"Ugh…"
Grunting in his sleep, sweating heavily, he dreamt about that little girl when the sun set, at the same place and at the same time. While everything around him moved as it were , Haya could not move an inch, nor could he speak. Paralysed, he was forced to gaze at her.
Continuous and afraid, he tried to break free, but as time passed, he heard something, as if someone was trying to reach him. It was his sister's voice, who had come to wake him.
"Brother, wake up, brother. The sun is already bright."
His sister barged into his room, trying to wake her brother while opening the window to let fresh air circulate in his room.
"How much longer do you plan on sleeping, huh?"
She spoke in anger, tired of asking him to wake up.
Haya had just broken free from the dream he was having. Startled by mistaking his sister for a ghost, Haya calmed down. He tried to sleep again by covering his head with the blanket, but was stopped by his sister, who pulled the blanket down as if they were fighting.
"Just give me 10 minutes, I swear I will wake up then," he said, struggling to cover his head.
"No, no, no. Wake up already," she replied, pulling the blanket with all her might.
"Mum! Big brother does not want to get up!" she called, playing her trump card.
He had no choice but to wake up.
"Hehe, afraid of being scolded, I see," she muttered in victory.
Haya sat up in bed, blinded by the light coming through the window. He was told to get ready and come downstairs as quickly as possible by his sister, Inara, who seemed full of energy in the morning, while Haya could barely walk straight towards the bathroom downstairs.
Freshened up and finished with his prayer, he goes down to the dining room to have his first meal of the day. From over the stairs, he can already smell the aromatic scent of fragrant rice. With a grumbling stomach, he cannot bear to walk slowly, so he rushes to the dining table, ready to taste his favourite dishes.
"Uhm, uhm. Do you not have anything to say to me?"
His mother stops him just as he is about to take his first bite.
"Sorry, Mum. Good morning ."
Awkwardly asking for forgiveness and greeting her, he then begins to recite his prayer.
Grateful to be able to eat his mother's cooking again after so long, without realising it, he smiled. It was the feeling he once had as a child, surrounded by his family. This was the first time in a while that they had a meal together, both siblings and their mother sitting together. It could not be helped, as their mother was really busy. Thanks to Haya and Inara's capabilities, their mother could feel relieved and focus on growing her business.
"That is unusual for you to be here in the morning, Mum. Did something happen?"
With the same gentle voice as he is, Haya asked his mum.
"Yeah, yeah," Inara replied cheerfully, wanting to know the same thing.
"Yes, something did actually happen," their mother answered in her caring voice, which sounded as if she were about to go mad.
"If you take the time to look around this house, look how messy it is!"
She then shouted at both her children.
"Sorry, Mum... but if you look closely, all of those things belong to her!"
Haya denied that he should also be blamed for his little sister's mess.
"No matter who did it, we all should take responsibility."
His mother replied, brushing off his words as if it was expected.
Hearing those words, Haya could not help but feel angry and turned his gaze to his sister, frowning.
As a result, both of them had to help their mother clean up around the house. Inara had a bright smile, as if she was happy that her brother also had to clean up the mess she had made, while Haya just sighed, accepting his fate.
To begin their cleaning, their mother gave each of them a task to finish. Their mother took care of the kitchen, Inara was assigned to tidy up the living room, while Haya had to clean the bathroom and toilet as thoroughly as possible.
Haya worked his butts off for hours until it was noon, and he was drenched. After making sure the bathroom and toilet looked as if they were new, he washed himself and put on clean clothes.
Going downstairs, hungry and wanting to check on his sister in the living room, he saw that his sister was napping on their mother's lap; both were asleep. Not wanting to disturb them, Haya willingly took care of the last task himself, which was to cook lunch.
As Haya continued to cook, his mother and sister were woken by the smell of sautéed Italian herbs. They looked at each other and smiled.
They both decide to see what Haya is making. Just as they suspected from what they had smelled earlier, with his skill in preparing Western cuisine, he was cooking spaghetti – simple yet delicious – spaghetti carbonara.
"If you could, can you make a portion for seven?"
Breaking her son's concentration, she asked him to prepare a meal for their guest who would arrive later.
"Sure, but who is going to visit us at a time like this, Mum?"
Haya asked his mother curiously, while still focusing on cooking the spaghetti.
"Well, it would not be a surprise if I told you now, would it?"
"Sure it is," Haya replied, uninterested.
"Well... you can ask me if you want any help to prepare," Irana interrupted, saying this proudly.
"No. Just do something else, rather than interrupting me."
"What is with you? I am offering you some help, am I not? You should be happy!"
"There is no way I am letting you touch my cooking ever again!"
"Why is that? Have I ever done anything bad to you?"
"Yes, you have. Every time."
Haya said this while recalling all the bad things he had experienced from his sister's so- called "help". No matter how much he remembered, all that came to mind was how annoying his sister was.
"Now, now. Do not fight," their mum tried to stop them.
"Irana, prepare some drinks for us, would you?"
The sound of the doorbell suddenly rang, breaking up their fight. The guest their mum had mentioned earlier had just arrived at their doorstep.
"Looks like our guest has arrived. I am going to welcome them," their mum said happily as she went to greet the guest.
Both siblings were shocked to see their mother act like that. Speechless, they could only look at each other, pulling strange faces.
"Sigh. How long are we going to stare at each other like this? Go and prepare the drinks already."
"Even if you didn't tell me that, I already know what to do. Hmph!."
The living room grew loud with voices, one of which sounded familiar. Haya, still preparing the dish, listened carefully as he tried to identify the familiar voice.
"Ah, it is them, is it?"
