On a starry night, Tama's spirit lay fast asleep. In his dream, he saw Kirana again. She was bathing in the pool of her ancient castle. The water sparkled clear and clean, and Kirana's face looked radiant—her natural beauty shining brightly.
Nearby, Tama noticed a small river that had dried up. It appeared the water had been dammed and redirected to Kirana's private pool. But there was nothing scary in the scene—only the cheerful face of the princess and her lady-in-waiting, Denok, who was busy sprinkling flowers into the water.
Then Tama saw the suffering of the people who lived near the castle. The river they relied on had dried up. Crops failed. Livestock died. The villagers were desperate. King Sanjaya pleaded with his daughter to open the dam, but Kirana, blinded by pride, refused.
One day, while preparing to bathe in her cherished pool, Kirana spotted an old woman washing clothes there. Enraged, she scolded the woman for disrespecting the sacred waters. But the old woman calmly cursed her.
"Your arrogance and selfishness make you unworthy of being a princess. From now on, you shall live as a snake. Only true love can break this curse."
In an instant, Kirana transformed into a serpent, and the majestic castle sank into what would become a lake.
Early the next morning, Tama woke with a jolt. He splashed water on his face, brushed his teeth, and stared into the mirror.
"What's happening to me? Why do I keep dreaming about her?"
As usual, Denok arrived to bring him breakfast—but this time, she stayed to eat with him.
"Have you eaten yet? Come on, eat with me," Tama offered.
"Well, I've already eaten, but since you asked nicely, Denok will join you… hehe," she replied playfully.
"Hahaha, Denok... be careful or the palace guard will get jealous," Tama teased.
"Ugh, you mean Limbur? Please, don't even mention him! He rarely wears deodorant—he smells like armpits!" she groaned.
"Hahaha, that's so bad, Miss Denok!"
As they laughed, Denok grew curious about Tama's past. She asked if he had ever had a lover. Tama's expression turned serious as he shared the story of Nadia—the only girl he had ever loved, from elementary school until now. But fate had taken him before he could confess his feelings.
"I feel sorry for you... turns out you're a really sad boy," Denok said softly.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that… Eh, what about Kirana's story?" Tama asked.
"Oh, Her Highness? She's spent her entire cursed life waiting for her true love. The curse that binds her—and all of us—can only be broken if she finds it."
"Wow… so she's a sad girl too. That's emotional... and kind of ironic," Tama chuckled.
In his heart, Tama thought, So my dream wasn't just a random vision. Maybe it was revealing the truth about Kirana. Am I somehow part of her destiny?
After breakfast, Denok returned to the main villa for her duties, and Tama headed to the shower to prepare for another day of work.
Kirana stood at the edge of her pool, lost in thought. The water was no longer as clear as in the past. She stared into its depths, reminiscing about the days when she had been a joyful princess. Time had slipped away—and it would never return.
Suddenly, Tama appeared behind her.
DWAAR!
Startled, Kirana spun around. "Hey! Do you want to end up a snake like me?" she snapped.
"Uuuu… don't be mad, Princess. You'll lose your beauty when you're angry," Tama teased.
"Beauty doesn't matter anymore when you're a snake. What matters now is earning money… sigh, but the full moon is still a week away."
Wait—what?! Tama perked up. Next week is the full moon? That's what he had been waiting for—his chance to turn human again and finally meet Nadia.
With food supplies running low, Kirana asked Tama to gather groceries. But since he was a ghost, he couldn't go out freely during the day. He would have to go shopping at night.
As the sun set, Tama hurried into town. But the market was closed. The minimart was shut too.
"It's only 8 PM—why is everything closed?"
Then he remembered: tomorrow was a religious holiday in Indonesia. All the shops had closed early for the celebrations.
Suddenly, he had an idea—he'd return to his old house and grab whatever food was left there. But when he arrived, the fridge was empty. His family had left the house to rest and recover after his passing.
"What now? Nothing left…"
Then a mischievous idea struck him. Heh... I'll go to Devan's place and borrow some food from his fridge. Devan was a student in a boarding house, and Tama was feeling extra sneaky that night.
Tama arrived at Devan's house. Devan was just finishing dinner when Tama appeared.
"Van, Van… still eating like a champ, huh? But you're still not fat!" Tama joked.
"Ugh… why do I suddenly have goosebumps?" Devan said, rubbing his arms.
"Come on, I'm right here! Want me to slap you?" Tama grinned.
"Why's it cold all of a sudden? I didn't turn on the AC… This is spooky."
Frightened, Devan quickly finished his meal and ran to his room.
"Ckckck… Van, Van… scared of your own best friend?"
After Devan fled, Tama raided the fridge. He took whatever food he could find, then stopped by Devan's desk. Feeling guilty, he grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a note.
"Van,
I'm sorry. I know you're just a boarding student, but I really need this food right now.
I hope good things come your way.
—Tama"
The next morning, Devan awoke and saw the note. As soon as he read it, his eyes widened—he recognized Tama's handwriting instantly. Shaken, he rushed to Ara's house.
Kirana, sensing Devan's plan to share the letter, used her magic again—this time to erase Tama's writing from the paper.
"This is really from Tama, Ra. He wrote this!" Devan insisted.
Ara glanced at the paper. "Where? It's blank. Stop making things up."
Once again, Ara thought Devan was lying. From a distance, Kirana and Tama watched from atop a tall building.
"Next time, don't be so careless," Kirana warned.
"Yeah... sorry," Tama replied quietly.
They both returned to the villa.
That night, rain poured heavily. Tama fell into another deep sleep—and once again, he dreamed of Kirana.
In the dream, he saw a handsome man dressed in the uniform of a Dutch colonial soldier. The man was smiling gently at Kirana.
Who is this man? What's his connection to her? The dream felt like a puzzle—one Tama didn't want to solve. Because despite everything, his heart was still focused on one thing:
He just wanted to see Nadia again.