Ew, Creepy Part 2
So, like, Mami just finished praying Isha when Lulu starts pulling on her skirt.
“What’s up with you, girl? If it rips, are you gonna replace it?”
Lulu gets snapped at like that and immediately shrinks into the corner.
Mami sighs. “Yeah, if you have something to say, just say it. No need to pull and tug on my skirt. Come on, speak up, what’s up? It’s always like that, huh? Ugh! These kids these days are just so weird.”
“Well, Mi…”
“What’s this? Is this Budi?”
“No.” Lulu flicks her thumb with her index finger while making a pleading face.
“What’s that? Oh, you wanna challenge me to a thumb war? Sure, sure…”
“Aaaaah, Mami. Why don’t you understand? Money, Mi, money!”
“Money? What money?”
“Lulu wants to ask for pocket money for tomorrow, Mi. But because Lulu has a need, she’s asking for it now.”
“What do you need it for?”
“Lulu was asked by Mr. Guru to deliver a letter to her friend’s parents. That kid hasn’t been coming to school for a few days without a clear reason. And the letter needs to be delivered right now, Mi.”
“Well, what’s the money for?”
“For Lupus.”
“Lupus?”
“Yeah, ’cause he won’t take Lulu to deliver it unless she gives him five hundred rupiahs, Mi.”
“How rude! Where is that kid?” Mami quickly folds her prayer mat.
“But, b-but Lulu is willing, Mi,” Lulu quickly adds. “Because Lulu doesn’t exactly know his address. Lupus will be the one to ask around for his address.”
Mami furrows her brow. She’s actually really surprised that Lulu is going out of her way to give her pocket money to Lupus. But Mami doesn’t have time to ask further because Lulu has already dragged Lupus outside. “Come on, Pus.”
Lupus must be so happy, just taking Lulu to Drakuli’s house and getting paid five hundred rupiahs. Even if Lulu negotiated for three hundred, Lupus would still be down. But Lulu didn’t negotiate at all when Lupus said, “Pay the fare five hundred!”
“Hurry up, Pus. It’s gonna be dark soon.”
“Patience, Lu. No need to pull my hand like that. Am I a thief or something?”
And so, they walk through the darkness of the night.
OMG, like, they walked for about half an hour and arrived in front of this old, moss-covered wall. The atmosphere was so creepy, especially since it was a full moon. The path around there was still visible though.
Lupus slowed down his pace and sneaked up behind Lulu, tugging on her hair. He was still freaked out by the story of the floating hand. He couldn’t help but wonder if that hand was still lurking around. “Ahhh!”
“Hey, what’s wrong, Pus?” Lulu was startled.
“Oh, nothing. Is the house still far?” Lupus asked.
“Nope. The address is on the envelope. It’s near the cemetery.”
“The cemetery?”
“Yeah, and we’re already near the cemetery they mentioned.”
“Huh?” Lupus was taken aback. “L-Lu, I’ll give you back your five hundred bucks. Or if you want, you can take my lunch money tomorrow too. Just leave me a hundred bucks for gum.”
“What’s wrong with you? We’re almost there, why would you want to go back? It’s better if you find someone to ask for directions to Drakuli’s house, just like we agreed.”
“B-but what if the person I ask suddenly has a flat face?”
“Well, don’t ask someone with a flat face, duh!”
Lulu continued dragging Lupus, getting closer to the cemetery gate. Lulu had heard that to get to Drakuli’s house, they had to go through that gate. And at this time, the gate was still unlocked by Mr. Gali, Drakuli’s dad. Meanwhile, Lupus was sweating nervously.
Lulu slipped through the slightly open gap in the sturdy gate. The gate looked solid and heavy. The iron was rusty, and wet moss covered its surface. Lupus hesitated to follow. But when Lulu disappeared behind the gate, Lupus quickly caught up. I mean, better not be alone, right?
“Lu, isn’t there another way?” Lupus asked.
