A Baffling Morning
The morning sun began to filter through the curtains as the rooster's crow pierced the silence. Indra, in his room, woke and opened his eyes. He sat up in bed, trying to gather his wits, then swung his legs out, reaching under his shirt to scratch himself with a yawn before grabbing his towel from the door. Creak, Indra opened his bedroom door and headed for the bathroom to shower. As he stepped inside, he passed the sink and mirror. He glanced at his reflection. Suddenly, he froze, his mouth falling open. He backed up, taking another look at himself in the mirror. He then turned and touched his own face.
"Wait, I'm back to being human? But last night I was a skeleton? Is this Uncle's doing?" Indra wondered joyfully, rubbing his cheeks.
He immediately dashed out of the bathroom, looking for his uncle, but the house was empty, and his uncle hadn't returned. Finally, he went back into the bathroom and took a shower, feeling his own body as if he couldn't believe what had happened, chalking it all up to a dream. After showering, he returned to his room. When he saw his bed, he was slightly surprised to see several intact eggs on it. When he picked one up, it felt oddly light, completely empty, even though the shell was perfectly smooth, without a single crack.
"What is this? Who put eggs here? And they're hollow," Indra mumbled, drying his hair with the towel.
Ding... dong... "Indra!" someone called from outside the house. Indra immediately ran out of his room and opened the front door. He saw a pretty girl in modest workout clothes standing at his gate; she looked like she'd been out for a morning run.
"Oh, Rita, what's up so early?" Indra asked.
"Hey, Indra, where've you been? I come by every day, and you're never out," Rita replied.
"Huh... every day?" Indra asked.
"Yeah! You haven't been to school for a week, and you haven't been to work either. Mr. Joko and the teachers at school keep asking me about you... where have you been?" Rita pressed.
"A week? Are you serious? It feels like I just worked yesterday, coming back from school," Indra responded.
"Yeah, seriously! Ask Hadi, Rahmat, and Ningsih if you don't believe me. Hadi's been furious, looking for you," Rita retorted.
"A week? Oh no... what else is going on?" Indra thought.
"Hey, why are you spacing out?" Rita nudged.
"Oh, right... sorry, sorry. Just tell Mr. Joko I'll be in this afternoon, and I'll go back to school tomorrow too," Indra replied.
"Okay, I gotta go now. I need to head back and shower, I've got the morning shift... bye bye," Rita said.
After Rita left, Indra went back inside and closed the door. He felt confused because the incident he'd experienced felt like it had only just happened last night. He sat in his living room, pondering what had transpired. Suddenly, ring... ring... His landline phone rang. Indra immediately stood up, jogged to the phone, and picked it up.
"Hello?" Indra asked.
"Good morning, may I speak with Mr. Purbo?" a man on the phone asked.
"Oh, Mr. Purbo is out right now. Is there a message? I'll pass it on," Indra replied.
"Oh, I'll just call again later. When do you expect him back?" the man asked.
"Sorry, I'm not sure," Indra answered.
Suddenly, someone touched his shoulder. Indra turned and saw his uncle standing behind him. He jumped in surprise and handed the phone to his uncle, who immediately began speaking to the man.
"Oh my god... when did Uncle even get in? He almost gave me a heart attack," Indra thought to himself.
Indra immediately went back to his room. He sat on the edge of his bed, observing the eggs on his bed. He picked up an egg and playfully cracked it open. Turns out, the contents of the egg had truly vanished, leaving only the intact shell without a single scratch.
"This is so weird," he thought to himself.
Indra picked up his smartphone and saw a flood of messages, mostly from his coworkers and manager asking where he was. Besides that, there were also messages from his high school and middle school alumni chat groups where he used to chat with his friends. He didn't forget to check his social media status. After looking at everything, it was indeed true, just as Rita had said: all the messages and social media updates had accumulated over a week. He checked the date on his smartphone, and the date displayed on the screen further confirmed Rita's words.
"So where was I this whole week? Was I just sleeping? Crazy, I really don't remember anything," Indra mumbled to himself.
While he was busy racking his brain, Creak, his bedroom door opened. His uncle walked in, grabbed a chair, and sat in front of him. His uncle's face looked serious, which made Indra feel a little scared.
"Indra, now you're coming with your uncle to the hill. We're going to meditate there. You need to learn to control what's inside you," his uncle suddenly said.
"Huh, now, Uncle? What about my work?" Indra asked.
"Well, do you want your body to be taken over by the creature inside you? It's up to you," his uncle replied.
"Ugh... what do you mean, Uncle? Please explain first," Indra said.
His uncle immediately explained that the skeleton that touched Indra's hand had entered his body and become a part of his soul. He had to control it before it controlled him, because if it did, Indra would become a full skeleton and wouldn't be able to turn back into a human. His uncle also explained that every night, while Indra slept and transformed into a skeleton, he would place an egg. The purpose was for the skeleton inside Indra's body to come out and enter the egg. But then his uncle received a sign from his ancestors that Indra's soul had already partially merged with the skeleton inside him because he hadn't died when touched.
According to his uncle, the reason Indra didn't die was because he was protected by his ancestors, but he still had to learn to control it, and there was no other choice. Indra fell silent, unable to say anything. Finally, he reluctantly told his uncle that he was willing to go and meditate with him on the hill where his uncle usually meditated.
"In that case, I'll contact my school and my boss to ask for leave. About how long will it take, Uncle?" Indra asked.
"Well, I don't know. It all depends on you. It could be just one day, it could be a month, or even a year," his uncle replied.
"Oh no... so what do I tell them?" Indra asked.
"Just tell them the truth for school, and for work, just resign," his uncle said casually.
"What, tell my school I'm possessed by a spirit? And what about our living expenses? I'll have to find another job, right?" Indra retorted.
"You don't need to worry. I'll talk to your school. I know your principal. I also have to go to Sumba Island; my friend just called, needing help there. You answered the phone earlier, right?" his uncle said.
"Wait, when are you leaving?" Indra asked.
"Next month, still a while," his uncle replied.
"Ughhh... what do I do? I'm suddenly getting a headache, Uncle," Indra said, messing up his hair.
"Don't worry. I have money. I'll give you everything. I don't need money where I'm going," his uncle said.
"Huh... Uncle has money?" Indra asked, surprised.
"Of course I do. My mother gave me old jewelry to sell. She buried it all in the yard, just need to dig it up," his uncle replied casually.
"Good grief... why didn't you say so earlier, Uncle? Alright then, I'll resign. Please take care of my school," Indra replied, trusting him.
Finally, Indra called his manager and briefly went to the convenience store to say goodbye. Then he headed to the hill with his uncle to meditate together.