Chapter 57
Tshabina
School had been back for weeks, yet Zioh and Zeraiah still hadn’t returned.
Zioh had told me he’d be back within a fortnight, but the days bled into weeks with no sign of him.
I couldn’t sleep at night. I couldn’t bring myself to eat or drink.
This torment circled me endlessly as if I were trapped in a loop that refused to end, week after week.
Zioh was late, or… worse. Since his last text, both he and Zeraiah had disappeared.
Truly disappeared.
No more texts, no calls, no voicemails. Not even a shadow left behind.
When I went to their house, I gathered my courage to ask Aunt Enda, the head maid, about them, only to find the house nearly deserted.
Each time, Aunt Enda and her husband, Uncle Kuswan, would give me the faint, sorrowful smile and say, “Don’t worry, sweetheart.
Everything is fine. Let’s just pray for the best.”
Lied.
They were all lying.
Zioh and Zeraiah never even picked up when I tried calling from the landline in their house or even from Aunt Enda’s phone. Only Grandpa Ethan’s staff would occasionally pass on messages to Aunt Enda, with words that always left her face with an expression that silenced my questions.
I was terrified out of my wits because Zioh and Zeraiah were gone; they’d never done this before, at least, not to me.
Maybe I was being dramatic, but… that message. The one Zioh sent me, promising he’d be back in two weeks, was the last thing I ever heard from him. Now, more than two weeks had passed, and still no sign.
I’d tried everything to reach them, but it was as though they had vanished from the face of the earth.
Even Zeraiah’s Facebook account gathered dust. The last photo there was simply the four of us, smiling carefree in front of Hyde Park Winter Wonderland.
That was so unlike him. He never stayed away from social media.
Even if he were about to sleep, he’d make sure the entire world knew it through his Facebook.
What happened? Were they alright?
These questions kept circling my head, tormenting me day and night. I even dared to message Mas Zaeem, hoping for news of them, but he didn’t reply either, only sending me spiralling deeper into panic.
I even begged Mum to try calling them herself. But Uncle Bakti told her everything was fine.
I wanted to scream. Everyone had been lying to me!
Nothing was fine!
Nothing gave us any rest, as if storms refused to pass and rain kept pouring, leaving us no chance to dry.
It wasn’t just their disappearance that unsettled me, but also my twin brother…
Tsabinu.
Since the last time I saw him at the hospital, blood clinging to the corners of his mouth and eye, collar buttons torn open, clothes creased and messy, something in him had changed.
He had withdrawn, locking away or burying himself in schoolwork and lessons.
Stopping even from eating with us at the table, he refused to open his door for anyone.
My brother was always a book-lover, but this time I was sure he was using it as an excuse to run away.
I couldn’t even tell why. Back at the hospital, Mum spoke with him once he’d pulled himself away from me, asking what had happened.
But he turned his face away, whether it was with me, Dad, or even Mum.
He pushed us back and insisted he had fallen.
Another lie.
Anyone who saw him would instantly know it was more than a silly stumble. The wounds across his face were the kind left by someone who had been beaten, over and over. And from the cuts and bruises on his hands, my brother had fought back—hard.
And in all my life, I’d never seen him in a fight.
So, whatever drove him to it, I knew straight away something terrible had happened, again.
I tried to cheer him up by talking, playing, and even studying together. But he would only give me a slight smile, ruffle my hair, and keep me company for a moment before leaving me alone.
And he would lock himself away.
It was as though he was angry. But… with who? And why?
I kept thinking, if Zioh were here, it would be easier.
Mas Bibu’s voice was heard more often when Zioh was around, because they spent so much time together.
I kept finding them reading together or lost in quiet conversations—in the garden, in Mas Bibu’s room or Zioh’s, in the kitchen, or in Danudara’s library.
But… Zioh wasn’t here.
And I didn’t even know how long.
Every time I peeked out of my window, there were no signs of life in the grand house beside mine. Only Uncle Bakti’s car came and went occasionally.
Sighing, I threw myself back onto my bed. My arms sprawled as I stared at star stickers glowing on my bedroom ceiling—each one placed by Zioh, one by one, when I was fourteen.
