Chapter 9: Polaroid (1)

Unfortunately, today she was occupied with her activities in school...

Some of the schedules and classes that she had to follow were so hectic, that she instantly forgot about what she was going to do with the dream.

She will take care of it later when she returns home…

On campus, Ria took part in various classes until the afternoon. She didn't want to be left behind because she was very excited about her study here.

In this place, no one seemed to bully her anymore .

In this place, no one saw her as if she was a disease.

Ria was very grateful to be able to live her new life in a positive environment like this.

For that, she must doing everything whole-heartedly.

When it was time to go home, Ria decided to walk as usual.

“Ria!…Wait!” Someone yelled, not too far behind her back, stopping him.

She looked back and saw Hans rushing towards her.

Ria was silent and waited for him. The man was seen jogging on his way while smiling at her.

"You walk so fast..." He said panting.

“I don't want to get home when it's dark…” Ria smiled a little.

Actually she was used to walking fast. She has been doing this for years and becomes a habit for her.

Because she had to walk away from people who stare at her and gossip about her as a child who brings bad luck.

Not to mention if she met guy who like to bully her.

Ria took a step back remembering her experience and trauma while living in the village.

She was on guard, if only Hans had the same intention.

They had just met and Hans seemed like a nice guy.

But she had already lost faith in other people.

Better to be wary than sorry for trusting someone else.

Just like what her cousin did to her...

Hans who saw Ria's reaction became a little uncomfortable, felt guilty.

"Err.. I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but I have something to say…" Hans smiled feeling guilty.

Ria calmed herself down.

She also felt bad for Hans who actually didn't do anything but she already thought of him as someone with bad intentions.

Well… It's just part of her self-defense…

“You don't need to apologize, you didn't do anything wrong…” Ria returned the man's smile.

"...What do you want to say?" she asked.

"So, ... for the welcoming party... I heard from some other friends that we will be asked to pair up there later... You know, as usual..."

He explained in a hurry. Ria heard it clearly, but she didn't understand some part of it.

Of course, she had never attended such event before.

“Pairs?…” Ria repeated the word. Her perfect brows furrowed in confusion.

In Hans' eyes, she was the cutest girl he had ever met.

“Yeah… Maybe there will be some kind of games there or something like that? But for sure we will be asked to pair up…” Hans tried to explain.

“Do… you want to pair up with me?…

….I mean, Loren and Thomas will be going together and the two of us too? So the four of us can stay close there?”

Somehow Hans knew a trick that would make Ria agree with his proposal.

Ria would have wanted it if Loren had also done it.

Ria actually wanted to ask if it was only for men and women in pairs.

But since Loren was already paired with Thomas she had no other choice.

She only knew Hans the closest among the other male students.

"Okay..." Ria nodded slowly.

"Okay! Thank you Ria!” Hans looked so excited, he couldn't even hide his happy expression.

Ria smiled a little seeing that reaction.

She  didn't had any idea that the man in front of her, had a big crush on her.

"Okay then, I'll go home first. Bye, Hans…” Ria waved her hand and wanted to turn around when his words held her back.

"Where do you live? Do you want…"

"My house is not far, only around here... Bye Hans..."

Ria interrupted Hans and waved once again.

With that she immediately left.

Hans actually wanted to chat with her longer or just drive her home to  spend more time together.

But Hans knew that Ria didn't want to be bothered any further.

This beautiful girl was indeed more introverted and didn't talk much.

He wanted to approach her further and didn't want to make Ria afraid of him.

**

All the way home, Ria slowed down and enjoyed the gentle breeze that hit her face softly.

She remembered what Hans said earlier.

Was the way she walk look weird? All this time, she had not realized it.

She looked around, saw vehicles and people passing by with their own activities.

Even though this day was full with lessons and classes that he had to attend. After walking and enjoying this view she could feel a bit relaxed.

Today was sunny. A light breeze blowing gently. Trees that stand neatly along the roadside sidewalk made the air fresher.

Not to mention the ornamental plants and flowers that adorn this highway. Make this city look full of shady and beautiful parks.

Despite being in the center of a bustling city, this place is not barren at all.

It is actually very beautiful and neatly arranged.

On the way, Ria passed a small restaurant that she had visited several times the other day.

Restaurant with the sign "Since 1992" is her favorite place to eat.

Apart from having a menu that suits her taste buds, the price is also not expensive.

She decided to just order food for today’s dinner.

Ria entered the restaurant and immediately ordered two servings of seafood fried-rice at the cashier's counter.

"Got a company for tonight?" Ask the friendly restaurant owner.

“Hehe…” Ria just answered with her awkward smile.

