The collar of her white uniform, drenched in sweat, felt sticky. The 17-year-old girl's entire body was now soaked from perspiration, a result of her panic. She had run quite a distance without shoes, leaving only a white t-shirt now stained with muddy earth. The night sky was overcast with a biting wind. The girl, Rina, wiped the remaining tears from her eyes.
The road to her house was indeed very quiet. After passing a factory building and stretches of empty land, Rina was greeted again by a deserted playground, overgrown and neglected for the past year. Rina stopped, reaching for her phone in her bag, but misfortune continued to plague her—the device was out of battery.
"Aish... I forgot to charge it." Putting her phone back in her bag, Rina glanced around. She had to keep walking until she reached the intersection and waited for a city bus to take her home.
However, the roar of a motorcycle engine came from behind. Her heart pounded again. She turned her head towards the sound and saw the man who had tried to drag her into the bushes earlier, now speeding up as soon as he spotted her.
Before she could decide to run, Rina shuddered as the man displayed a thin smirk from behind his helmet visor.
"Help... somebody help me!" Rina was truly desperate. Her calf muscles ached, and her bare feet were bleeding from stepping on sharp stones.
The road at night was rarely used by vehicles, mostly just large trucks and factory workers. Rina wanted to give up, but then she saw a sedan parked on the side of the road. As if given new hope, she quickened her pace and immediately knocked on the car window, constantly glancing warily at the white motorcycle that was getting closer.
"Please... is anyone inside, help me. I beg you! Someone wants to hurt me!"
Rina didn't give up, hitting the car window harder, crying in fear. "Please help me!"
Just before the motorcycle stopped behind the car, the door opened. A long-haired man, his pants zipper undone, eyed Rina suspiciously. She was now gripping his hand tightly, still looking fearfully at the man in the green jacket.
"What's wrong, kid? Why are you bothering adults?"
Rina realized, her eyes catching sight of a woman inside the car, topless, glaring lazily at her. Rina then looked up at the man, who resembled a gang leader. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you, but... that man, he means me harm," she pleaded, though she dared not look at the man on the motorcycle.
"Hey... old man, if you need a woman for your pleasure, you should go to a brothel, not scare a little girl like this." The man spoke with a brave demeanor, one hand resting on the car's roof.
"What did that old man do to you?"
Rina tried not to cry. "He dragged me into the bushes in the empty lot."
It seemed the man accused of harming her wanted to argue and got off his motorcycle. "I just wanted to collect the fare, don't make up strange stories, kid." The man appeared to be in his 40s with a long scar on his temple.
"No." Rina quickly shook her head, tightening her grip on the long-haired man's hand. "He's lying, he even threatened to kill me."
Without needing further explanation, the long-haired man stepped forward and landed a solid punch on the motorcyclist's face, making his nose bleed profusely.
"Damn it, you trash!"
And what happened next was that the motorcyclist was beaten to a pulp in two minutes. Feeling unable to contend with the long-haired man, he fled on his Vega motorcycle.
"Where's your house, kid?"
Trembling, Rina pointed backward. "On the outskirts of the city."
"Get in, I'll take you."
*******
That night's tragedy left a deep impression on Rina, especially Guntur's attitude, her stepbrother, who had become increasingly insolent. Almost a week had passed, and Rina still often dreamt of bad things; she found it hard to sleep and felt anxious. Although Rina confided in her best friend, Laura, about Guntur's increasingly strange behavior—like staring at her after she showered or entering her room at night with the excuse of borrowing a charger—Laura thought it was normal. Her own brother often behaved similarly.
"Don't think negatively, Rina. As long as I've known Mas Guntur, he's a good person, and friendly too. Maybe it's just your imagination, especially after what you experienced in the empty lot."
They were currently sitting comfortably in the school garden, just before the second class began.
"I can't be wrong, Laura, there's really something wrong with Mas's attitude lately... He even touched my backside once," she whispered, her voice lowered, her face turning grim. Rina admitted she was uncomfortable with her stepbrother.
Laura, who had initially not paid much attention, then gave her a look of disbelief.
"Are you serious, Rina?"
"How could I speak without reason? I'm scared of Mas Guntur's behavior."
