The sound of the rooster's crow signaled morning. Indra, in his room, woke up and opened his eyes. He sat on his bed, trying to gather his wits, then got off, slipped his hand into his t-shirt to scratch himself while yawning, and then grabbed his towel from the door. "Creek," Indra opened his room door and walked towards the bathroom to take a shower. As he entered, he passed the sink and toothbrush area with a mirror above it. He turned to look at himself in the mirror. Suddenly, his steps halted, and his mouth fell open. He immediately backed up, turning to look at himself in the mirror once more. He quickly turned around and held his own face.
"Wait, I'm human again? Last night I was a skeleton? Is this Uncle's doing?" Indra asked happily, rubbing his cheeks.
He immediately went out of the bathroom to look for his uncle, but no one was home, and his uncle hadn't returned. Finally, he went back into the bathroom and immediately took a shower using the showerhead. He felt his own body, as if he couldn't believe everything that had happened and thought it was a dream. After showering, he returned to his room. When he saw his bed, he was slightly surprised to see several intact eggs on it. When he picked one up, the egg felt light, empty, even though the shell was perfectly smooth without a single crack.
"What is this? Who put eggs here, and they're empty?" Indra muttered, drying his hair with a towel.
"Ding... dong... Indra!" someone shouted from outside the house. Indra immediately ran out of his room and opened the front door. He saw a beautiful girl wearing modest workout clothes standing in front of his gate; it seemed she was out for a morning run.
"Oh, Rit, what's up so early?" Indra asked.
"Hey, Dra, where have you been? I come every day, and you're never out," Rita replied.
"Huh... every day?" Indra asked.
"Yesss... you haven't been to school for a week, and you haven't been to work either. Mr. Joko and the teachers at school keep asking me about you... where have you been?" Rita asked.
"Huh, a week? Are you serious? It feels like just yesterday I was working and coming back from school," Indra replied.
"Yeah, really. Ask Hadi, Mas Rahmat, and Ningsih if you don't believe me. Hadi was really mad looking for you," Rita replied.
"A week? Oh no... what's going on now?" Indra thought.
"Hey, why are you spacing out?" Rita nudged him.
"Oh, right... sorry, sorry. Just tell Mr. Joko I'll come in this afternoon. I'll go back to school tomorrow too," Indra replied.
"Okay, I'm heading out now. I need to go back and shower. I have the morning shift, so... bye-bye," Rita replied.
After Rita left, Indra went back inside and closed the door. He felt strange because the incident he experienced felt like it happened just last night. He sat in his living room, thinking about what had happened to him. Suddenly, "Kriiiiing... kriiiiing..." his landline rang. Indra immediately stood up, then jogged slightly to the phone and picked it up.
"Hello?" Indra asked.
"Good morning, may I speak with Mr. Purbo?" asked a man on the phone.
"Oh, Mr. Purbo is out. Is there a message? I'll pass it on later," Indra replied.
"Oh, I'll call again later. When do you think he'll be back?" the man asked.
"Sorry, I'm not sure," Indra replied.
Suddenly, someone held his shoulder. Indra turned and saw his uncle already behind him. He jumped in surprise and handed the phone to his uncle, who immediately began talking to the man.
"Oh my god... when did Uncle get in? He almost made my heart jump," Indra thought to himself.
Indra immediately went back into his room. He sat on the edge of his bed, examining the eggs on it. He picked up an egg and playfully cracked it open. It turned out the contents of the egg had completely disappeared, leaving only the intact shell without a single scratch.
"This is so weird," he thought to himself.
Indra picked up his smartphone and saw many unread messages, mostly from his co-workers and manager asking where he was. There were also messages from his high school and middle school alumni groups where he chatted with his friends. He didn't forget to check his social media status. After checking everything, it was indeed true, just as Rita had said; all the messages and social media updates had been going on for a week. He checked the date on his smartphone, and the date displayed on the screen further confirmed Rita's words.
"So where was I for this whole week? Was I just sleeping? Crazy, I really don't remember anything," Indra mumbled to himself.
While busy racking his brain, "Creek," his room door opened. His uncle entered and took a chair, then sat in front of him. His uncle's face looked serious, making Indra feel scared.
"Ndra, now you'll come with Uncle to the hill. We'll meditate there. You have to be able to control what's inside your body," Uncle suddenly said.
"Huh, now, Uncle? What about my work?" Indra asked.
"Well, do you want your body to be taken over by the creature inside you? It's up to you," Uncle replied.
"Ugh... what else do you mean, Uncle? Please explain first," Indra said.
His uncle immediately explained that the jerangkong that touched Indra's hand had entered his body and become part of his soul. He had to control it before he was controlled by the jerangkong inside, because if that happened, Indra would become a complete jerangkong without being able to return to being human. His uncle also explained that every night he would place an egg while Indra was asleep and transformed into a skeleton. The purpose was for the jerangkong inside Indra's body to come out and enter the egg. But then his uncle received a clue from his ancestors that Indra's soul had partially merged with the jerangkong inside his body because he didn't die when touched. According to his uncle, the reason Indra didn't die was because he was protected by his ancestors, but he still had to be able to control it, and there was no other choice. Indra was silent and couldn't say anything. Finally, he reluctantly told his uncle that he was willing to go and meditate with him on the hill where his uncle usually meditated.
"In that case, I'll contact my school and my boss first to ask for leave. How long do you think it will take, Uncle?" Indra asked.
"Well, I don't know, it all depends on you. It could be just one day, it could be a month, or even a year," Uncle replied.
"Oh no... so what do I tell them?" Indra asked.
"Well, just tell the school the truth, and for work, just resign," Uncle replied casually.
"What? Tell the school I'm possessed by a spirit? And what about our living expenses? I'll have to find another job, right?" Indra replied.
"You don't need to worry. I'll talk to the school; I know your principal. I also have to go to Sumba Island; my friend just needed help there. You were the one who answered the phone earlier, right?" Uncle said.
"Oh, when are you going?" Indra asked.
"Next month, still a while," Uncle replied.
"Ugh... what should I do? My head suddenly hurts, Uncle," Indra said, messing up his hair.
"Don't worry, I have money. I'll give it all to you anyway; I don't need money to go there," Uncle said.
"Huh... Uncle has money?" Indra asked in surprise.
"Of course, I do. My mother gave me old jewelry to sell. She buried everything in the yard; just dig it up," Uncle replied casually.
"My goodness... why didn't you say so earlier, Uncle? Alright, I'll resign. Please take care of my school," Indra replied, trusting him.
Finally, Indra called his manager and briefly went to the convenience store to say goodbye, then he went to the hill with his uncle to meditate together.