The owner of this restaurant is very kind. She is friendly with all her customers who are mostly students.

She was acquainted with Ria, the first time she came to this city.

The lady really likes to chat, Ria even already knows that this restaurant is a family business. She inherited it from her parents.

After her orders was done, she immediately went home.

**

Arriving at home, Ria immediately put her food in the kitchen.

It was getting dark. She turned on all the lights in the house except for the room she wasn't using. Not forgetting the garden lights outside.

Ria rushed to take a shower to freshen herself up.

After all was done, she went downstairs to enjoy her dinner.

She took one of the meal boxes she ordered and opened it.

She took a spoon and tasted it.

Delicious, as usual.

Ria then turned her gaze at another portion of the fried-rice...

Actually, Ria ordered two portions because she wanted to prove her suspicions.

…and she hoped it was wrong.

During the past week, whenever she made food or cooked anything, it would taste bland. No matter how much salt or sugar she put in.

But, if she cooked the second time, the taste would be normal.

Ria once made two small sized puddings to try out her theory. Sure enough, one of them tasted bland.

As for the other one, it was delicious, sweet and refreshing as usual.

This time, Ria wanted to try if she ordered food outside and brought it home.

She had already tasted one and this one tasted good. How about the other one?

Ria opened the box and tasted the fried rice.

Ah… It’s.. delicious…

She then took one more mouthful and chewed slowly. He did the same with the two servings of fried rice.

Both were delicious!

Ohh.. So it’s about the way she cook?

Ria shrugged her shoulders and felt even more relieved.

She brought the two boxes of fried rice in front of the television and planned to eat while watching some movie.

She was happy because nothing odd happen to her food.

So she wanted to enjoy everything.

She's going to die with full bulging stomach , she thought, laughing to herself.

Ria’s eyes didn’y leave the screen while eating her food.

Suddenly an advertisement for a new model cellphone came up. It had sophisticated camera that captures clear picure and more stable video results.

She nodded looking at the ad. Ah if she had extra money, she would like to have one. After all, her cellphone was out of date.

Did she need to look for part time job?

If he has a cellphone with a good camera he can take pictures of the beautiful scenery in this city.

Who knows she could be a photographer, hehe…

Eh?

Wait a minute, did she forget something?

Photographer! That’s it! In her dream, she heard the young man said something about being a photographer.

Could it be that thing he put in that drawer was…

Holy shit, Ria immediately looked up towards the room on the second floor.

With a quick movement she left her food and ran up the stairs,  towards the small room next to the main bedroom.

she opened the door and turned on the light.

The room was already clean and tidy, all the furniture covers have been removed.

In the corner, she saw the same wooden cupboard.

It looked older than she had seen in her dream.

She walked over to the cupboard.

There are a total of five drawers.

Ria saw that in each drawer there were old, torn small stickers. Some only show the former patch.

Some of them looked intact and she could see stickers with the shape of basket balls among them.

Ria opened the drawers one by one and felt uneasy.

As a person who likes detective stories and solving mystery cases, she seemed tried to solving one.

She hoped to get something here, according to her dream.

But if she did get something… wouldn't that be a little scary?

She opened the last drawer and found nothing there.

Ria exhaled loudly.

She didn't know if she was relieved or disappointed…because she didn't find anything.

After all, these strange dreams felt so real…

She closed the drawers again.

Uh, what's that?

She bent slightly and her eye caught something at the very end of the second drawer.

Her heart pounded and she reached out here hand to take the object that was there.

Sje pulled out an old folded piece of paper.

She opened it.

It's not just a paper.

That was a photo. Polaroid photo folded in two folds.

In the photo, there is a picture of a man sitting on the windowsill.

He has his back to the camera so only his back is visible.

His face was turned slightly to the side and Ria could see the side of his face in this photo.

It was folded for a very long time,  so it's not very clear anymore. Ria brought the photo closer until it almost touched her nose.

From the stature and hairstyle, the person in this photo looked very familiar.

His figure… was similar to the person she met the other day in her dream.

It’s… him?

Ria's hand shook. She could hear her heart pounding and her breath roared.

She was so nervous.

Okay, maybe she just imagibe it too much and it's just a coincidence.

The light in this room was a bit dim and she wanted to see more in a brighter light.

Ria left the room and went down the stairs back to the living room where she left her food.

She kept staring at the photo and wished she was wrong.

But the more one looked at it, the more similar and the familiar feeling grew stronger.

Ria exhaled her trembling breath and looked towards the living room with the television still on.

It was then, Ria felt her heart stop beating.

Her blood runs cold.

She stopped, her legs couldn't take any step.

Her eyes were fixed in one place.

She was not alone...