“There is, but it’s far. It’s through the back. And they say it’s scarier. Lots of tall grass.”
“Eek!”
Lulu kept walking.
“Lu, sh-shouldn’t we just deliver the letter tomorrow afternoon? ‘Cause I need to study tonight, Lu. I have a quiz tomorrow.”
Lulu didn’t respond. She just kept pushing through the darkness of the night. Big trees surrounded them. Lulu felt like the letter had to be delivered now. Plus, Drakuli was her best friend. She couldn’t let the seventeen warning letters from the homeroom teacher not reach him. And, like, the semester exams were coming up soon. They had daily warm-up quizzes. If Drakuli kept skipping, he might not be allowed to take the semester exams. And Drakuli was actually really smart.
The never-ending journey felt like forever to Lupus. In the distance, a small light could be seen. Lupus hoped it was a fun park. People gathering, playing on slides, swings…
“Come on, Pus, let’s ask around,” Lulu broke the silence.
“Ask who?”
“Whoever, like, anyone, duh.”
“Ugh!”
If Lupus wasn’t embarrassed by Lulu, he would honestly cry. His lips kept muttering prayers to forget about the scary things. Like that floating hand. Oh God, why are there graves in this world? Lupus lamented.
They stumbled upon tombstones a few times. It was quite dark behind this gate. Red brick paths with mounds scattered everywhere. Frangipani trees grew wildly all over, resembling creepy black creatures. A faint light could be seen in the far west.
“Ew, why is your name written on that tombstone, Pus?” Lulu teased, pointing at a tombstone.
Lupus was shocked. “Damn it! Not funny!”
“Or if you want, you can reserve a spot next to Drakuli’s dad,” Lulu continued teasing.
“Lulu! Can you just shut up? Seriously, don’t even mention your friend’s name here. It’s just… not cool.”
“What’s wrong? What’s up with Drakuli?”
“Lulu!”
As they reached the end of the path, they jumped over a few graves. They still hadn’t found the address written on the envelope. Lupus couldn’t hold it anymore. He really needed to pee.
Plus, the smell around there was unpleasant. Musty. Lulu kept shining her flashlight on the dark bushes, making eerie rustling sounds.
The name of the path written in the letter still didn’t seem to appear. Geez, this cemetery is so huge!
“It’s weird, why would your friend be comfortable in a place like this?” Lupus grumbled.
“Don’t worry, Pus. His dad is a grave digger…”
“Lulu!”
“Well, I’m just stating the facts.”
Lupus grumbled. “I bet your friend’s dad looks super creepy, huh?”
“Well, if Drakuli’s as cool-looking as his daughter, then his dad must be even cooler than Boim.”
The full moon was hidden behind the clouds in the sky. So, the atmosphere wasn’t very bright. The swaying tall grass, blown by the wind, looked like a row of dancing demons.
In the midst of the creepy scene, suddenly a terrifying black figure appeared, and Lupus and Lulu screamed in shock, “Aaaah!” Then they quickly took a thousand steps back. But the black creature suddenly burst into laughter. And Lulu immediately stopped in her tracks. She recognized that voice, “Drakuli, huh? What’s up with you?” Lulu turned around and approached the creature angrily. Lupus was frozen in place. “Uh, Lu lu…” Lupus also stopped in his tracks. He wanted to stop Lulu, but his knees were trembling. His heart felt like it was about to explode.
Lulu approached the black figure with messy hair, wearing a scary black cloak. And casually, Lulu put her hands on her hips.
“Stop it, Drak. Not funny.”
Drakuli was still laughing hysterically. He held his stomach while rolling on the ground. “Scared, huh? Scared? Hahahaha…”
This time, Lupus was finally sure that it was indeed Lulu’s friend.
“Enough, okay? Listen, Drak. I came all the way here to deliver this letter to your dad, and this is how you greet me? Not funny at all. Immature. Where’s your gratitude?” Lulu scolded.
