Approach of an Otherworldly Person

AOP Chapter 2

Three years later, after being deliberately set up for Yoronea’s uncle, she didn’t know that the worst had yet to come.

They’re just an average family whose father was a fisherman, and her mother was a food vendor in a market. Sometimes they work together on their stall together with Yoronea and her little sister, who’s always present in helping their mother.

Yoronea’s parents are known in that market because of their friendliness, and other vendors treat them really well. Food is quite popular with customers who are going home from school or work because they sell it in the afternoon till night.

They’re behind a jewelry shop and they’re quite close to the people inside, talking about random things when they have time. For years from when they started that small business, everything's been sailing smoothly, not until the son of the jewelry shop owner came together with his family taking over the shop for the meantime.

At first, the wife and Yoronea’s mother were getting along really fine, together with Drew, her father and the owner's son, Edwin. But as time went by, Edwin and Drew's interactions became noticeable.

Yoronea knows her father really well, having no addiction or bad habits. She also hasn't seen him smoke or drink. This is where the nightmare starts for their family, with Edwin casually barging into their house all the way to where his father was. Yoronea doesn’t have any idea what they’re talking about, afraid to get scolded; she just left them be. And this kind of scenario repeatedly happened, and Yoronea finally noticed that there was something wrong with her father.

The usually calm and collected Drew has nowhere to be found. Her father became irritated to the point of frequent shouting, but after that it would turn silent for a really long time. Yoronea also noticed her mother getting stressed after talking to her father.

And not long enough. Everything around her changed before she realized her father had been under the influence of really powerful drugs, and the only person they could think of was Edwin.

The reason their family became messed up was Drew tried to sell off their appliances, even without asking where he would use the money. They already knew it was for the drug. There’s even a time where her father created a scene on the market while under the influence of drugs, resulting in him calling some officials to restrain him.

Yoronea, confused, and becoming afraid of what could be the result if this goes on, notices that Edwin isn’t anywhere to be seen now. The owner of the jewelry shop is back, and said that his son has already gone back to their hometown together with his family, only leaving Yoronea’s father in a mess before his son starts.

As time went by, things went haywire, leading to her father being captured by the authorities in front of her eyes. Yoronea, together with her mother, goes to the station where her father had taken it.

She couldn’t believe what her eyes had seen and saw the exact time they entered the station. Her father was on the ground, his bruises around his face and body, the policemen in front with a big grin on their faces, not minding their presence.

Yoronea’s father likes to say something only to be punched in the face followed by a hearty laugh, but that’s not the ending. The laugh slowly faded. Another policeman came by with a much bigger grin on his face.

“We finally got hold of you, Valler. You've been a nuisance for so long.”

Yoronea, together with her mother, were glued to their position. No words can escape from their mouths.

With eyes wide open, they watched how her father was getting beaten helplessly by the policeman. She does not know what her father has done to these people for them to do something so cruel while enjoying her father's agony.

Every punch on the face, kick on the stomach or other parts of the body, every harsh word they say, and how they call her father by different names, every scene has been imprinted on Yoronea’s mind like it was done by a laser, along with all the emotions she’s been feeling that time, forever.

Emotionless, Yoronea left the scene emotionless, with an empty mind, with the beatings continuously playing right before her eyes.

She left her mother at the station and asked nothing when they came back. Silence enveloped the entire house. They had shut every door and window. Her father was nowhere to be found in their house now because he had been brought to the jail immediately. No one ever talked about it anymore.

Yoronea, with her mother and her little sister, continued to live by themselves, silently fighting day by day with the people talking about her father's condition wherever they were. People really love talking about other people's lives being blind in their own lives.

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Yoronea entered high school while helping her mother in their little food business. They continue to work, not minding the season.

Maybe it was a boiling or snowy day, or there might have been a really strong storm incoming. They didn’t stop.

They became distant with each other, there was nothing to do anymore to bring back the old harmony in their family, seeing her father together with her uncle behind the bars, hearing people might be in the jail or outside.

They kept on calling her father by names; addict, crazy, lunatic, and went on. Crying isn't enough anymore to lessen the pain she’s been feeling, till she becomes numb. Her mother became less patient, because of the stress, from calm and collected to always yelling with a fierce gaze even at her child.

Years rapidly passed by till one day they were called into their grandmother’s house, thinking that it was just a random get-together only to be shocked to see what had been waiting for them.

It was her father in a white shirt and faded shorts. Yoronea’s mother immediately went in her father's direction, while her sister, who’s big enough now to understand things, went slowly in the same direction, while she was contemplating on what she needed to do.

In the end, she just also went in their direction, erasing her random thoughts for a short while.

Drew has been released from the jail after 6 years, but he still needs to attend and undergo rehabilitation to ensure his cured progress from addiction to drugs.

Things seem lighter now in Yoronea’s family, but it only lasted for a while. Her father went back to his old workplace. This brought joy to Yoronea, thinking that little by little her family was finally going back to normal.

Seeing her mother became calmer now. But she felt a sudden slap of reality. Not even a month had passed, but she saw how her father had changed from when he just got out of jail. She felt that even the rehabilitation did not have huge effects on her father’s condition.

The murmuring made by Drew has become obvious not only inside their household but also in his workplace and by the people who see him.

Because of this, the start of another rumor has been the talk in the place, and Drew is the protagonist, being the person who talks to himself. Yoronea sees and hears how her father talks to himself like he was talking to so many people around him.

She’s clearly aware of what’s happening to her father. Drew is still under the influence of drugs. And recently, he also stopped going to his rehabilitation, which started slowly getting loud and frequent shouting.

Yoronea has become distant from her father more and more till she can’t even look him in the eyes. She stayed silent, listening to whoever her father was talking to, not involving herself in his own world.

Maybe the trauma that Drew has felt from when he was captured by the policemen mixed with the influence of drugs that even normal talk can’t get through on him anymore. Drew’s family doesn’t even have any idea if he’s still using drugs even without them giving him money, but now they know that his friend from the workplace was the one who’s influencing him now to continue using drugs.

The only solution left for Yoronea’s family to handle her father, who was worsening their condition, was to keep him inside the house. Hesitating that Drew may feel that he might be being held in a prison again, he also had no choice but to cooperate if he also wanted to change.

Yoronea remembered those people who kept on visiting her father despite his retirement and inviting him somewhere. She doesn’t let even a little information be missed. Deep down she was sincerely hoping that those people would suffer a much worse situation than her father.

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