It was because the day before that, I’d told Zioh how I sometimes woke at night, terrified of the dark wrapping my room. But night lamps kept me awake, and the light was too harsh, so my ceiling was filled with stars by the next day.
Since then, with stars glittering above, I had never been afraid to turn off the lights at night, like tonight.
I glanced at my phone, and it was already eleven p.m. I had school tomorrow, and still, I couldn’t sleep. Each time I closed my eyes, dread filled my mind, and the worst scenarios played out vividly. I stayed awake until exhaustion finally pulled me under.
My eyes stung with tears, caught by the glow of those stars.
Everything felt emptier and sadder without Zioh, Zeraiah, and my brother.
I wanted us back.
Just weeks ago, we shouted our hopes into the night sky and hadn’t asked for much. We just asked that everything would be okay.
That we’d be alright.
Closing my eyes, I wiped them with my hand and pressed my palms together. “Please… make all of them safe,” I whispered, my voice trembling with the rawest plea. “I just want us to be… fine, healthy, and happy—”
A sudden blare of a car horn cut me off. My eyes flew open, and a white light spilt through my window.
My heart raced, my feet moving before I could think. I dashed to the window and tore the curtains open—
A black Rolls-Royce had pulled into the grand house next door. My breath caught—because it was Mas Zaeem’s car.
Which meant—
My eyes widened as the truth hit me. I rushed forward, almost losing my balance. “Zioh!! Zeraiah!!”
I bolted from my room, my hair flying as I leapt down the stairs two at a time. If Mum and Dad saw me like this, I’d be scolded senseless, but I didn’t care—not now.
Something deep within me urged me forward, desperate to reach the house beside mine.
I flew across the living room, snatched the keys on the table, and flung the front door wide open.
Past the garden, to the towering gate, I unlocked it in a rush, ignoring the calls of the housemaid shouting my name.
I ran, pyjamas and all, into the Danudara estate. The guards blinked in surprise, but only shook their heads and smiled as I dashed past.
I chased the car right up to the parking area, my chest heaving as I slowed to a stop. The Rolls-Royce stilled before me, and as it did, I stepped closer.
My heartbeat roared in my ears.
Zaeem, followed by Zeraiah and Zioh, stepped out of the car. A wide smile spread across my cheeks. I wanted to call out their names, to wave—but I stopped short at what lay before me.
Their faces looked… shattered.
Zaeem’s eyes were heavy-lidded, and dark circles were etched beneath them. Zeraiah got out of the car, his head and body bowed, as though he no longer had the strength to hold himself upright. His eyes even trembled.
And Zioh…
His gaze was empty, as if his soul wasn’t in his body.
He kept pressing his temples and shaking his head.
His brows drew inward. Their pale faces and dim eyes suggested the light in their lives had vanished, replaced by a heavy darkness.
They didn’t notice me. I stood frozen, shaken to my core by the sight.
I knew something had gone wrong.
My heart pounded, and fear rose in me. Fear of my own worst thoughts. Fear that everything I’d been dreading had been true all along…
I took a step to approach them, but the sound of footsteps behind me made me turn. It was Mas Bibu.
Tsabinu stood frozen a few steps behind me, staring silently at Zioh, Zeraiah, and Zaeem.
Then it hit me—
The aura and expression my twin brother had been wearing all this time were the same as the scene in front of me.
The empty eyes.
Mas Bibu had been radiating it all along.
My thoughts were cut short when, from ahead, I was suddenly pulled into a fierce embrace. Zeraiah wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight. With his body trembling, my hands rose as fast as I could to return the hug, stroking his shoulders in an attempt to soothe him.
Over Zeraiah’s back, my eyes met Zioh’s. He was looking at us with an empty, trembling gaze. His body slackened, and heat welled up behind my eyes. His pale face stared at Zeraiah and me with his dead-eyed gaze.
“Biba…” Zeraiah croaked, his voice shaking. “What should I do?” He began to sob. “Mu-Mum,” he choked out.
My heart felt as though it would stop. My own body shook so hard I could barely stand. “Biba… Mum…”