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Short Story
Short Story
"Damar! Sunny!” A voice rang out. A 70-year-old woman with white short hair,
dressed in a plaid shirt and a cloth wrapped around a skirt stepped into the bedroom. She
opened the curtains and window. The chirping of birds sounded beautifully accompanied by
morning sunlight that went on to shine on two children who were reluctant to get up from
their sleep. “C'mon wake up darling. It's already 6 a.m.!” She said, flashing a bright smile and
shaking the arms of these two children. “Yes, Granny” both of them answered. Damar
immediately got up from the bed and followed his grandmother out of the room. Sunny's eyes
fluttered open, and she fumbled with the covers. Her eyes were still sleepy making her sit for
a while on the edge of the bed. Not long after, She crept towards the wardrobe and took a
In the kitchen, Mbah Marwah is cooking using a furnace. She blew the firewood so
that the fire didn't extinguish. Damar is also there, he sits patiently at the wooden dining
table. That 10-year-old boy with messy hair is still wearing his blue pajamas. Mbah Marwah
then gave him a plate of rice and fried fish, as well as drinking water. “Thank you granny” he
bribed his breakfast ravenously. “Don't forget to take a shower after your sister is finished”
She flashed another bright smile before looking at Damar. Damar replied by lifting his thumb
because his mouth was full. After that, Mbah Marwah left the kitchen and went to the terrace.
The smell of fried fish wafted towards the doorway, Sunny came out of the bathroom
and ran to the terrace. Mbah Marwah sat in a rocking chair with a comb in her hand. Sunny
then took her breakfast that had been on the table beside Mbah Marwah and went up to sit in
her lap. Sunny’s mouth was watering. She hadn’t noticed just how hungry she was until this
moment. "Thanks, Granny, it looks so good!” Sunny grinned, reaching for a pinch of fish and
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a spoonful of rice. “Ahhh! it tastes even better!” she said. Mbah Marwah laughed while
combing Sunny's long hair and making it into a bun. Damar who has taken a bath comes
close to both of them. He pinched Sunny's cheek. “OUCH!” Sunny huffed. He liked to tease
her little 7-year-old sister. “Remember don't be naughty while at home !” Damar said. Sunny
nodded in agreement.
After Sunny finished her breakfast, Mbah Marwah and Damar were ready to go to the
market. They went without Sunny, she said it was forced because someone had to look after
the house. The market is in the city which is far from their home, they have to walk through
winding streets and rocks to the bus station because they don't have a vehicle that can speed
up their journey to the bus station. It takes two hours to arrive at the market. On the bus,
Damar slept in his granny's lap, whereas Mbah Marwah was still awake, looking out the
window and thinking about Sunny who was alone at home. The downpour fell, making the
streets wet and muddy. "Darling wakes up, we already arrive" Damar awakened by the sound
of his granny’s voice. Mbah Marwah led Damar to go to some places to buy anything she
needed for a few days ahead, Damar was behind her while following her steps.
What a catastrophe! when they got off the bus and were about to cross the road. The
truck came from the right side quickly and bumped into them. The accident was unavoidable,
their bodies bounced off quite far about two meters away. Their condition was so tragic, that
anyone who saw it would feel pity. Everyone came to see what happened, and some of them
were trying to help. Damar's head was the first thing to land on the asphalt, with his body
face down. The fresh blood flowed from his head. At that moment his breathing stopped.
Mbah Marwah rolled over and suffered the same bleeding as Damar. She was still slightly
conscious despite her blurred vision and position that was not far from Damar, she grimaced
while crying and said "Please help my grandson...Please help him..." The groaning voice of
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Mbah Marwah asked for help for Damar. The wet street was stained with blood. Everyone
tried to spread the news, in the hope, there would be someone who knows them. Mbah
Marwah's neighbour Pam who lived next to her house saw the accident from afar. She saw
Mbah Marwah being carried in an ambulance but Pam is not sure if it is her. Mbah Marwah's
breathing began to weaken right when she was put in the ambulance her breathing stopped.
Her hands went limp. The blood flow does not stop. The officers rushed both of them to the
hospital for help. But Pam left the place without even trying to make sure or figure out the
truth.
Meanwhile, at home, Sunny was watching TV alone. She watched her favorite
cartoon. The horror story that her brother told her last night suddenly appeared in her head,
"There is a ghost named Kuntilanak who will knock on everyone's door and peek at a
sleeping kid from the front window" said Damar, the story which always gave her
goosebumps. The creak of the front door made her surprised, she believe there was someone
who trying to get in. She turned off the TV, and the silent home made the atmosphere more
frightening. "Who is there?...Granny?...Damar?" Her loud and shaky voice can not hide her
fear. She ventured to come to the front door. "We are home!" Sunny felt relieved because she
When Sunny opened the door, she saw both Mbah Marwah and Damar, she could not
hold her smile after being a little bit scared. “Take you guys long enough to get back. I’m
getting a little bit scared” Sunny said. “Why?” asked Damar, “Because of that stupid horror
story you told me last night,” Sunny said. Damar stands still silently not responding to her
sister. Mbah Marwah then said, “It's okay dear, you don’t have to be afraid anymore, because
from now on we promise you we will never leave you alone. Forever...”. Sunny felt happy at
her grandma's words until she noticed something weird about both of them. “What happened
to your clothes? You look disheveled, are you guys okay?” Sunny asked, feeling worried
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about their condition, “We just fell on the bus when we tried to get out of the bus, it’s okay
we just need to clean ourselves. and get a rest after we all eat dinner” Mbah Marwah
answered. Felt that the answer made sense, she didn’t bother with it anymore and came in for
dinner. “Let's eat Sunny!” Damar cheered. "hey Damar take a bath first and wait for me to
cook the chicken," Mbah Marwah Reminded. "ayay granny! " Damar ran off and Sunny
In her sleep, Sunny had a nightmare. She dreamt of a hunchbacked granny coming to
kidnap her. She woke up and shouted "Nooo!" Damar who was asleep beside her woke up.
