the Mystery of Caraka Family

Hehehe!

Whose voice? The giggle sounded like a boy's. But there was no boy in this house. Was Rani still wandering in dreamland?

KIKIKIKIKI!

KIKIKIKIKI!

KIKIKIKIKI!

The giggling sound became louder. Rani opened her eyes which were very heavy because of sleepiness. She decided to peek. She was worried that there was a thief. It seemed like the sound came from the garage next to the mini library.

 The garage lights seemed to be flashing like disco lights. Rani was stunned. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. Si tuyul was busy playing with his in-line skate helmet. The red helmet floated in the air and spun around like a top. Then, the tuyul appeared with the helmet on his head. He smiled cheerfully at Rani. CHEERS!

 Since the flying helmet incident, the tuyul considers himself part of the Caraka family. He often appears in the corners of the first and second houses while grinning. He also likes to sit on the roof of a car or motorbike that is stored in the garage. It seems that he is a tuyul figure who is often sent by his employer to steal money from the Caraka family's house, but for some reason he defected because he felt more at home living with the family. The Caraka family's yard is indeed quite spacious with shady fruit trees so that it is the perfect playground for ghosts. Welcome to the Jungle! In addition, the Caraka family applies a life principle of not wanting to be disturbed by ghosts and not wanting to disturb ghosts.

 The Tuyul Rani saw, was not as cute as Casper, but it was also not as scary as the myths. Unlike the myth that states that tuyul are short, this tuyul had a tall, thin body, or typical body of teenagers, which means it grows upwards, and not sideways. His face was a typical of a small child who was innocent with pale bluish skin. His head was bald. He also has thin, sharp, and long canine teeth.

 Since long time ago, Mr. Caraka had dementia. Indeed, angry people usually have dementia. He often complained about losing money, ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. In fact, he once lost his entire salary which was in a brown envelope. Of course, the interrogation that Mr. Caraka conducted on his wife and daughter was very unpleasant. Both of them stood in a row like soldiers awaiting punishment from the commander. Mr. Caraka did not hesitate to accuse his own family members. Fortunately, he did not dare to accuse the household assistant because there was no evidence.

 "Both of you are conspiring to steal my money, aren't you? I saw you just bought a new washing machine. Rani's school bag is also new. Answer!" Mr. Caraka demanded his wife, Galuh Caraka. His face was bright red.

 "What's wrong with you, Adi? How can you accuse your own family of being thieves? I have my own income. In fact, my income is much bigger than you."

 "Are you arrogant now? Forget about peanuts in their shells. Don't you remember you come from a poor family?" Mr. Caraka insulted while slapping Mrs. Caraka's right cheek. The red color spread across his wife's cheeks.

 Even though Rani was used to seeing the household drama, her eyes still filled with tears. Her heart ached seeing her father's rough behavior.

 Mr. Caraka was indeed careless and forgetful. He once put his salary envelope on top of the car. Fortunately, a company security guard happened to see it and told him. However, the appearance of a tuyul in the Caraka family home raised all sorts of suspicions. Was the tuyul that stole Mr. Caraka's money all this time? Rani did have mystical abilities to see spirits like Si Hawuk, the spirit that guarded the second house. But she only realized the presence of a tuyul in her house when she was 17th years old.

 Uniquely, since Rani saw the apparition of the tuyul in the house, there was never another incident of losing money. But on the contrary, the dedication of the tuyul was very surprising. The tuyul often put tribute money in Mrs. Caraka's wallet as a sign of gratitude for staying without permission.

 "Ranran, were you the one who put the 50 thousand Rupiahs in my wallet?" Mrs. Caraka asked her daughter. She frowned and waved the banknote.

 Rani shook her head. "Maybe Mom forgot. The change from shopping?"

 "This is not the first time something like this has happened."

 "Maybe a tuyul?"

 "Hush! How is that possible."

 "Ceu Engkus and I have seen tuyul apparitions several times."

 "Ypur father won't like it if you believe in mystical things. We shouldn't talk about mystical things in this house."

 Rani shrugged her shoulders. What does Papa like? Papa only likes money, luxury cars, and beautiful, sexy women like Mia, a relative of Mrs. Caraka. Even though Mia didn't really like Papa, Papa kept going forward and never gave up. She wondered why her mother kept the toxic marriage.

 "If Mama is worried, just use the money for Rani's snacks," Rani suggested with sparkling eyes. Not bad! I can buy Cimory matcha ice cream.

 "Don't! It's better to donate the money. It's not good to use money whose origin is unclear. It will become a sacrifice if you make an alliance with mystical creatures."

 "Mama said, don't believe in mystical things. So, which sentence should I follow from Mama?"

 "Don't like arguing with your parents! You'll have a hard time finding a partner. No man likes a stubborn girl," said Mrs. Caraka, somewhat annoyed.

 Rani exhaled. It was not easy to reconcile the differences between the 2 generations.

 Tuyul insisted to live with the Caraka family for years. Well, never mind. Just let the tuyul find its own happiness. Maybe he is tired of having a dictatorial and ambitious master. The tuyul also has the right to pursue its own happiness.

***

 Rani had just packed up all her stuff. Her long skirt, denim pants, shirt, Mickey Mouse pajamas, white socks, underwear, and sneakers were neatly arranged in a large suitcase. Yes, tomorrow at dawn Rani will leave for Cimahi to continue her studies at Jenderal Achmad Yani University.

 Rani's heart was happy and nervous. Happy because she would be living far away from her dictator father. Nervous because she didn't know what experiences she would have in the campus near the limestone mountain. She never stayed overnight outside, without her parents.

 Rani was a little scared to imagine the University hazing she would be joining the day after tomorrow. Would her fearful mentality be able to face the ferocity of the hazing god? And the university she entered was a university owned by the Indonesian Army. Of course it was very disciplined.

 Rani rolled her body left and right. She sighed repeatedly. Will everything be okay? Will her college friends be nice? Meanwhile, even in high school, she found it difficult to adapt to her classmates. She still remembered the accusatory sentences uttered by her homeroom teacher to her mom, "Mrs. Caraka, who are the uncles who often pick up and pick up Rani? Are your daughter happy to sell herself to an old man?"

 Mrs. Caraka was beyond angry upon hearing the baseless accusation. "I'm sorry, Ma'am. Although I am not a conglomerate, but I am still able to provide for all of Rani's living needs. The one who dropped Rani off was not Rani's boyfriend, but my relative. Mr. Sukma is not a lowly person like you accused."

 Mrs. Caraka, who was furious, asked Rani to move from that school, even though Rani was in her 3rd year of high school and was about to face her final exams. This unique mother had a principle that nothing couldn't be replaced.

 "Why you should go studying in a school that loves bullying? You are already hated by your classmates just because you have the highest Math score, now your homeroom teacher is also bullying you? There are still other schools that educate their students much better. So, the school should not be too arrogant. It is enough that your brother, the late Dimas, was bullied at school," Mrs. Caraka grumbled.

 Rani stared at the ceiling of her bedroom. She felt so lonely. Her eyes felt warm. Why was it so hard to be accepted by her schoolmates? Why was it so hard to please a friend?

 Unbeknownst to Rani, behind her slightly open bedroom door, there was a pair of crystal eyes lurking. The mystical boy with an innocent face did not understand why Rani had to cry. It would be better if he played with her, right?