The Unsociable Drakuli Part 7
Lupus hurriedly pedaled his bike through the small alleys. He was in such a rush that he forgot to wear his sandals. And to make matters worse, his bike brakes were completely worn out. So, whenever there were little kids running or crossing in front of him, Lupus had to use his feet to brake. His feet scraped against the asphalt. Thankfully, after just three times of braking, his feet were already as torn up as an oil worker’s!
At that moment, Lupus was really eager to meet Gusur and Boim to tell them about his sister dating someone from the cemetery. He also wanted to discuss the progress of his investigation into the mysterious sweet girl named Kunti. That’s why Lupus had to meet Gusur quickly, because if he was even a little late, that crazy artist would disappear.
Yeah, for some reason, Gusur had been acting so busy lately, doing all sorts of research. About kids selling stuff at street corners, about moms still cooking with river water, about the growing number of unemployed people, about the land in Jakarta that was always being fought over, or even about himself who still hadn’t caught the attention of any girls. Lupus once told Gusur that he didn’t need to bother with all these research projects when he was still in high school. Because those kinds of busy work should be done by college students. But Gusur insisted, “Because I’m not sure if I can continue my education until college. You know, my grandfather funds my schooling from the small piece of land he sold in his village. Well, if I’m not mistaken, now there’s only two square meters left of that land. If I sell it, it would barely be enough for the registration fees, Pus. That’s why while I’m still in school, I’ll do various research projects!”
And when Lupus arrived in front of Gusur’s house, after crashing into a trash can and three clotheslines because he couldn’t brake his bike in time, he saw Gusur busy putting his work papers into his bag. It seemed like Gusur was about to go out for more research.
“Suur…! Wait, don’t leave yet. I have important news, even more important than your research results!” Lupus shouted from the front alley.
Gusur, who was already getting ready to leave, was surprised to hear his name being called.
“Who’s that?”
“It’s me, Lupus. I have really important news. I hope you’ll listen.”
“Oh, I’m busy right now. Maybe later.”
“Sur, this is more important news. My sister Lulu is dating someone from the cemetery!” Lupus parked his bike and approached Gusur.
“What? Dating someone from the cemetery?” Gusur was shocked.
“Yeah.”
“Is he crazy, like a ghost or a monster?”
“No, that’s not what I mean. He’s a human, but really mysterious. Because he lives in the cemetery. And I think it would be interesting if you investigate it.”
“Yeah, that’s definitely interesting. Where is he now?”
“Don’t worry, we need to plan our strategy first. Where’s Boim?”
“I was actually going to his house. We had plans. But if I don’t show up at his house, he’ll definitely show up at mine.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, I mean he’ll show up at my house, Pus.”
“Alright, let’s just wait then.”
Lupus was then taken up to the attic where Gusur usually hung out. The attic was really like a nest. Messy and chaotic. Posters and paintings that he had painted himself were stuck everywhere.
“Hey, Sur, do you sleep here every day?” Lupus asked, surprised as he looked at his friend’s room, which he thought was more suitable for rats to live in.
“Yeah, so what?”
“It’s no big deal, I just feel sorry for the rats. They probably don’t have any space left.” Gusur took out the contents of his bag and placed them on the side. He took a new piece of paper and wrote on it: Research on Children in the Cemetery in relation to the end of Visit Indonesia Year 1991!
“Gusurr, Gusurr…!” Suddenly, a voice calling from below the attic could be heard. Gusur immediately recognized the voice.
“Hey, that’s Boim. Wait a minute, Pus, let me check on him,” Gusur said as he quickly went down using the rope that was attached from the window to his nest.
“Boim, just come up, Lupus is up here. And that’s why I didn’t show up at your house, because he showed up at mine first. It’s not my fault, right?”
“So, whose fault is it then?” Boim asked, confused.
“It’s your house’s fault, why is it so far from mine?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
When they reached the attic, Boim and Gusur were immediately greeted with exciting stories from Lupus about Lulu and the cemetery boy, Drakuli.
Boim was the most shocked to hear Lupus’ story. Because whether known or not, Boim had a huge crush on Lulu.
“Wow, since when did they become so close?” Gusur asked, while continuing to take notes on his paper.
“Well, that’s enough for now.”
“So, Lulu is dating, Pus?” Boim asked, blind with jealousy. “It’s not clear yet, but they seem really close. They go everywhere together. And the problem for me is, why is Lulu getting close to a cemetery boy?”
“Yeah, why isn’t she getting close to me instead?” Boim added.
“Well, if Lulu gets close to you, it will be even more problematic. What annoys me is that I’ve been pranked by that kid before.”
“Pranked?”
