Photo of an Apparition

Every Sunday, or whenever a public holiday arrives, most people feel happy because they can enjoy a day off and relax with their families. Those who work in offices, as well as schoolchildren, all welcome holidays with joy. The same went for Roi, who had planned to spend his holiday in his grandparents' village. On Saturday afternoon, Roi was dropped off by his father to stay at his grandmother's house. It had been a long time since Roi visited his father's hometown, even though as a child he always spent his holidays in the village, cycling around with friends and cousins, swimming in the river, flying kites in the middle of the rice fields while playing in the mud, and also playing marbles under the scorching sun. Now Roi was a teenager, rarely visiting his grandparents' village due to his busy school schedule and extracurricular activities. 'Roi, want to come along?' asked Gilang, his cousin. 'Where to?' 'I'm part of the local youth organization, and this Saturday night we have an activity to prepare for Kartini Day.' 'Ah, I have no one to hang out with at home, so I'll just come along, Lang.' The meeting of the youth organization's committee, attended by local teenagers, lasted until nine in the evening at the village hall office. Roi, feeling bored with the ongoing meeting, excused himself from Gilang to get some fresh air outside. The night wasn't too dark, bathed in the silver light of the moon. Roi enjoyed the cool night, sitting relaxed in the village hall garden while taking photos. One click, two clicks, the photos were ordinary. Three clicks, Roi was startled. He rubbed his eyes, wondering if his eyesight was failing. There was something strange about the photo on the screen; Roi had aimed at himself. But instead, the screen showed a photo of an adult man wearing a white robe and turban. His eyes glowed red, and his face was horribly disfigured. Roi looked left and right, but there was no one around. He looked at his phone screen again to confirm the photo he had just seen. Empty! There was no image. Curiously, Roi took another photo of himself. This time, Roi was sure there was something unnatural in the village hall garden. His hair stood on end. After taking another photo, what appeared on his phone screen was an image of a man in a white robe and turban, but facing away, only his back and long flowing hair visible, and his bare feet not touching the ground, as if floating. Adding to that, there was a pungent smell of blood. In a hurry, Roi approached Gilang and his friends, but he didn't want to tell them what he had experienced in front of the village hall. 'What's wrong, Roi? Why is your face so pale?' Gilang asked Roi, surprised. 'Ah, oh, nothing. I just feel dizzy,' Roi evaded. 'Hmm, it's already 9 PM. Let's discuss other things tomorrow! Look, poor Roi isn't feeling well, let him rest quickly.' Melisa suggested, and her friends agreed. Upon arriving at his grandmother's house, Roi couldn't sleep. Gilang, who was sleeping next to him, had been snoring for a while. He just tossed and turned in bed, right, left. His mind couldn't rest, unable to stop thinking about the strange incident he experienced at the village hall earlier while taking photos. He reached for his phone again to look at the apparition in his photo one more time. 'My God! Why is it like this? I clearly saw only his back and hair earlier! Why has it now changed to an image of a beautiful woman with long flowing hair, but her eyes are bulging as if they're about to pop out, and she's grinning!' Finally, Roi couldn't stand such relentless disturbances anymore, and unconsciously threw his phone into the corner of the room. Gilang, who was deep in slumber, woke up with a start, startled by a loud noise like a mirror falling. 'Huh, a, ah! What's wrong, Roi? Was that an earthquake?' Gilang, flustered and confused, asked his cousin but received no answer. Roi immediately pulled his blanket up to cover his entire body and turned his back to Gilang. 'Roi! Roi! Did you hear that? What was that sound just now? Hey Roi, don't you feel something strange in the atmosphere? I'm getting goosebumps! Roi! Roi! Oh, this kid!' Since Roi didn't respond, Gilang got annoyed and flopped back onto the bed next to Roi and went back to sleep. Past midnight, the darkness deepened, embracing the profound silence. Many souls were lost in the embrace of their subconscious dreams. Invisible beings roamed, disturbing those whose souls were empty and unstable. In that house, all its inhabitants were fast asleep. Gilang, who was closest, was once again startled by Roi's loud and incoherent screams. 'Aaaaaaa! Aaaaaa! Nooooo! Don't! Hot, stinging, hooooot! Paaaain! Aaaaaaaa!' Roi continued to babble and rave. His body temperature was high, and he was sweating. His eyes were bulging, and his face looked like someone in pain, fear, anxiety, and confusion. Seeing his cousin in such a state, Gilang immediately called his grandparents from the next room. Anxiety filled the house. Eni, Gilang's mother, kept compressing her feverish nephew. Heri, Gilang's father, contacted the village midwife to examine Roi, and also called the ustadz to check Roi's condition, suspecting spiritual possession due to his unusual illness. After examining Roi and giving him some pills, the midwife quickly returned home. It was then the ustadz's turn to assess Roi's condition through a spiritual connection, like someone meditating. The ustadz sat cross-legged on the floor with both hands clasped in front of his chest, eyes closed, and his mouth mumbling silently. After a few minutes, the ustadz opened his eyes and returned to his normal posture, explaining to the family members what he had learned about Roi. 'What about my grandson, ustadz? Tell me quickly!' asked Mr. Sutarjo, Roi's grandfather, impatiently. 'Roi is possessed by the spirit of Poniman, a truck driver who had an accident some time ago at this village intersection. After we communicated through spiritual contact, he asked for a 'rukat' ritual to release his restless spirit, due to the actions of residents who sprinkled lime juice and salt on his blood spilled around the accident site.' A flurry of activity ensued in the family. Family members prepared the 'rukat' ritual items such as kembang setaman (a traditional mix of flowers), five-colored jenang (sweet porridge), seven types of traditional snacks, and ketupat lepet and gunteleng (traditional rice cakes). Roosters crowed, signaling dawn's arrival. The ritual preparations were complete and ready to be performed. The ustadz began to pray and recite holy verses from the Al-Qur'an. Then, the ustadz sprinkled the flower-infused water onto Roi's face and body. A short while later, Roi began to calm down. His body temperature dropped, his speech was no longer rambling, and his eyes closed in sleep. The ustadz massaged his neck and shoulders until he regained consciousness. When questioned, Roi didn't remember anything at all about what he had experienced last night. All he remembered was taking photos at the village hall. Bondowoso, May 1, 2017.