The Midnight Shuttle

Chapter 18 : Mother

"Mother... Mother... Mother!"

"Adit! Adit!"

Mr. Dirga grabbed Aditia by the shoulders just as Marni's spirit vanished into the darkness.

"What's wrong with you?"

"My mother..." Aditia's voice broke as tears streamed down his face. "My mother..."

"Come with me."

Mr. Dirga immediately pulled him toward his official vehicle.

"Dita is safe. The Neighborhood Chief's wife is staying with her."

Aditia didn't resist.

His mind was still trapped in Marni's final words. A kind woman traded her life for that. The sentence echoed over and over inside his head as the entire two-hour journey passed in silence. Aditia never once asked where they were going. He simply stared out the window, unable to stop imagining his mother's face. When the car finally came to a halt, Mr. Dirga got out first.

"We're here."

Aditia remained motionless, his body present but his mind somewhere else.

Mr. Dirga sighed before grabbing him by the arm.

"Come on."

He practically dragged Aditia across the parking lot and into the building.

Only after they entered the waiting area did Aditia slowly raise his head.

The sign hanging above the reception desk made his heart skip a beat.

It was a psychiatric hospital.

"Look who's here," Mr. Dirga called out to someone standing nearby. "Your son thinks Dita was possessed."

Aditia frowned.

He still hadn't realized who Mr. Dirga was talking to.

Then...

A gentle hand rested on his shoulder.

"My son... What's wrong?"

A familiar voice whispered softly.

The moment Aditia heard that voice...

The world around him went black.

He collapsed to the floor.

...

"Dit... Dit..."

The familiar voice gently called his name.

Aditia slowly opened his eyes.

As his vision cleared, the first person he saw was his mother sitting beside him.

Without saying a word, he threw his arms around her and held her tightly.

"Mom... Mom..."

He broke down like a little boy who had finally found his way back home.

His mother frowned and gently patted his back.

"What's gotten into you? You're crying like a child. That's enough now. People are going to think you're one of the patients I'm admitting."

Aditia wiped away his tears, but he refused to let go.

"What are you doing here, Mom? I've been looking everywhere for you. Dita's sick."

His mother looked at him in confusion.

"What happened to Dita?"

Before Aditia could answer, Mr. Dirga stepped forward.

"She's been running a fever," he said calmly. "We think she picked up some kind of illness."

He deliberately concealed everything that had truly happened.

"Oh dear..." Aditia's mother murmured. "I should call Dita."

"Not yet, Mom," Mr. Dirga interrupted with a reassuring smile. "She's fine now. The Neighborhood Chief's wife is with her. Before that... could you tell us why you're here?"

She nodded.

"Yesterday morning someone called me. They said Mrs. Mirasih had another violent episode. Whenever that happens..."

She suddenly stopped speaking.

Aditia frowned.

"What is it, Mom?"

She forced a faint smile.

"It's nothing. Mrs. Mirasih is my friend. Sometimes... she just needs someone to keep her company."

It was obvious she still believed Aditia knew nothing about Dita's past.

Aditia slowly lowered his head before looking back at her.

"I already know, Mom. I know who Mrs. Mirasih really is. I've seen Dita's birth certificate."

His mother's expression froze.

"So... you know?"

There was sadness in her eyes.

Not because the truth had finally come out...

But because the day she had hoped would never come...

Had finally arrived.

Aditia looked at his mother without taking his eyes off her.

"Mom... why are you here?"

His mother let out a quiet sigh.

"Whenever Mrs. Mirasih has one of her episodes, I come here and show her Dita's photographs. I tell her everything about how Dita has been doing. It always calms her down. Just like today, she became much more peaceful after seeing how much Dita has grown."

She paused, her expression darkening.

"I was getting ready to leave when Mrs. Mirasih suddenly attacked me. She hit me so hard that I lost consciousness. When I woke up, one of the nurses was beside me. They asked me to stay here overnight because they couldn't find Mrs. Mirasih anywhere. She's been missing ever since."

Aditia and Mr. Dirga exchanged uneasy glances.

Something about the story didn't feel right.

"Mom," Aditia said gently, "why don't you let the doctor examine you one more time? If everything's fine, we'll take you home. Dita must be waiting for us."

His mother smiled and nodded.

"All right."

A nurse soon arrived and escorted her away for another examination.

The moment she disappeared down the hallway, Mr. Dirga turned toward Aditia.

"What happened back there?"

Aditia took a deep breath.

"Before Marni disappeared, she told me that a kind woman had traded her life to recover the Santet Cidra medium from her grave. I thought she was talking about my mother. That's why I lost control... and stabbed Marni with my keris."

Mr. Dirga stared at him.

"You destroyed Marni's spirit?"

Aditia slowly nodded.

"I thought my mother had become the substitute."

Mr. Dirga folded his arms, his expression turning serious.

"Your father once did the same thing."