“Yeah, when I followed Lulu to her house. Just because he lives in the cemetery, he scared me. Of course, I was scared. If he lived in the market or in the middle of a field, I wouldn’t run away no matter how much he tried to scare me,” Lupus said, pretending to be tough.
“Well, that can’t be left alone. We have to teach that cemetery boy a lesson,” Boim said angrily. “So, what do we do now, Pus? I don’t want Lulu to get into more trouble.”
“Let’s investigate him!” Lupus suggested.
“Agreed! I totally agree. If necessary, let’s go to his house right now.” Boim clenched his fists.
“I-I’m not against it, Pus. Just hearing about this problem already got me interested, but when you said his house is in the cemetery, I’d rather back off,” Gusur hesitated.
“Oh, come on, Sur, help me out. If something happens to Fifi Alone, like if she starts dating a Dracula kid, I’ll also help… help people during floods, I mean,” Boim said.
“You’re so selfish, Im. I didn’t want to help you before when you had problems, but now that Lulu is in trouble, you force me to help,” Gusur grumbled.
“Yeah, of course I didn’t want to help you before, because your problems were always about not having enough food.”
“And one more thing,” Lupus suddenly said.
“What?” Gusur and Boim asked at the same time.
“You guys still remember the girl we followed to the cemetery before? The one who walked with me during the Rap Competition?”
“Yeah, yeah, what about her?” Boim and Gusur couldn’t wait to hear.
“Well, I just remembered that the cemetery belongs to that Drakuli guy…”
“DRAKULI?” Boim and Gusur were shocked.
“Uh, yeah, y-yes. Drakuli is the name of that cemetery boy…”
“Oh my god! That name is so creepy!” Boim shuddered.
“It reminds me of Dracula!” Gusur immediately felt chills down his spine.
“Yeah, yeah. Hold on to your seats, guys. Let me continue, okay?” Lupus said, calming down his panicked friends. “So, it turns out that the creepy gate that separates the cemetery, where Kunti enters, is Drakuli’s cemetery gate. No wonder I felt like I’ve been there before. It was actually a few months ago when I accompanied Lulu to deliver a warning letter from the school principal to that cemetery kid. Man, I was scared to death. Just imagine, his house is hidden, surrounded by a vast and spooky cemetery. Inside, it looks more like a morgue than a human house…”
“Eeek…” Both of them shivered.
“Well, I think there must be a connection between the mystery of Kunti and Drakuli. They both have weird faces.”
“Oh, really? So, the sweet girl is there?” Boim got excited.
“That’s just a guess. So, are you guys willing to help me investigate that cemetery kid?”
“Yeah. I’m in, Pus.” Boim nodded, still scared.
“And Gusur, how about you, Sur? Will you join the investigation?”
“I’m okay with it, but there’s a condition, Pus.”
“What is it?”
“Both of you have to help me steal my grandpa’s amulet, which is a frog-shaped pendant that he always keeps in a box with his sacred charms.”
“A frog amulet?”
“Yeah, that frog amulet can ward off evil spirits!”
Finally, Lupus and Boim had to accompany Gusur in rummaging through the contents of the box that seemed intentionally placed by Gusur’s grandpa in the attic. That box was really sacred. I mean, it contained truly valuable historical items. Besides the old ancestral underwear of Gusur’s family, there were also pillowcases that had partially turned into stone. Actually, the Gusur family could be arrested by the government because they didn’t deposit those valuable items in the nearest museum.
After hours of rearranging in the attic, and fighting against death in the form of terrifying rats and cockroaches, to the point where Lupus and Boim’s screams could be heard, Gusur finally succeeded in obtaining the amulet in the form of a frog statue.
“Sur, it seems like your family has quite a lot of heirlooms, huh?” Lupus asked.
“Yeah, that’s how it is. There are my grandpa’s heirlooms, my neighbor’s heirlooms, and also my own heirlooms in the form of worn-out shoes that I exchanged for shoe polish,” Gusur explained.
“Oh, is it true that this frog amulet can ward off evil spirits? If not, we’re in trouble. We’ll be investigating someone in the devil’s lair,” Boim said.
“The devil’s lair?” Gusur was taken aback.
“Definitely the devil’s lair, his house is in the cemetery!”
“Oh, right… that means this frog amulet is really valuable to us.”
“Don’t worry and don’t be afraid. This frog amulet has proven its power. Once, when my grandpa was possessed by a striped demon, I just hit him on the head with it,” Gusur explained.
“Whose head?”
“My grandpa’s head.”
“And then the demon ran away?”
“Not yet, because at that moment, my grandpa’s head immediately swelled. He groaned in pain, so naturally… I think the striped demon ran away. Yeah, yeah, so the striped demon definitely ran away.”
“So, to ward off the spirits that bother us, we have to hit ourselves on the head with it, right?”
“Yeah, that’s how it works.”
“Weird, huh?”