"Don't worry, Mas Guntur won't hurt you. It's better if you see a psychiatrist to deal with your difficulty sleeping and excessive anxiety, Rina."
Similarly, Laura's comforting words did nothing to dispel her anxiety. Tonight, Rina and Guntur were alone at home because her mother and stepfather were on their way out of town to attend a relative's wedding, which was scheduled for the next morning. Given that the distance between cities took a long time, they departed that night so as not to be too tired. If they were to leave the next morning, they would surely arrive by midday.
After eating and washing the dirty dishes, Rina rushed to her room, ignoring Guntur's invitation to watch a football match together in the living room. Her stepbrother worked as a salesperson at a motorcycle dealership, and since his shift was during the day, he could come home when the shift changed at seven in the evening.
Rina turned off the light and prepared to sleep early. When the girl fell asleep, what she forgot was to lock her bedroom door.
*******
Feeling hot, Rina kept changing her sleeping position because she felt uncomfortable.
The girl wasn't even using a blanket anymore, and when her eyes opened, in the dim darkness, she vaguely saw a figure sitting by the side of the bed, staring straight at her. Rina immediately sat up from her sleeping position. Through the light entering from the room's ventilation, which came from the terrace lamp, Rina realized that the figure was Guntur. Uncontrollably, Rina's entire body went limp.
"Mas Guntur? W-what are you doing here, Mas?"
For a moment, Guntur remained silent, but then the man approached Rina and held her right shoulder. "Don't be afraid, Mas just wanted to make sure you were asleep. Mother said you've been having trouble sleeping lately. Is that true?"
Swallowing her saliva, which had suddenly become thick, Rina nodded. "Y-yes. But it's already better than the previous night."
"Do you want Mas to accompany you to sleep?" Hearing that slightly husky, naughty voice made Rina's blood flow faster, causing her heart to race even more.
"No, Mas, I can sleep alone. Please go back to your room, you must be tired after working all day," she said with a slightly trembling voice, trying to suppress the tears that threatened to fall.
Briefly, Rina saw her stepbrother's expression sour, perhaps displeased with her words. "Are you afraid of me, Rina? Yet, when you first came to this house, we were always together, you even often slept on my lap. Now... our relationship is getting distant."
Rina couldn't deny that when she first met Guntur, he made a good impression. He always looked after her, invited her to play, and fed her. They even slept together without awkwardness. At that time, Rina, who was just 10 years old, felt like she had a protective older brother.
"No, I'm not afraid of Mas Guntur. I'm just following Mother's advice, because now we're both grown up, it's good to keep our distance." It wasn't her mother who said that, but it was the only reason that came to Rina's mind.
"But, Mas misses you."
Rina's entire body tensed, and her heart pounded wildly. She was truly terrified. Guntur's hand began to caress her cold cheek. Then slowly moved down to her slender neck and further down until it reached her breasts. Rina flinched when he squeezed her sensitive area and reflexively pushed Guntur's body, causing him to fall off the bed.
"What are you doing!" Rina's terrified scream filled the room. The girl turned on the light switch and grabbed anything nearby to use as a weapon—it was a clothes hanger.
"Don't come closer or I'll scream louder," she threatened, brandishing the hanger forward.
Guntur smirked cunningly as he rose from where he had fallen. His gaze further ignited a sense of dread in Rina's mind.
"You look even more beautiful when you're scared like that, Rina."
"You're crazy, Mas, get out! Get out of my room now!" Though her eyes were red from holding back tears, Rina still tried to be strong.
Unfortunately, Rina's movements were slow. Guntur caught and tightly embraced her struggling body.
"Let me go, what are you thinking, Mas Guntur. I'm your sister!" Rina's tears flowed freely. Her mind could no longer think of anything good at this moment other than the feeling that she was about to be molested.
Guntur was like a madman, kissing Rina's neck, not caring that the girl was crying in fear. "Stop it!"
Not giving up, Rina pinched Guntur's stomach as hard as she could, which ultimately infuriated the man. He pushed Rina's small body onto the bed and quickly pinned her down.
"You naughty girl."
Shattered, Rina's future was truly taken from her that night, by her own stepbrother. Despite hundreds of screams, curses, insults, and moans that escaped Rina's mouth, it was as if a large barrier surrounded the room's walls, preventing anyone from hearing her cries of agony.
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