Aditia looked up.

"He destroyed a malicious spirit that threatened your family. After that, he was temporarily punished."

Aditia frowned.

"Punished?"

"He lost the ability to see spirits for a time. Your father believed it was God's reminder that taking a soul—even an evil one—still carried consequences."

The color drained from Aditia's face.

Without another word, he instinctively reached for the notebook his father had left behind.

Then he suddenly stopped.

He had left it inside the minibus.

"I don't know..." he whispered. "But ever since this happened... I haven't seen a single spirit."

A heavy silence settled between them.

Mr. Dirga slowly exhaled.

"This could become a serious problem, Dit. If you've really lost your spiritual sight, who's going to protect your home?"

"And who's going to guide those wandering souls back home?"

Aditia lowered his head.

His hands slowly curled into fists.

"I should've been smarter."

"I shouldn't have acted so recklessly."

Mr. Dirga drove Aditia and his mother back home.

Throughout the journey, Aditia remained unusually quiet.

Something felt terribly wrong.

During the entire time they had been at the psychiatric hospital, he hadn't seen a single apparition.

Not one wandering spirit.

Not even the faintest trace of a supernatural presence.

The sun was already beginning to sink below the horizon.

A place like that should have been crawling with restless spirits.

Yet...

There had been nothing.

His father's punishment...

Had become his.

"Mrs. Mirasih said something before she attacked you, didn't she?" Mr. Dirga suddenly asked, his instincts as a police officer telling him they were still missing an important piece of the puzzle.

Aditia's mother frowned as she tried to remember. "I don't think so. She slapped me several times, then she hit me on the head with a thermos from her room. I collapsed..." She fell silent for a moment before continuing, "Oh... wait. I did hear her talking before I passed out."

Mr. Dirga immediately glanced at her. "Do you remember what she said?"

She closed her eyes, searching her memory. "...She kept saying, 'Don't take my daughter... Don't take my daughter.' I never saw who she was talking to. After that, she suddenly ran out of the room. I wanted to chase after her... but I was too weak. Then everything went black."

Mr. Dirga's expression immediately changed. He looked toward Aditia. "Dit... I think we need to go after Master Kusno. We have to make sure he's all right." He hesitated before adding, "Or... what if Mrs. Mirasih got there first?"

Aditia's mother looked at them in confusion. "What are you two talking about? Why is Master Kusno involved? Where are you going?"

Aditia forced a smile. "It's nothing, Mom. Master Kusno helped Dita yesterday when she got sick. We're just going to thank him."

His mother nodded without suspicion. "He's a good man. He and your father were close friends."

Aditia quietly looked away.

He already knew that.

Master Kusno had told him everything.

After they arrived home, Aditia made sure his mother was safely inside before checking on Dita.

She was sleeping peacefully.

The fever had gone.

Her breathing had returned to normal.

Seeing that, Aditia finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Mr. Dirga stood beside him. "We should leave now."

Aditia nodded. "If Mrs. Mirasih really went after Master Kusno... we may already be too late."

The cemetery was only fifteen minutes away.

By the time they arrived, night had completely fallen over the village.

The public cemetery stretched silently beneath the darkness, illuminated only by scattered moonlight filtering through the trees.

The moment they stepped inside, the two men instinctively split up to cover more ground.

"You search the eastern side," Mr. Dirga said. "I'll check the western graves."

"All right."

Aditia tightened his grip around the keris tucked beneath his jacket before walking deeper into the cemetery.

Something immediately felt wrong.

Far too quiet.

Every cemetery he had ever visited after sunset had been crowded with wandering spirits.

Some cried.

Some laughed.

Some simply stared from a distance.

But tonight...

There was nothing.

Not a single presence.

Not a whisper.

Not even the faint chill that usually accompanied restless souls.

For the first time in his life...

The silence frightened him more than the spirits ever had.

If he could no longer see them...

Then they could see him...

While he remained completely blind.

Aditia swallowed hard and continued walking between the graves, every step heavier than the last.

His father's punishment...

Had truly become his own.

"Hey..." Aditia stopped walking as a faint voice, almost like a whisper carried by the wind, reached his ears. He slowly turned around, but no one was there. His heartbeat quickened. For the first time in years, he felt what ordinary people felt when they entered a cemetery at night—fear.

"Kasseeeppp..." The voice came again, long and hoarse, impossible to mistake for a human voice.

"Who's there?" Aditia shouted, instinctively gripping the hilt of his keris.

No answer. Only silence.

Then...

"I aaam..." The voice drifted through the darkness once more. It belonged to a man, and every syllable was followed by a wave of icy air that brushed across Aditia's face. His blood ran cold. He couldn't see them anymore—he could only hear them.

Panic surged through him. Without thinking, Aditia turned and ran. It was the first time in his life he had ever fled from the unseen. Before, he had never been afraid. He could always see them. He knew where they were. He knew how many surrounded him.

