reading the novel.
The next day…
Suraya arrived at Munir's house early in the morning. She missed her lover a lot. Suraya was also excited to meet Adib who Munir had been talking about ever since he went back to his hometown. Suraya was very happy with Adib's presence because she really liked children.
"Adib, do you want to follow big sis Sura to do some sightseeing?"
Adib nodded happily.
"Munir… just leave Adib with me. You have to go to the station today, right?" suggested Suraya.
Munir did not answer. He stared long at the face of his girlfriend.
"Munir… why do you look at me like that?" asked Suraya. She had never seen Munir acting like this. All this time, he would rarely ever look at her face.
"I missed you, Suraya…" expressed Munir.
Suraya was shocked. She could not hide her expression of surprise from her face.
"Munir… this is the first time you said something like that…"
"I know… I'm sorry that I never expressed my feelings to you all this time, Sura. But you know, right? I really love you… "
Sura nodded while covering her mouth. She was moved. Although she knew it, hearing it from Munir's own lips made her so joyous that tears flowed down her eyes.
Munir pulled Suraya into his arms. He kissed her forehead. Just reading about Suraya's death in the black novel was enough for him to realise that he could not bear losing her. Let it happen only in the story. Don't let Suraya die in reality. Munir would become crazy if it really happen.
Munir waved to Adib and Suraya as the blue Kancil[8] left his house. Then, he jumped into his car and went to the police station to settle the case of Azwa's murder.
Munir stayed at the police station for the whole day even though he was suspended. Yet, he did not complain even a bit. Munir took it as his responsibility to Azwa. Things became better for him in the evening as he received a notice from the higher-ups that he could start working again next week. Munir was also allowed to take care of Adib until his legal guardian was found. This consecutive good news made Munir clasp his hands in gratefulness.
Munir laid his body on the sofa the moment he got home. He was very tired. Munir called Suraya to ask how she was doing and was told that she was having fun with Adib. They had just finished watching a movie. Adib was thrilled as he had never gone to a cinema before. They were planning to fill their stomach at KFC next. Munir was relieved hearing that. At least now Adib was no longer lonely since Suraya knew how to entertain people, unlike himself who was always serious and boring.
Munir turned to his right and saw his luggage that was still packed. Then he remembered that the novel was in the bag. Munir took out the novel that lately has been disturbing him emotionally, He decided to just throw it in the trash.
But when he was in front of the trash can, the novel for some reason got stuck to his hand. It was as if he did not want to let it go. Munir inspected the novel again. He went through the pages because of his curiosity.
"There are not many pages left…" said Munir to himself.
And so, just like a drug addict who was on withdrawal that finally got himself another shot, Munir immediately started reading the novel even though he knew that the novel would do no good to his life. In fact, it would bring only troubles.
[1] Salam: The term for the Islamic greetings 'assalamualaikum'.
[2] Right foot: Muslims are taught to start any activity using the right side of the body with some exceptions.
[3] Adhan: Mosque's call, five times a day, for mandatory worship.
[4] Baju kurung: Female version of the baju melayu. Traditional Malay costume commonly used as uniform in certain establishments and as school uniform as well.
[5] Maghrib: Just after the sunset prayer.
[6] Dato' or Datuk: Dato' is an owner of a Datoship award, granted due to contribution to the local government. Can be conferred only by a hereditary royal ruler of one of the nine Malay states. The closer equivalent would be the UK's knighthood.
For more information:
[7] Al-Fatihah: The first verse from the Quran that means the opener. Recited in various situations.
[8] Perodua Kancil: City car manufactured by Malaysian automobile manufacturer Perodua from August 1994 to 2009.