"Breakfast, my son!" Father's voice startled me. I was counting the amount of the bill paid to my group yesterday. No, it turned out to be even. It would be nice to distribute the money when it is finished. There was a bonus for me as the foreman for 30 people, enough to buy some salted fish.

I got up and left the papers scattered on the table. Never mind, I'll clean it up later. I joined Father as he ate. Mother was still taking rice from the rice cooker, putting it in a container, and placing it on the dining table. I grabbed my plate and took quite a bit of rice, feeling really hungry.

"Oh yeah," I put the plate of rice on the dining table, taking some money from my pocket, "Here, Mom, there's a bonus from last night's paycheck. I'll use it to buy some side dishes."

Mother accepted the money, "Just get paid often, Le. Four times a month would be nice, Le."

Hmm... Mother was joking too much. It wasn't much, about 500,000 Rupiah, and I was saving the rest for the future. Which future? The important thing is, the future, no need to ask too many questions.

"You can get paid four times a month? This mother can do it!"

"Well, if it were our own company," my mother chimed in, "Let's hurry up and eat, your father is almost finished."

Okay, so we were having a nice chat even though we were really hungry. I quickly grabbed a side dish: salted fish chili sauce, fried goldfish, and vegetables. It was delicious! My mother really is the best.

I said a prayer and started eating, savoring the mouthful of tempting food. It tasted delicious; it didn't need to be fancy, as long as it was halal, that was a blessing. Right? Right. Oh, I'm talking to myself again.

My father had finished eating, and I was still enjoying mine. My mother had just taken hers and sat down on the chair.

"He's going to Yanto's house. He said his cow was stolen last night!

I was surprised. Roni was on patrol last night, wasn't he?

"Why, sir, did he disappear? Weren't there a lot of people on patrol last night?"

Father looked back as he approached the door to leave. "Last night, the patrolmen said they came home at one. They said they were scared because there was a ghost!"

Father went out. I thought again about how ghostly and supernatural incidents are always told and make people afraid. In fact, last night he also encountered a shroud and ran away. Are ghosts real, or are there people using them for evil purposes? That was true. My thoughts wandered, my imagination heightened, and my detective mind was activated.

"Hurry up and eat! Why are you daydreaming?" Mother suddenly patted my shoulder.

"Oh, my God!" I was shocked and almost vomited the food I'd been chewing and hadn't swallowed. Some came out, but only a little because I was so shocked. Yes, I'd been daydreaming.

"Mom, slow down! Adnan's eating this!"

"I'm eating while daydreaming. Don't finish it and then go back to work. What time is your shift today?" Mom had already finished eating, so fast? I saw her washing the dishes. I hurried my meal.

"After Dhuhur prayer, Mom."

Mom then nodded and gathered the dishes to wash them. "Remember, son, be careful if you work overtime. Bring a friend, it's scary at night. Lots of ghosts and lots of criminals!"

I listened quietly as Mom spoke as she stacked the plates and utensils after cooking. I thought about it: my village and several neighboring villages are indeed strange. Everyone believes in ghosts, black magic, and shamans are still believed in, and psychics are still very popular here. Also, there are Kyais (Islamic scholars) who participate in the black magic market, but the Kyais, of course, use verses from the Quran.

Clearly, this village is like a haunted place. Several times, when I was on patrol in place of Dad, people would place incense at various intersections. There were fruit, incense, and joss sticks burning. There were even snacks in containers. Does the devil eat trendy snacks like chips, wafers, candy, and crackers?

There's always something.

Okay, I'll go out for a moment to Mr. Yanto's place. Poor guy, his cow was stolen because the patrolman was scared by a ghost. This is what happens when people are afraid of ghosts; we have to be brave in the face of them. Criminals took advantage of this, disguised as ghosts, and stole people's cows. This can't be allowed; we have to make the villagers brave. But last night, I ran away in fear!

Or maybe the ghost was the culprit last night? It could be!

Okay, let's assess the situation. After that, I asked Roni, who was on patrol last night. I quickly changed into a casual t-shirt and went out. I also patched up my motorcycle, which had a puncture last night. I walked the bike, left it with the repairman, and walked back to Mr. Yanto's house. There were still several people there, chatting and telling stories.

My father was still there chatting with Mr. Sartono, a village elder. I overheard rumors from some people, still busy chatting, that the patrolman had come home after encountering a ghost. It was probably quiet at the time, so the criminals knew no one was patrolling and stole Yanto's cows.

Furthermore, in Yanto's cow shed behind the house, there were incense sticks and frankincense on the side of the house. People say it's a "sirep" spell, meaning the intended victim will fall into a deep sleep and be unaware of anything. This "sirep" spell is like a spell to keep someone awake. In today's world, you might take sleeping pills, which would be effective and make you fall asleep without knowing what happened. In short, you'd sleep soundly.

This is my village, everything is associated with the occult. Even criminals use occult methods, and some even say that many people keep tuyul (a ghost), pigs (pigs), and other things for wealth.

In a village steeped in the occult, scientific discussion is sometimes difficult. If you bring up myths, they're readily accepted. This is what happens: if you really want to see ghosts, come to my village often. But I don't know if the ghosts are real or not, or if they're actually summoned, they like to feel the attention. I approached Roni, who was still sitting on the porch. His face was still a little pale, so I sat down next to him.

"Ron, did you really see the ghost last night?"

"Of course, Adnan, how could I lie! Last night, I was on patrol with Wahyu and Wanto. We were walking around and approaching the edge of the village before heading towards the old house. At that moment, we saw thick fog. That's when the ghost appeared. And we immediately ran away, panicking.

Still in disbelief, their story was the same as mine that night. However, I didn't see the ghost clearly. It was just a flash, because the hairs on my neck were already standing on end, and I didn't think much of it because the darkness and dim light made me immediately think it was a ghost.

However, Roni's story, which I just told, was different. Roni said he wasn't afraid at first because he was with Wahyu and Wanto. If he were alone, he might have been scared. These three people on patrol would have been the problem. They were about to return to the village because they thought they had reached the edge of the village. However, they suddenly heard a sound like a wolf's howl.

They asked each other, and indeed, they heard the same sound. As they turned their heads together, a figure appeared. White, with a white face and a glowing face. They immediately ran aimlessly, crashing into everything they encountered. In fact, Wahyu, who had hit a banana tree trunk, fell, and he saw the ghost still standing, watching him. Wahyu panicked and ran.

After that incident, of course, they didn't continue their patrol, and it turned out that very early in the morning, at dawn, Yanto had just realized that his two cows were missing.

Hmmm... I listened carefully to Roni's story. Something did seem odd. Was it the work of those with evil intentions? I'm sure of that now. However, people instead associated it with the occult. Some said Yanto's cows were sacrificed, or that thieves had moved them remotely using sorcery.

I shook my head. If it were possible to move objects with magic, why cows? Why not just transfer the large sums of money to the homes of those who could do it?

It was getting weirder and more intriguing.

Roni excused himself; he also had work to do. He drove a car used for delivery to palm oil and rubber factories. He was part of the Transportation service fees.

Okay, this is homework and food for thought. I'll take my leave, as I have to go back to work this afternoon. Regarding ghosts, let's think about how people should be brave and solve cases that frequently occur, and not make ghost series so scary that people are afraid to go about their daily activities.

In fact, occultism is becoming increasingly rampant, and the profession of shaman has become a luxury and a means of finding employment. It would be funny if there were an academy to find talented shamans. Ah! It's strange, isn't it?