“Yeah, where is it? Come on!” Lupus chimed in. Drakuli stopped laughing. Secretly, Lupus was impressed by Lulu’s lack of fear.
“A letter? From who?”
“From our homeroom teacher. Why have you been skipping class lately?”
Drakuli stayed silent. He took off his smelly black cloak and picked up a wild grass stem, nibbling on its sweet base.
Lulu then handed the letter to Drakuli. Without reading it, Drakuli put the letter in his pocket. “Thanks, Lu.”
Drakuli invited Lulu and Lupus to sit on a grave under the gentle moonlight. Lupus hesitated to place his butt on the mound of soil.
“It’s okay,” Drakuh said as if he knew what Lupus was worried about.
“Oh, yeah, Drak. This is my brother, Lupus,” Lulu said. And to Lupus, “Come on, shake hands. She said she wants to introduce you.”
Drakuli shook Lupus’s hand tightly. Lupus tried to smile. “L-Lupus.”
Then silence fell.
“No biggie, sitting on a grave, huh? They say if the inhabitant doesn’t like it, they can haunt us. Is that true, Drak?” Lupus asked.
Drakuli nodded.
“Huh? In that case, I’ll just stand then.” Lupus immediately stood up.
Drakuli smiled. “Why are you standing?”
“No worries. Besides, if I sit too much, my legs start to tingle.”
Lupus really didn’t dare to sit again. It was just Lulu and Drakuli giggling.
“Drak, what’s the deal with you not showing up?” Lulu started the conversation. And this made Drakuli gloomy again. He shared his sadness, “The Babe Cemetery is empty, Lu. Not many people have died recently,” he said, throwing away the bitter grass stem.
Lupus, who was standing earlier, sat back down. It seemed like he was interested in Drakuli’s problem. For him, this was really funny. Extraordinary.
“Even though Babe has lowered the price of burial plots here. Still, no one’s kicking the bucket. Babe was even going to give discounts and all. Lu.”
Lulu was touched by Drakuli’s story too. But for Lupus, this was really funny. Really funny. He had to hold back his laughter hearing this funny yet sad story.
“Hey, let’s go inside my house, shall we? Let’s have a drink. Oh, Babe just harvested some cassava that grew on my mom’s grave. Let’s go?” Drakuli invited as he got up. “It’s nice to chat while eating fried cassava.”
“Oh, Drak, maybe the teacher wants to give you a special exemption for the exam. Because you’re such a brilliant student, it would be a shame if you didn’t get nurtured,” Lulu said as she followed Drakuli towards his house.
“Yeah, hopefully,” Drakuli replied.
Entering Drakuli’s house, Lupus and Lulu felt really tense. It was dimly lit. There was only one candle in the corner. Especially when they observed the wall decorations consisting of paintings of graveyard landscapes, large bats, and dozens of dead people’s teeth that were now displayed there. There were also bone structures arranged to form little houses. On the table, there were colorful flowers left by visitors that were then arranged in a vase.
Not to mention the musty smell of the curtains, which seemed to be made from old burial shrouds and hadn’t been washed for years.
Lupus was getting creeped out. “Lu, don’t take too long, okay?”
Lulu was busy staring at the creepy dolls.
“Lu, don’t take too long, okay?” Lupus repeated his request.
Lulu shrugged. And Drakuli came in with a tray of three cups of iced tea. “Oops, the cassava isn’t cooked yet, Lu.”
“Ah, it’s fine. We won’t be long,” Lupus interrupted.
“But Lulu was waiting for the cassava to cook, right?”
Lulu smiled.
“Oh, by the way, Babe is cleaning the shovel in the backyard,” Drakuli said as he placed the three cups on the small table. “Yeah, Babe is always busy at night, digging up graves that are a bit unstable. Some graves aren’t lined with gravel and sand, so they easily collapse.”
