Within a dream.
"Please, don't do this to me. Don't sell this house, it's the only thing left from Bening's parents, Uncle," a woman pleaded to someone she referred to as Uncle.
She knelt at her uncle's feet, sobbing uncontrollably, begging him not to sell the family home.
"You've already signed it. This house is officially ours now," replied the man called Uncle by the woman named Bening. "In that case, I will report you to the police for defrauding your own niece," Bening stated firmly with a threatening tone.
"Just forget it, Hon. Let's get rid of her quickly. That way, all of her inheritance will fall into our hands," said a middle-aged woman who was none other than the wife of the uncle Bening was addressing.
Beside the middle-aged woman sat a young girl with a look of arrogance.
The girl whispered something into her mother's ear that brought a sly smile to her mother's face.
"Dad, we don't need to sell the house as long as Bening is willing to...." the middle-aged woman deliberately trailed off. "Willing to what, Aunt? Whatever it is, I will do it to save the memory of the house I shared with my father and mother," Bening said, sensing a glimmer of hope.
With tears still streaming down her cheeks, Bening wiped them away with the back of her hand.
"I'll tell you later. For now, go to your room and I will follow with your younger cousin," commanded the Aunt.
Bening frowned, confused about what her aunt and younger cousin intended to do.
Feeling like she had no choice, Bening complied and entered her room. A few minutes later, the door to Bening's room opened, revealing her cousin striding arrogantly toward Bening.
In her cousin's hand was a kebaya outfit. It was unclear what her cousin intended to do by bringing the kebaya into her room.
"Put this on, now!" ordered the younger cousin to Bening.
"But why?" Bening asked, genuinely wanting to refuse.
"Are you going to put it on?!" her cousin snapped harshly.
"No. I don't want to wear it. Why should I wear such clothes?" Bening replied, gaining courage.
"Put it on now, Bening!" her aunt demanded harshly as she entered the room.
Bening obeyed and changed into the kebaya outfit in the bathroom.
Once finished, Bening emerged from the bathroom wearing the kebaya.
Beautiful, with her year-long hair flowing elegantly.
Dimas, who dreamed of her, was stunned by the beauty of the woman named Bening.
"Wake up, Dimas! Wake up!"
"Thief! Thief!"
Splash! Splash! Splash!
Dimas frantically woke up from his dream.
Dimas wiped his face, which had been splashed with water three times.
"What's the matter with you guys? It's mean to just douse your friend with water while he's asleep," Dimas grumbled, annoyed with his two friends' antics.
"Well, it's because you were smiling in your sleep. Who were you dreaming of, huh?" Satrio asked, his smile annoying. "What's wrong with you both? I had the strangest dream," said Dimas, trying to recall his dream's content.
"What did you dream about exactly?" Riko asked curiously. "It's strange. If you hadn't woken me, I might have finished the dream," Dimas replied irritatedly, quickly getting up from the wet bed to change his clothes.
*
It was nine o'clock at night. The three men were still comfortably watching a soccer match on TV. As they had a day off tomorrow, they had agreed to stay up late.
As it turns out, plans were just plans because Riko and Satrio were feeling sleepy. "The match is almost over, I'll go to sleep then," Riko said as he excused himself.
"Me too. My eyes are really heavy," Satrio added, following Riko to their room.
Dimas just shook his head at his friends' behavior.
The ones eager to stay up late were also the first to succumb to sleepiness.
Dimas turned his attention back to the soccer match in front of him. However, suddenly, he noticed a silhouette of someone outside on the front porch.
Dimas strained his eyes to see the person more clearly.
But for some unknown reason, the lights went out, causing Dimas to panic.
"Riko! Satrio! Stop messing around. It's not funny," Dimas complained, feeling agitated.
Click.
The lights came back on, allowing Dimas to breathe a sigh of relief.
Since it was late, he decided it was best to go to sleep.
He got up from his seat and was startled to find Riko standing in front of the refrigerator.
"Are you thirsty, Rik?" Dimas asked calmly.
Riko remained silent, not answering Dimas's question.
"I'm heading to bed then, you turn off the lights later," said Dimas, ignoring Riko's silence.
Dimas walked towards his room. Before entering, he turned to look back at Riko, hoping to get a response.
When he looked back, the living room lights were off, and Riko was no longer there.
Dimas shrugged, unconcerned.
"Maybe Riko went back to his room already," Dimas mumbled to himself.
Then he opened his bedroom door and closed it behind him once inside.
Dimas lay down on his bed, and soon his eyes became heavy, and he fell asleep.
The next day, Dimas woke up early even though it was his day off. He had to get up for his morning prayers.
After finishing his prayer and reading the Qur'an, Dimas reached for his phone to catch up with his parents.
About an hour later, he stepped out of his room for breakfast.
Dimas imagined his friends would still be asleep.
But he was wrong, they were already up and sitting on the front porch enjoying their coffee and some snacks on the table.
"Why are you guys up already?" Dimas asked when he approached them.
Dimas intentionally joined them on the porch for a chat to strengthen their friendship.
"You drank really quickly last night, didn't you, Rik? I looked back, and you weren't there, then I asked and you just stayed silent," Dimas said, annoyed and looking at his friend.
"What did you ask? I didn't wake up at all last night to get a drink," Riko revealed, making Dimas's mouth hang open.
"You must have been dreaming, Dim. Last night I saw you sleeping in the living room with the TV still on," Satrio chimed in, making Dimas's heart beat abnormally fast.
"I didn't sleep in the living room. After you guys went to your room, I went to my room to sleep," Dimas stated truthfully.
The three of them looked at each other with confusion, not understanding the situation they found themselves in.
"So, who was standing in front of the fridge last night?" Dimas asked, his face turning pale.
"And if it wasn't Dimas sleeping in front of the TV, who was it?" Satrio questioned, equally baffled.
Satrio and Dimas turned questioning glances toward Riko, who was still staring ahead silently.
Then Riko spoke up to answer his friends' inquiries.
"There's someone trying to disturb us, and they are the guardians of this government house," Riko revealed.
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