The pair of children and father looked at Masma’s narrowed eyes. The footsteps grew heavier as the distance was shortened. The lantern of life is almost extinguished on the pillar of torture. Not as chaotic as Devada, Nick felt the wound roll silently thumping violently in the center of the heart. His fingers stretched out, reaching for the smug face of elegy. Masma’s eyelids suddenly opened slowly, revealing blue irises that were as clear as the ocean.
“Nick!” Masma’s thin lips called out with a small sob.
“Yes!” Nick whispered while wiping away the tears that were running down Masma’s cheeks.
“Why are you here?” Nick placed his index finger on the dry lips of the woman in front of him and hissed.
“I’ll untie the ropes that bind you first.” Again, Nick said. He turned to Devada for the girl to help him.
“Come on, let’s go before they come back!” Nick exclaimed after all the ropes were unraveled properly.
“I know a safe hiding place for a while,” said Masma.
Silence accompanied the steps until they arrived at the place Masma meant. Nick’s brow furrowed as he looked around in all directions. Devada did the same. The place was like a forest in general. Filled with lush trees and grass. It doesn’t indicate any hiding place that Masma is referring to. Nick and Devada didn’t ask, they just followed Masma to a big beautiful plant. For a moment, Devada was glued to the pink petals that seemed to be filled with clear spikes on the clustered plant.
“Don’t touch it with your bare hands!” Masma suddenly exclaimed in a voice that was suppressed as low as possible. A small twig in her right-hand shot quickly into the flower’s mouth. Miraculously, the petals of the beautiful flower curled up, swallowing the twig.
If the woman with the dragon tattoo didn’t do it quickly, it was certain that Devada’s outstretched hand would go in there. The girl frowned, thought of something, then followed Masma who walked into the dark tunnel.
The woman opened the board covered with vines. An absolutely perfect hidden entrance. The thick bushes that exist make anyone who passes by think that the place is an ordinary forest which is quite dangerous because it is overgrown with trap plants.
“I didn’t know you had a place like this.” Nick said. The darkness forced him to walk carefully down the ground of the steps.
“I kept it secret, Nick.” Masma replied. The woman then cast a spell. In an instant, the room became bright. Flashes of fire flashed on several torches hanging on the walls of the fairly wide tunnel.
“Are you okay?” Masma’s question is directed to Devada. The girl just nodded.
“The flower you want to touch is a carnivorous plant that is very sensitive to stimuli. Its enzymes can digest food in just a few hours. The sap also contains dangerous toxins,” explained Masma.
“I don’t know, thanks!” said Devada curtly.
“I want to rest for a bit. I’m very sleepy after our trip.” Devada turned her attention to Nick. The man nodded, and allowed his child to curl up in a corner slightly away from him. From that distance, Devada could be seen yawning many times. Soft snoring was heard after the girl closed her eyes for a while. A sign that her actions are not just an alibi to make Nick alone with Masma.
“Who is she, Nick?” Finally, the question emerged from Masma’s lips. Nick fell silent, thinking of a way to tell the truth. In fact, this was the time he had been waiting for after remembering his original purpose in coming to the forest. However, circumstances seem to make things complicated.
“You hide things from me, Nick!” Masma’s statement made Nick’s head bow briefly. A glimmer of sadness then shone in Masma’s eyes. She tried to dim it by hugging Nick.
“Has someone replaced me in your heart, Nick?” The man closed his eyes which were suddenly filled with dew. His hands could only clench without being able to return the cold embrace of the woman who gave birth to their child.
“Forgive me!” he said hoarsely. An answer that made Masma let go of his arm for a moment. Their gazes met, as if they were spelling out a feeling that words couldn’t describe.
“Is that girl your daughter?” asked Masma very quietly, but full of a feeling that pierces the chest.
“Yes, she is my daughter!” A small laugh escaped Masma’s lips, but her vision was filled with puddles.
“You’re already happy, why should you be here?” There was bitterness hanging at the corners of Masma’s curved lips.
“What should I do? My daughter asked her mother. That’s why we are here.”
“What do you mean? Do you have another wife in this forest?” Nick shook his head weakly. What kind of ridiculous question is that? Nick cursed himself. Why this drama?
“Then, who do you mean?”
“You!” said Nick. Masma laughed again with a tone that was still so low.
“Dev Sasaka, he’s all I have even though I never took care of him and met him after he was born.” Nick’s field chest moved. Masma’s words made him need a lot of oxygen. In one breath, he said, “You’ve met him.” Masma erased her ambiguous smile, her face clouded with question marks.
“She is Dev Sasaka Erhan!” said Nick as he turned his gaze to the girl who was still sleeping there.
“How could it be?”
“That’s impossible, Nick!”
“My child. I still remember very well when he met me even though he didn’t know me. He was very handsome like you!” The woman suddenly became hysterical. Nick reflexively took Masma into his arms.
“I’m sorry, that’s the truth.” The injured woman froze with a grip on her eyes that did not leave Devada. Her whole brain was busy reviewing the confusing situation. How could that be? Not finding the answers to all her questions, the woman then saw a plume of black smoke that moved to form something. Nick who felt the tension in Masma’s body immediately released her grip, and found Masma’s pale face filled with anxiety.
“What is it?” The man asked. Masma remained unmoved with restless eyes. Out of curiosity, Nick finally took the initiative to follow Masma’s eyes. He was stunned to see the smirk of someone suddenly appeared among them. A beautiful woman that Nick will never forget since that incident. The incident where the woman and her group targeted little Dev. In fact, injuring Masma who incidentally was part of them.
“Ambrizza! How did you get here?” Masma’s question was greeted with laughter by the woman in front of her.
“You forgot that you’re not stronger than me?” The brown-skinned woman seemed to remind. Her hand then reached out to grip Masma’s neck, causing a red line around the skin that was exposed to pressure.
“Trying to escape will only add to your suffering, Masma!” The vicious woman said loudly.
“Let go of Masma, Damn it!” Nick tried to push Ambrizza away, but it was his own body that bounced off. Ambrizza countered Nick’s attack with one swipe. Nick groaned at the red liquid on the back of his head from hitting the rough and uneven surface of the wall.
However, not Nick if he just gave up. He immediately got up and grabbed Ambrizza’s iron-hard hand. Even though he failed many times even though he used other methods. The curly-haired woman stabbed Nick with her demon eyes. A dazzling beam of light shot out from there. Suddenly, Nick’s vision weakened. Immediately with that, Nick felt a strong tug. Its speed is even capable of stinging the nerves of the heart. Nick immediately opened his closed eyelids for a few seconds. The warm temperature made him realize that he had fallen with a pile of extinguished torches.
“Daddy, are you all right?” Devada spoke.
“I can’t see anything, Dev! Where’s Masma?”
“That woman managed to take her. I’m sorry. It all happened so fast. I couldn’t save both of you at the same time.”
“We have to quickly bring hee back or else ….”
“Yes, but I have to treat your eyes first. Close your eyes!” Nick nodded and complied with his daughter’s request. The girl also closed her eyelids while rubbing Nick’s eyes with her thumbs.
“Open your eyes!” Nick slowly opened his eyes. Instantly his face became worried.
“What do you think?” asked Devada.
“I can see nothing but darkness.”
“Obviously because all the torches are dead. Just a minute!” Devada snaps her fingers.
“Fire? Gosh, Dev! Your finger is on fire!” Nick shouted. He rushed to extinguish the fire on Devada’s finger with his bare hands.
“Come on, Dad. We have to get out and find mom!”
“Is she really my mother?” asked Dev as they came out of the tunnel.