3rd POV
4 days flew by with Aifaa and Dee working and Nurul resting at home. The dark grey and orange environment showed it was already fifty-one past six and almost maghrib. After the work time ended for Aifaa and Dee, the three of them decided to visit one of their classmates, Amanina. Nurul was the one who persuaded them to visit her as a company to reciprocate her kindness on the day they played at the arcade after the unexpected encounter. But before that, Nurul waited for Dee and Aifaa to shower and be prepared for the journey.
Aifaa drove to the address that Farahain gave to Nurul. Meanwhile, Dee was talking with Nurul about the possibilities that would happen to Amanina. Aifaa merely heard what they chat about and tilted her eyebrow. Peepers looked straight to the lane with a tad peeping on the front mirror to see what they were doing. Hands steered to the left then to the right and the lane was vertical again so she steered back to the natural position.
"You believe what Farahain said to you that day?" Dee asked, sceptical of Farahain's behaviour. Why apologise out of the blue? It does not make sense.
"Yes, 100% sure because I can see it in her eyes" Nurul answered with confidence as Dee did not listen to the sorry and reasons that day.
"Okay, if you say so... I think Amanina is stressed or such" Dee reacted.
"Yeah, could be that but I think someone made her mad or might be she is sick" Nurul replied.
"Hm, maybe. Yet she was fine though at school. Why she is like that at home? It's her house, not a jail" Dee hesitantly said as Amanina was never absent from school.
"Ya, she looks good. Or someone disturbed her not?" Nurul knitted her brows trying to find the answer.
"I bet she doesn't have a good relationship with her mother or father and other things also developed to it and made her become that crazy" Dee plainly said.
"It must be tough for her to live that kinda life till she is out of her mind like that. But she is nice what" Nurul retorted.
"Might be one of them did nasty things to you" Aifaa interjected saying that maybe someone does not like her spesh her personality.
"What are you talking about?" Nurul instantly queried, furrowing her brows as she was curious.
"I'm just saying. Who knows someone might envy you in silence" Aifaa nonchalantly said.
"No, I don't think so. She treated me gently, okay. But Farahain... I don't know about her. I don't care. It's not nice accusing people like that, Aifaa" Nurul disagreed. Not wanting to accuse any of them spesh Amanina as she has been serving kindly to her even though they were not close. She then threw a piercing gaze at her.
"Who knows if Farahain or Amani- okay, okay. I'm sorry" Aifaa looked at the front mirror and saw her gaze and subsequently apologised instantaneously. It was chilling. Nurul's face looks like a pale ghost.
"Yes, no proof don't indict" Dee made a grotesque mug and also disagreed with Aifaa.
"My fault, my bad. Not gonna talk about it, I promise" Aifaa surrendered.
"But... Are you okay, Nurul?" Aifaa asked as she was worried about her health. She was just cured. Aifaa wearily thought because anything bad could occur. The same thing could occur again to Nurul.
"Yes, I'm fine. Don't worry about me" Nurul softly answered back.
"Tell me instantly if you guys abruptly feel unwell or uneasy. You hear me?" Aifaa authorized as she still has time to change the plan and drive back home.
"Alright, boss" Dee answered with a hand on her temple to give a salute.
"Don't worry, we are fine and I already got my energy back" Nurul happily smiled. She knew Aifaa was worried about her since that horrible dark day.
"We still have time to u-turn or go back home you know" Aifaa suggested while glancing at the front mirror.
"Nay, we are already a quarter way to her house. Why? You wanna go back?"
"By the way, please don't say anything awful about Amanina. She is not like what you think" Nurul added.
"Aye, aye captain! I'm just saying... And no, just suggesting. Who knows you suddenly don't feel good" Aifaa disregarded what she thought about Amanina earlier and obeyed Nurul.
'Or your guts telling otherwise. Ah, whatever'
They reached Amanina's T-conjunction street after 15 minutes drive. There was a slight noise in the area and the street was smaller than they predicted. They walked until arrived upfront her house. In addition, Aifaa cannot drive the car into the small pathway as it was small for a car to enter and had to tread about 5 to 10 minutes before reaching the destination. Sweat fell onto their faces and their bodies became a little unstable. Dee and Nurul were absorbed to find Amanina's house thusly leaving Aifaa behind.
There was a tiny gold rusty talisman with a plain transparent stone in the middle on the long grass they stepped along the pathway. But the two did not see it, only Aifaa felt it as she accidentally footed on it. She saw it thus halted from treading. She scooched down and closely looked at it while moving the long grasses to the side till she found another weird thing. She found a few red grains of rice alongside it. Why are these things on the grasses? Most importantly, whose are these?
She raised her eyebrows as she feels feeling strange about this. But then, she remembered that she needs to take care of Nurul so she hurriedly left and jogged to Nurul and Dee. Abruptly, the atmosphere became uncanny. The three of them did not realize it yet they reached ahead of Amanina's house not long after. The two began pushing each other to decide who will be the one knocking on the door. Aifaa looked at them oddballs in a plain way. She knew it.
"What are they doing? Ya Allah! Just knock on the door and ask for he- Ya Allah!" She muttered.
She sluggishly walked to the door while shaking her head disagreeably with their demeanours. The other two merely gazed at her and stayed put like a monument thinking about their probabilities earlier. The reason why they were afraid to knock on the door. Dee assumed Amanina was just ill and nothing severe occurred while Nurul was vice versa. The latter began to feel eerie in her surroundings and her lips twitched as well as her eyelids fluttered.
"Assalamualaikum" Aifaa knocked twice with a serene mug.
"Nobody is home?" She mumbled and knocked quite hard for the second attempt.
'Aik? Nurul told Farahain said she is always at home?' She questioned under her breath and the sentence was rather a statement than a query.
"Nurul, no one open the door. Ho-" She craned yet her communication was impeded.
A sound of a damaged door was made and the three of them immediately snapped in unison. Aifaa was startled while the two widened their eyes in surprise. They gasped and hearts thumped beyond regular. An old woman in her late 40s showed herself behind the door and a frown was visible on her front. They heavily breathe and slowly soothe the shocking mental.
"Yes? Who are you?" The old woman asked while looking at each of them.
"Is Amanina home?" Aifaa did not answer her question but queried her instead.
"U-um..." The old woman's countenance changed into a sorrowful one and asked one more time who were they.
"I'm Aifaa"
"I'm Dee"
"I'm Nurul"
"We are her classmates"
"Farahain told us she's somewhat ill. That's why we come here today. And sorry for coming this late and didn't tell you beforehand. We don't have Amanina's phone number" Nurul explained and apologised.
"It's okay, you already came. I'm her mum" Amanina's mother said. They nodded their heads and perceived what she had said as expected.
"She is unwell since 6 months ago and has never got out of this house since then" Amanina's mother expressed. She does not know what to do anymore and was worn out with everything related to her daughter. She already brought her daughter to the clinic fourfold but no disease was found. The doctors even said she was fine.
"We are sorry" Dee purposely mumbled in a low voice. This went unnoticed by her best friends including Amanina's mother. The three of them looked at each other with apologetic signs.
"You guys wanna visit her, right? I have to warn you girls first before you enter her room. You have to be cautious because she could harm any of you. She is active at night. I mean she's not herself sometimes" Amanina's mother told then led them to her room. Her mother has been hurt before as her daughter roughly pushed her till she fell on the floor. The moment moving in slow motion. Flabbergasted could be seen on their mugs with anatomies a little trembling when Amanina's mother unlocked the door.
'Ya Allah, why it's so dark?' One of them thought in horror.