“Wait, Babe is digging up graves?” Lupus leaned closer to Lulu.
“Yeah, sometimes,” Drakuli said with a mischievous smile. “Do you really think it’s not tiring to lie in such a small hole all day?”
Suddenly, Mr. Gali came in. Lupus and Lulu greeted him.
“Good evening, sir.”
“Evening…”
Mr. Gali casually changed into his uniform in front of Lupus and Lulu. His body looked strong and muscular. You could still see a skull tattoo on his arm. He was ready to inspect all the graves with a lantern and a lock-picking crowbar.
“Hey, how long are you guys planning to stay?” Mr. Gali asked. “If you’re staying late, I won’t lock the cemetery gate.”
Mr. Gali was really laid-back. He was joking around with Lupus and Lulu.
“We’ll be leaving soon, sir,” Lupus said.
“Why so soon? Can’t stand it here?”
“We’re fine, sir,” Lulu chimed in.
“Why so soon?”
“I… I have a test tomorrow, sir,” Lupus made an excuse.
“Oh, a test.” Mr. Gali combed his long hair, then tied a sarong around his waist. He occasionally rolled up his long and thick mustache. He put his collection of lock-picking tools in his pants pocket, making a jingling sound.
“If you want to chat, go ahead. We can wait for the fried cassava. But save some for me, don’t finish it all,” Mr. Gali said as he prepared to leave.
“My dad is going to hang out for a bit, Drak. You take care of the house, okay? Oh, and your friends brought money, right? Let’s chip in to buy me some cigarettes.”
Lupus quickly took out his 500 rupiah and it was immediately snatched by Mr. Gali. “Thanks, huh?”
Mr. Gali walked out whistling.
“That’s my dad for you, Lu,” Drakuli said.
Lulu, Drakuli, and Lupus were hanging out at the cemetery, sharing stories and chilling. Drakuli started talking about his dad, who was a badass and a ladies’ man. He also mentioned his mom, whom he had never seen except in a photo. And he shared how the solitude of the cemetery often led him to play around there.
Meanwhile, Lulu glanced at her watch and realized it was already half past nine. They finished their iced tea and decided it was time to leave.
“Don’t get bored coming here, okay?” Drakuli said as he saw them off.
“Nah, not at all,” Lupus quickly replied. “Not bored, just creeped out, you know?”
Drakuli smiled and lightly punched Lupus on the arm. “Be careful on your way. There was someone who hanged themselves around that area.”
“W-which way is safe to pass?” Lupus stuttered again.
“Which way? Well, it’s safer to go this way,” Drakuli pointed.
“Safe?”
“Yeah, safe. You might just encounter some mischievous spirits. Hihihi…”
Lupus was completely done. Even if he was paid a million, he wouldn’t go back there again.
But on the way home, Lupus started to suspect something about Lulu. Why was she so insistent on delivering the letter and hoping that Drakuli would go back to school tomorrow? Was Lulu’s heart really that pure?
His suspicion lessened his fear of the dark night. Especially since Lulu really wanted Drakuli to go to school tomorrow. Lupus remembered what Lulu said to Drakuli when they said goodbye at the gate. “Drak, you’re really going to school tomorrow, right?” Lulu hoped.
And Drakuli nodded. “Insha Allah, hopefully, Lu.”
Lupus couldn’t help but wonder about Lulu. Was she crushing on Drakuli? Turns out she wasn’t as cool as she seemed. Actually, she was kinda scary. Lupus’s mind kept questioning.
And when they were on a busy street, Lupus couldn’t hold back his curiosity any longer. “Why are you so nice to Drakuli?”
“It’s no big deal. We have a chemistry test tomorrow, and Drakuli is really good at it. Plus, she sits right in front of me. Who’s gonna help me if he doesn’t show up tomorrow? I hate chemistry the most,” Lulu calmly explained as she walked away, leaving Lupus stunned under the dim streetlights.