He thought this to himself, when suddenly, from his side – "Bah!"
His friend Danish tried to startle him.
Without flinching, Haya simply stared at him, annoyed, then continued with his preparations.
"What do you want, Danish?"
"Yeah, I just wanted to see how you are doing," Danish replied, scratching his head, embarrassed that his attempt to scare Haya had failed.
"Woah! Is it spaghetti?" Danish realised what Haya was making.
"Now that you know what we are going to eat later, go and wait for me to finish preparing in the living room, will you?"
"Okay, okay, I will leave you alone."
Danish left Haya alone, not wanting to disturb him. In the quiet, Haya continued his preparations, treating the routine as a small comfort to his restless mind.
When he finished, he headed to the front room. His mother and sister were there, along with four of his friends, all gathered together—laughing, chatting, and half-watching some random television program.
Watching the lively scene, Haya couldn't help but smile. Moments like this felt rare, yet precious.
From within the crowd, Hanna noticed him. While still talking, she tilted her head toward Haya and offered a gentle smile. Their eyes met.
Realizing what had happened, Haya quickly looked away, trying to hide his face as it warmed—his cheeks turning a faint shade of pink.
"Ehem… ehem."
Haya cleared his throat, pretending to cough to get everyone's attention.
"It's all prepared. Let's eat."
"Woah, really?" Zul said cheerfully. "I've been waiting forever. My stomach's already grumbling."
"Ehh? Wouldn't you eat everything even if you were already full?" Annis teased, provoking him with a grin.
"Well then, why don't we head to the dining table already?" Hanna said in her gentle, soft voice. "Since Haya has prepared such a wonderful meal—right, Haya?"
"R—Right!" Haya replied, clearly flustered by her words. "L-Let's get going, shall we?"
"Umm… it's really delicious. What did you put in it, huh, brother?"
Inari's voice carried across the table, even though she was sitting at the very corner.
"Whaah… to think we get to eat this for free," Danish said in amazement. "Thanks, Haya."
Zul, seated beside him, nodded enthusiastically as he dug in.
"Mmm…"
Annis, sitting next to Hanna, murmured softly while savoring the taste of the spaghetti.
"Hmm, it really is delicious," his mother said, seated at the other end of the table beside Haya and Danish. "You've truly grown skilled at cooking."
"It's really good," Hanna said bluntly after taking another bite. She turned her gaze toward Haya and smiled warmly. "I'd be happy if I could eat this every day."
"Ough—cough, cough!"
Caught off guard by the compliment, Haya choked and began coughing.
"What's wrong, Haya? Please don't scare me like that," Hanna said worriedly. Sitting across from him, she quickly reached out and handed him a cup of water.
Haya took the cup and drank deeply. Once he had recovered, everyone resumed eating as if nothing had happened.
After finishing the meal, they performed their Zuhur prayer together, with Haya leading. Only then did they finally allow themselves to rest, gathering once more in the living room.
They chatted casually while watching a movie Inari had suggested, passing the quiet noon as clouds slowly drifted across the sky, shading the sun outside.
The film was a horror movie.
Suddenly, Danish turned his gaze toward Haya.
"Haya… you're really okay—right?"
Hearing that, everyone turned their attention toward Haya. Their gazes lingered on him, filled with concern—and curiosity—as if wondering whether he was truly fine, or if there was still something he was hiding.
"Didn't I already tell you? I'm doing great. There's nothing I'm keeping secret," Haya said firmly.
Even so, the way they continued to look at him made it clear—they didn't fully believe him.
Not wanting to keep denying their unspoken accusations, Haya decided to change the subject.
"About that girl…" he began.
"What girl?" Inari asked, tilting her head with a genuinely innocent expression, clearly unaware of what he meant.
"That girl—yesterday," Annis explained, glancing at Inari. "The one he saw. The one who almost made him faint."
The others nodded in agreement.
"That girl…" Haya repeated softly. "Did you guys really not see her?"
"No. No one saw anybody back then, bro," Danish answered calmly.
"Ah… is it really haunting you? She was a ghost, right? Didn't I tell you before?"
Zul voiced his opinion—only to be promptly smacked on the head by Annis.
"Keep your weird stories to yourself, please," Annis snapped, her tone sharp even as she tried to keep her composure.
"Then… what could it be?" Haya continued quietly. "If it wasn't a ghost."
"That's—"
Danish looked as though he was about to say something, but he was interrupted by Haya's mother.
"Does it really matter?" she said gently. "Whether it was a ghost or something else… what matters is that you're here—safe and sound."
She smiled softly. "Right?"
Like a calming charm, her words eased his restless heart. Even without answers, Haya felt a sense of peace return to him.
"Well… well," she continued, standing up slightly. "We should all make sure to get enough rest."
"Since there's still work to be done later,"
his mother added before standing up and heading to her bedroom.
…Sigh. What am I thinking, making everyone worry like this?
Haya scolded himself inwardly.
"Danish, Zul—let's go to my room and take a nap," he said.
"You guys can go to Inari's room if you want to rest too."
"Hu—huh? Of course we'll rest," Inari replied quickly.
"Right, girls? Then to my room we go."
As Haya stood up to turn off the television and head to his room, something caught his eye.
Hanna's expression—worried.
"Hanna… is there something wrong?" he asked gently.
"Umm—"
She shook her head. "It's nothing."
She forced a small smile, trying to reassure him.
But for some reason, it didn't feel convincing.
"If you say so…"
Something about it felt wrong, but there was nothing Haya could do. Pushing the unease aside, he headed to his room with Danish and Zul, hoping a short rest would clear his troubled mind.