"Hey, what's wrong?" He looks worried and holds her shoulder. "I dreamed that I would be
kidnapped by a hunchbacked granny," Sunny said while panting. "It's okay, you were just
dreaming. It wasn't real." Damar reminded. "But..." Sunny wanted to interrupt "Let's go back
to sleep, I'll hug you so that the hunchbacked granny won't come again" "Thank you, Damar."
Sunny said as she hugged him tightly. As she was about to fall asleep Damar whispered "If
one day you have to be alone. You must be a great and brave child. Don't be afraid of
When the morning came, they did their usual activities. Mbah Marwah had to go to
work in the garden and Damar had to look after Sunny at home. "Let's play hide-and-seek,
Sunny!" Damar invited her happily. "Let's go, but I'll hide first!" Sunny laughed. "Okay, get
ready, I'll find you quickly. You know that you are suck at hiding." Damar teased. “Let's
see!” Sunny replied. She ran out of the house and looked for the best place to hide. Mrs. Pam,
who was sipping coffee at the time, smiled when she saw Sunny who was confused about
where to hide. “Ready or not? I am coming, Sunny!” Damar shouted while squinting his eyes
trying to find where Sunny was hiding. Sunny couldn't hide her laughter. That's what made
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her get caught. "Gotcha!" Damar said as he tickled Sunny. They then ran inside the home and
took turns.
Not long after, Mrs. Pam's husband Mr. Miller came and got out of his car in a hurry.
"Did you know that Mbah Marwah and Damar passed away yesterday? They had an accident
at the market and were bleeding heavily." he said "What?" Mrs. Pam gaped in disbelief. She
just remembered that the person who was carried to the ambulance yesterday was Mbah
Marwah. "But... I just saw Sunny playing in front of her house. She looked so happy," said
Pam, confused. "You better check on the child, I'll call the hospital and ask about their
Feeling shocked and sad, she shed a tear while praying to let their souls be at peace.
She ran to Sunny’s home quickly but after several steps, Pam stopped when she heard Sunny
speak to herself, but by mentioning Damar's name, she even heard the conversation. "I give
up Damar! You're so good at hiding I can't find you." said a small child who was faintly
heard by Pam. She felt Goosebumps, She stood still for a few moments thinking whether she
Sunny heard a knocking on the front door and asked “Who’s there?”, “It's me Pam,
Sunny” Pam answered while trying to catch her breath. “Is everything okay Mrs. Pam?”
Sunny said, wondering why Pam came with a pale face, “Sunny, why don’t you come and
live in my house?” Pam said. Confused about Mrs. Pam's question, she indicates that Mrs.
Pam must have had a bad intention to kidnap her. “Why should I live with you? I still got
Pam knew it was going to be hard to hide the truth. She continued "I'm sorry I have to
tell you something bad, your grandmother and Damar passed away last night. I saw an
accident yesterday but I didn't realize that it is your grandmother and your brother who got hit
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by a truck" With teary eyes, Pam tried to convince the little girl "Look there is no one here
and you've been alone Sunny, no grandma, and brother". Sunny was pensive. "But. I've been
playing with Damar, and Granny has gone to work," she said. "No, dear, look around you."
Pam stroked Sunny as she looked around. Sunny ran and shouted for Damar. But he didn't
answer. She ran here and there but what Mrs. Pam said was true. Her vision blurred, and it
became clear that no one was home. She couldn't believe what had happened. All the
activities they did last night and this morning felt so real. Damar and Granny were still by her
side. Pam hugged Sunny. She cried loudly. She didn't realize that because she never felt
lonely, all this time she had been living alone in her house doing all the work herself as if
Mbah Marwah was there to accompany her, the presence of the spirit of Mbah Marwah and
Sunny sat in front of her house, daydreaming and thinking about what had happened
so far, then Mrs. Pam approached her "Sunny, let's live together, you are still a child, now
you need the role of parents", Sunny thought for a moment because she felt bad before she
had bad thoughts towards Mrs. Pam but on the other hand, she was very kind and cared for
Sunny. "Is it not troublesome if I live with you miss?" Sunny replied, “Of course not
Darling!” Mrs. Pam immediately shook her head, a sign that she was very happy to accept
her. Mr. Miller approached them. "Come on Sunny, let's say goodbye to Mbah Marwah and
Damar. They have been buried by the hospital because no family has come to see them since
last night." Sunny wiped the tears from her eyes and walked to Mr. Miller's car to go to their
graves. "From now on you will be living with us Sunny, don't feel bad, we will take good
care of you. And we are your home to return to." Mr. Miller and Mrs. Pam looked at Sunny