Now... he was blind. And they knew it.

Suddenly, something caught his foot. Aditia was thrown forward, crashing face-first into the damp earth. Laughter erupted around him—one voice, then another, until dozens of shrill laughs echoed through the cemetery. Men. Women. Children. All of them laughing at him.

The man they had once feared, the one who used to send them home, had finally become helpless.

Aditia scrambled to his knees, his breathing ragged. "Help... I know you're here... Mr. Dirga!"

No one answered.

Only laughter.

Growing louder.

Drawing closer.

Aditia struggled to his feet, his heart pounding wildly inside his chest. He had never felt this helpless before.

Just as he managed to stand, something cold suddenly landed on his shoulder.

For a brief moment, hope flickered inside him.

"Mr. Dirga?" he called out, quickly turning around.

No one.

The hand had vanished.

Before he could catch his breath, another icy touch wrapped around his ankle. Then another followed—his calf, his waist, his chest, his neck—spreading across his body one after another until it felt as though countless unseen hands were holding him in place.

Aditia struggled with all his strength. "Let go!"

His arms swung wildly through empty air.

There was nothing to strike. Nothing to grab. Nothing he could fight.

A foul stench of blood and decay suddenly filled the air, growing stronger with every passing second.

He tried to scream.

But an icy hand clamped tightly over his mouth.

No sound escaped.

If he had still possessed his spiritual sight, he would have seen what surrounded him.

More than a dozen malicious spirits had seized the opportunity to attack—a shroud ghost, a Kuntilanak, several Tuyuls, and countless other twisted figures crowding around him.

Some pulled at his arms. Some clawed at his legs. Others laughed as they took turns tormenting the young man who had once driven them away without fear.

Aditia's legs finally gave out, and he collapsed onto his back.

The crushing weight on his body grew heavier. It felt as though enormous stones had been piled across his chest.

He gasped desperately for air.

But the pressure only increased.

The spirits weren't merely pinning him down—they were climbing onto him, jumping, laughing, taking turns crushing the breath from his lungs.

Aditia's vision blurred.

His body trembled violently from the cold.

Every breath became more painful than the last.

For the first time since inheriting his father's duty, he truly believed he might die.

"Help..."

The word never left his lips. The icy hand still covered his mouth, and all that escaped was a faint, desperate groan.

Aditia's chest burned as every breath became harder to draw. The crushing weight pressing down on him was unbearable. He couldn't move, couldn't scream, and couldn't even see what was attacking him.

For the first time in his life, darkness wasn't just around him—it was inside him.

The evil spirits knew.

They knew he could no longer see them, and they reveled in it.

One after another, icy hands tightened around his arms and legs while others continued to pin his body against the wet ground. Laughter echoed from every direction—high-pitched, hoarse, male, female, young, old. The entire cemetery seemed alive with mockery.

Aditia squeezed his eyes shut. His fingers desperately searched for the keris at his waist, but another unseen force seized his wrist before he could reach it.

His body shook violently. The cold spread through his veins until even his heartbeat felt sluggish.

He tried to pray. He tried to call God's name.

But the hand covering his mouth muffled every sound.

Only a weak groan escaped.

His vision slowly faded.

His thoughts drifted to his father.

So this... is what you went through...

He had always believed his father's stories. But only now did he truly understand the terror of facing the unseen while being unable to see it.

The pressure on his chest grew heavier. His lungs screamed for air. His body was beginning to give up.

Just as consciousness started slipping away...

A thunderous shout erupted across the cemetery.

"Get away from him!"

The laughter stopped.

For a brief second...

The cemetery fell completely silent.

The pressure crushing Aditia's body grew heavier with every passing second. He could no longer tell how many spirits were pinning him to the ground. All he knew was that he couldn't breathe. His chest burned, his arms and legs refused to move, and the icy hands gripping his body tightened even further.

Some clutched his wrists. Others held down his legs. Several more pressed against his chest as though they wanted to crush every last breath from his lungs. The stench of blood and decay overwhelmed his senses.

If he had still possessed his spiritual sight, he would have seen them all—dozens of malicious spirits surrounding him. A shroud ghost. A Kuntilanak. Tiny Tuyuls. And countless other creatures, each taking turns tormenting the young man they had once feared.

They laughed. They mocked him. They celebrated his helplessness.

Aditia tried to scream. He tried to call for Mr. Dirga. But the freezing hand clamped over his mouth refused to let him make a sound.

His vision blurred. His body trembled violently. Every breath felt weaker than the last as the spirits continued jumping onto his body, their weight pressing harder and harder until even drawing a single breath became almost impossible.

Aditia slowly closed his eyes.

For the first time since inheriting his father's duty, he truly believed that this might be the end.

"Help..."

The plea never escaped his lips—only a faint, muffled groan slipped through the icy hand covering his mouth.