"That was too close!" Yono cried out, sprinting towards Havi, with Diana following swiftly behind.
Yono grasped Havi by the arm, hauling him to his feet.
His expression twisted with something between bewilderment and disbelief, "Reincarnation, was it?" he muttered, shaking his head.
Meanwhile, Diana had already rushed to Mr Ridho and Mrs Saras, her voice laced with concern.
"Uncle, Aunt… are you both unharmed?"
Mrs Saras let out a breath, still shaken, "Oh, Diana, we're utterly stunned. And Havi… how is he? Is he alright?"
"I saw that car strike him," Mr Ridho added, his voice hoarse. He shifted slightly, wincing. "Diana, help me up."
Havi's body throbbed with pain, his back screaming in protest.
It felt as though he had been crushed beneath a mountain. And yet, miraculously, he had survived.
There was blood, there were bruises, but nothing broken.
"Well then, how fares our grand reincarnated hero?" Yono quipped, his voice light with relief.
"You were like something out of a film," he added, shaking his head in disbelief. "Honestly, for a moment, I thought you were done for! Ha!"
"Shut it, Yono! If you're going to pray for me, at least use proper words!" Havi snapped, shooting him a glare.
His friend truly had a knack for saying the wrong thing.
"Now, go and check on my parents!"
"We're fine, Havi!" Mrs Saras called, her voice slightly breathless as she and Mr Ridho hurried towards him. "What about you?"
Havi exhaled, the tension within him slowly uncoiling.
"Alhamdulillah…" he murmured. His heart pounded, not from fear, but from an overwhelming sense of gratitude.
At last, he had done it.
The tragedy that had once defined his past life had been rewritten.
The bystanders, who had moments ago been paralysed by fear, now let out a collective sigh of relief.
The tension that had gripped the street dissipated, replaced by murmurs of gratitude that the night had been spared from tragedy.
One by one, people stepped forward, drawn by a mixture of admiration and disbelief.
"That was remarkable, lad," an elderly man said, his voice laced with genuine respect.
"You're barely more than a schoolboy, yet you threw yourself into danger without a second thought. That kind of bravery… It's rare," added another, shaking his head in awe.
Havi dipped his head slightly in acknowledgement, muttering quiet thanks, though his mind was already elsewhere.
Something was wrong.
The black sedan. It remained where it had come to a stop, its engine still thrumming faintly against the day air.
Yet, the driver had yet to emerge, no hurried apology, no frantic explanation, not even a sign of movement behind the wheel.
A chill settled over Havi's spine.
He turned sharply, his gaze sweeping the gathered onlookers before landing on a sturdy-looking man standing nearby.
"Sir," Havi said, his voice measured but carrying an unmistakable edge, "That driver… he's dangerous. We can't allow him to slip away unnoticed. Would you help me ensure he doesn't flee?"
The man studied him for a moment before a slow, knowing smile crept across his face, "Rest assured, lad," he said, cracking his knuckles.
"That scoundrel won't be going anywhere. We've already blocked every possible escape."
A murmur of agreement rippled through the crowd, and as Havi turned back towards the motionless sedan, a single thought pressed upon him.
'Who was behind the wheel? And why was he still sitting in silence, as though waiting for something unseen?'
Havi merely inclined his head, his gaze dark and unreadable as he fixed his eyes upon the driver, now being forcibly dragged from the car by the gathering crowd.
In his past life, before his untimely death and inexplicable rebirth, Havi had never known the identity of the hit-and-run driver responsible for the cruel demise of his parents.
That person had been nothing more than a shadow, a nameless phantom that had haunted his every waking moment, shaping the course of his grief-stricken existence.
And now, fate had delivered that very spectre before him.
A nightmare given flesh.
Something within Havi snapped. His pulse thundered in his ears, his body moving before thought could intervene.
He surged forward, fists clenched, rage coursing through him like fire in his veins.
But then...
A cry.
A sharp, tremulous scream, high-pitched and unmistakably feminine.
Havi did not hesitate. His open palm struck before his mind could register the truth.
SLAP!
The sound rang out like a gunshot in the expectant hush, reverberating through the street. The onlookers, still shaken from the near-tragedy, gasped in unison.
Havi stood over her, his chest rising and falling with the force of his fury.
"Do you even comprehend the gravity of your recklessness?" he spat, his voice trembling with rage.
"You almost killed my parents! Do you have any idea what you've done?"
Diana, Yono, and his parents rushed forward, their concern shifting from the shaken woman to the storm of fury engulfing Havi.
"Havi! Enough!" Ridho commanded, seizing his son's arm before he could strike again. "We are unharmed! No damage has been done!"
"Havi, she is a woman! You must not raise your hand against her!" Saras cried, horror lacing her tone.
"Havi, stop!" Diana interjected, stepping boldly between him and the woman.
"Mate, it's done," Yono added, his usual levity absent. "Let it go."
The woman remained crouched where she had fallen, her long hair falling in disarray, veiling part of her face.
One trembling hand clutched her cheek, where the sting of Havi's fury still lingered.
Tears glistened in her eyes.
"I.. I am so sorry," she murmured, her voice barely more than a breath. "I don't know what happened… my car… I lost control… I never meant to..."
Havi cut her off, his voice sharp as a blade, "What if it had been someone else?" he seethed. "What if it had been an innocent bystander? A child? You should..."
The words withered on his tongue. The woman had lifted her head.
And in that instant, the ground beneath Havi may as well have vanished.
His breath hitched. His hands trembled.
His knees, once steady, threatened to give way.
And then, as though his body had relinquished all strength, he collapsed onto them.
A strangled gasp escaped his lips.
"N-Nuriana Salim…!"
The name, one he had never expected to utter again, spilled from him in a choked whisper, a ghost resurrected from the abyss of his past.
A stunned silence descended upon the crowd. Confusion flickered across every face, thick with unspoken questions.
Even the woman, Nuriana, gaped at him, bewildered.
"Who… are you?" she murmured, frowning.
'How does he know my name?'
'Who is he…?'