Chpt 2

Nisa entered the rented house.

She looked around the room. A small room with one bedroom, a mini kitchen next to the bathroom, and a little space for her to sit and rest. There was no luxurious atmosphere at all, very different from five years ago.

Nisa dragged one suitcase after another into the bedroom. She looked around the room again, with a single floor mattress, a wardrobe, and a small dressing table.

Nisa sighed for a moment.

“Be patient, Nis. You can get through all this, for mom and yourself, stay strong, Nis.” Nisa encouraged herself.

She opened each suitcase, arranging the clothes in the wardrobe. After everything was neatly arranged, she took a nightgown and a towel, cleaned up before going to bed.

The doorbell rang.

Nisa grabbed her phone, turned on the screen, and saw that it was seven in the morning. She didn’t remember having any appointments, so she got up lazily and grumbled.

“Who could be coming this early?”

Nisa walked to the door and slowly opened it. Adam’s face was already at the door with a woman.

“Go–good morning, Dam?” Nisa awkwardly showed her sleepy face.

“Sorry to bother you, Nis. Did you just wake up?” Adam sounded guilty for disturbing her sleep.

“Uh, no Dam, come in, sorry it’s still messy because I only had time to tidy up a few things last night.”

Nisa led them in and they sat on the floor with a round table in the middle.

“Sorry, Dam, it’s still basic, I plan to shop for things today.”

Nisa tried to ease her discomfort by starting a conversation.

“It’s okay, Nis. That’s why we came early, to help you so the work gets done quickly and you can rest fully tomorrow before starting your first day at work,” Adam explained the purpose of his visit.

“Wow… thank you so much, Dam. Uh, who is this, Dam?” Nisa glanced at the woman sitting next to Adam. She looked shy.

“Oh, let me introduce you, this is Sarah, my close friend. Come on, Sar.” Sarah extended her hand to greet Nisa.

“Faranisa Aznii, you can call me whatever you like, Sar.” Nisa shook Sarah’s hand warmly.

“Sarah. I’ll call you Nisa, just like Adam does,” said Sarah.

“Sarah, don’t be jealous of my closeness with Adam, Adam is like a big brother to me,” Nisa explained to avoid any future misunderstandings.

“Yes, Nis. I know, Adam has told me a lot about you and your family before you came back,” said Sarah, quickly getting friendly.

“Ahem, let’s continue chatting later. I brought breakfast and water, let’s eat before it gets cold!” Adam interrupted.

A loud growl from Nisa’s stomach was heard. It rumbled at the mention of breakfast.

“Oops, caught… my stomach worms are starving!”

They laughed together at Nisa’s joke.

A few hours passed.

Everything was neatly arranged, the cold floor was transformed with a carpet and four sitting cushions surrounding the small round table. Nisa changed the room’s walls with bright wallpaper to improve the mood.

The single-door fridge, which was already available, was filled with some food supplies, enough for one or two weeks. Or Nisa hoped it would last for a month before she got her first paycheck. She also bought some cooking utensils and tableware.

“You guys wait here, I’ll go out for a bit!” Nisa grabbed her small bag hanging behind the door.

“I’ll take you, Nis,” Adam immediately stood up, ready to accompany her.

“No. No. No. Thanks, Dam. No need to accompany me, I need to memorize the way too, just sit tight here, don’t go anywhere, can I borrow your motorbike?” Nisa said, extending her hand to Adam.

“Can you ride a motorbike? It’s a moped, Nis?” Adam half-disbelievingly handed over the keys.

“Are you underestimating me? I used to be a food delivery courier when I was short on money there,” Nisa grinned and quickly closed the door.

The rental place Adam chose was a two-story building. Nisa happened to get the second floor. She went down the green iron stairs, Adam’s motorbike was parked next to the stairs.

Nisa planned to buy them lunch.

“Maybe over here.”

Nisa thought while riding Adam’s motorbike, passing two blocks and turning onto the main road.

“Ah, right.”

Nisa continued to ride Adam’s motorbike slowly. She headed to a fast-food restaurant. Nisa parked the motorbike in the restaurant’s parking lot.

However, her eyes were drawn to a bakery across the street.

Nisa stood waiting for the cars to pass at the red light. Coincidentally, Leon’s car stopped at the red light.

His car was in the middle of the road, at the front near the pedestrian crossing. Leon looked bored, folding his arms across his chest, watching people cross the street.

His eyes widened, this time it was daytime, he wasn’t dreaming, and Marko didn’t take him out for a drink. The figure he always missed and hated was right in front of him.

Without hesitation, Leon opened the car door, just as the light turned green. The car horns blared, disrupting his view, and the figure was gone.

“Sir, what’s wrong?” Bisma asked, confused by his master’s behavior.

Leon slammed the car door angrily. Frustrated.

“I’m sure it was her. It turns out she’s been hiding in this city all along. No wonder my people couldn’t track her down, she was hiding right under my nose.”

Leon ranted inwardly, like a two-horned red monster suddenly appeared in his soul.

“Turn the car around, I want to go to that bakery,” Leon ordered, convinced that the figure he was looking for had entered the bakery.

“See my revenge. When I find you, I’ll make sure to tie you up tighter this time. If necessary, I’ll put a chain around your neck.”

Nisa was busy choosing some bread and a small cake for a single serving. After getting what she wanted, she immediately paid for it.

Leon’s car was still not parked properly. He quickly opened the door and rushed out. Leon ran into the bakery, his eyes scanning every corner. But the figure he was looking for was not there.

“Ah, shit. She disappeared again. I’m sure I didn’t see wrong this time.”

Leon grew more frustrated because he still couldn’t catch up with the figure.

“What’s wrong, Sir? It would be very dangerous if you ran like that,” Bisma ran, panting, chasing after his master who seemed to be chasing a thief.

“Do you remember I once told you to investigate someone? Are your people lying to me, huh?” Leon grabbed Bisma’s shirt collar, holding back his anger with gritted teeth.

Bisma recalled all the words that came out of his master’s mouth and remembered, “I wouldn’t dare, Sir. How could I lie to you, it’s true there were no traces left of that person,” Bisma replied, his body trembling.

“Then find her again. Reinvestigate where she is now. I want that information on my desk by Monday at the latest!”

Leon ordered, roughly releasing Bisma’s shirt collar that he had grabbed earlier.