Ingsun: The Light

Semarang

Nada looked around in stunned disbelief.

What?

Hadn't she just opened the bathroom door at Benu's house? So how on earth had she ended up in a traditional market?

She slowly scanned her surroundings.

Stalls lined both sides of a narrow passage about two meters wide, facing each other beneath translucent corrugated roofing that let strips of afternoon sunlight filter through. The market was unusually quiet. It was already half past three, long after the busiest hours had passed. Most of the vendors had packed up, leaving only a handful selling groceries, dried goods, and daily necessities.

There were barely any shoppers.

The remaining vendors lounged lazily behind their stalls, chatting with one another while waiting for the occasional customer.

Nada turned around. There really was a door behind her. But it belonged to a shuttered shop.

A large steel padlock secured it tightly. Whatever was inside had to be valuable.

Treasure? Gold bars?

She grabbed the handle and gave it a pull. Locked. Of course it was. The problem was that she knew she'd just come through that very door.

Except, the bathroom door at Benu's house had been painted bright green. This one was dark blue.

Nada stood perfectly still, trying to convince herself she hadn't suddenly lost her mind. She blinked several times. Rubbed her eyes. Everything remained exactly the same.

This wasn't a dream. It was real. She pulled out her phone and checked the time. 3:30 p.m. Exactly the same time it should have been if she had still been at Benu's house.

Only, she wasn't.

Determined to figure out where she was, Nada hurried toward the market entrance. Fresh markets usually displayed their full address somewhere near the gates, or at least their name in large letters above the entrance.

After turning two corners, she spotted one of the market's side exits. The moment she stepped outside, rows of shops and street food stalls greeted her. She carefully read each sign as she walked.

A Muslim fashion boutique. A convenience store. A jewelry shop. Then she stopped. The jewelry store displayed its complete address.

Her eyes widened. Dargo Fresh Market, Semarang City. She squeezed her eyes shut before reading it again.

No mistake. She really was standing in Dargo Market. In Semarang. The capital of Central Java Province.

More than a hundred kilometers from Solo. More than a hundred kilometers from the bathroom door she'd opened less than a minute ago.

Half dazed, Nada wandered to a nearby plastic stool and sat down heavily. She took several slow, deep breaths.

This...

This was beyond bizarre.

She had seen ghosts. Talked to spirits. Experienced things ordinary people would never believe.

But this? This made absolutely no sense. Her mind raced. Had the spirits around Benu's house played some elaborate trick on her?

Had they somehow transported her here? Or had she accidentally stepped through some kind of dimensional portal?

She looked around again. Everything seemed perfectly normal. Cars rolled past. Pedicabs waited by the roadside. Orange city minibuses rattled through traffic.

Two groups of motorcycle taxi drivers sat nearby chatting while waiting for ride requests, one wearing green Gojek jackets, the other in Grab uniforms.

If this were some parallel universe, surely those companies wouldn't even exist. No. This looked exactly like the real Semarang.

She'd visited the city several times with her mother whenever they stayed at Aunt Winda's house in Tembalang. Once, years ago, they'd even come shopping here for spices and local snacks.

Which only made the mystery worse.

How had she gotten here? She hadn't boarded a bus. She hadn't taken a train. There hadn't even been a blank moment in her memory.

One second she'd pushed open Benu's bathroom door. The next... she'd walked straight into this market.

Nada slowly shook her head. There was no point trying to explain the impossible. Not yet. First, she had to accept one undeniable fact.

She was in Semarang.

And once her brain stopped panicking, she'd figure out how to get back home to Solo. Right then, another problem made itself known. Her stomach growled.

Because of today's brutal exam schedule, neither she nor Aren had managed to eat lunch. Both breaks had been spent wolfing down potato chips while finishing assignments. She'd planned to stop by Benu's house only briefly before heading home for a proper meal.

She slipped a hand into her skirt pocket. A crisp one hundred thousand rupiah bill. A relieved sigh escaped her lips. About five U.S. dollars. More than enough for food and transportation, at least for today.

After using the market restroom, she caught the irresistible aroma of fried shallots drifting from a small food stall.

Her stomach made the decision for her. Still feeling strangely self conscious in her school uniform, she hurried over. Only then did she realize something else.

Her backpack. It was still in Benu's bedroom. Benu and his mother were probably wondering how a girl could walk into the bathroom... and simply vanish.

The stall was nearly empty. Only one customer sat at the far end of the bench. A striking young woman in her twenties.

She was quietly eating while scrolling through her phone. Nada ordered a bowl of chicken soup and a glass of iced orange juice before taking a seat.

A notification chimed from her phone. Frowning, she unlocked the screen. While waiting for her food, she asked AI to search for the fastest bus back to Solo.

Then she froze.

"Damn..." she whispered.