A smelly workplace with many workers of all kinds. As laborers, we're all used to smells, such as waste, sweat, broken products, rotting odors, and so on. Everything in a factory that still doesn't meet standards, and our skin naturally feels dirty.

It's okay even if our bodies smell and are covered in dust; the fact is, we need it, and we must work hard. The world teaches us to work hard; otherwise, we might become criminals because we have to earn a living. So, we can see that sometimes criminals are simply in need of food and financial hardship.

But what annoys me most about criminals is that they steal or extort money from ordinary workers or laborers like us. Why don't they take money and extort and rob from corruptors or the rich? It's such a shame, we've worked so hard, and yet there are still criminals who want to take our rights.

Hmm... that's life.

This is what life is like, man! Good people still get bullied, not by bad people, not even by Satan. Yes, talking about ghosts again.

In the factory itself, ghost stories are often told, so the night shift workers usually don't want to be alone, even gathering to work and avoid being alone. Of course, you know what they fear and think about when the night is tense.

Even though it's not tense in the factory, how could it be tense with the rumbling of machinery almost 24/7? The noise alone is so loud, how could it be tense? They're probably just drawn into the story, making everything tense. Right, Bro?

My schedule doesn't last until late at night, only until 8 PM. However, as dusk approaches, there are always people in the factory who start to get goosebumps and tell ghost stories. It's strange, knowing they're scared, why are they still telling each other ghost stories? There's always something.

"Mr. Adnan," Mr. Ranu, who was under my supervision, patted my shoulder. I nodded, picking up some scattered pieces of palm fruit. They usually fall off the trunk and are picked up by farmers to be weighed.

"What's wrong, Mr. Ranu?" I looked at the 40-year-old man.

"I'll just ask for permission before sunset, sir. I have family matters to attend to. Please, sir," Mr. Ranu pleaded, his face pleading. I couldn't bear to look at him. A single permission wouldn't be a problem, but he could still meet his daily target.

"Ba...,"

"Sir! Sir! Sir! Sir!"

Before I could say anything, several more people came in, crowding around. Under my supervision, about 15 of them gathered in front of me. What was going on? I didn't want them to ask for permission like Mr. Ranu, of course.

"We also have permission, sir!"

"We also have permission, sir!"

"We also have permission, boss!"

They said almost in unison, almost confusing me. "No! Only Mr. Ranu is allowed permission. The others usually come home at eight o'clock with me."

Sigh! I guess I have to be firm, no more fickleness. How can almost everyone under my supervision ask for permission? If the target isn't met, they'll lose their bonus, mine, and my mom's share of the salted fish. Huh! Isn't that a chain reaction?

"So what about Ranu, Boss!" a plump man retorted. He was probably Jono, probably still wondering if I'd finally permitted Mr. Ranu.

Mr. Ranu's face was pleading with me, his eyes like a baby wanting a toy. I sighed softly. I'd almost permitted him earlier, but I didn't want to swallow my own spit. Just this once.

"Okay, Mr. Ranu can ask for permission today."

"Hooray!" Mr. Ranu pumped his fist like a child. I don't know what to make of the permission, which was actually only for a little over an hour. But maybe his family event was so special that he was so happy to get permission and immediately gathered with his family and held an important event.

"It's not fair!"

"It's not fair, Mr. Adnan!"

"It's not fair, Boss!"

They said it all almost simultaneously, my ears confused as to who was speaking. It was like the council members being protested by students on television. Everyone was shouting, making my ears dizzy, and the voices were all there, and the chaos was deafening. I thought, if I'm just 15 people protesting like this, how much more dizzy must the council members be, being protested by thousands of students? They definitely won't be able to sleep at night.

Ha ha ha... but they... oh well! Why bother thinking about the council members? I should just think about my unfinished business.

"Okay. Why is it so unfair? Mr. Ranu has important matters for his family, he said, and they can't leave him," I explained in detail, defending Mr. Ranu. His eyes lit up when I spoke up for him, like there were stars around his head, like in an animated film.

Jono stepped over the shoulders of several people in front of him, his large body pushing several people aside. The friction of Jono's large body made the people he passed feel like they were being pushed by a machine, shifting to the right and left.

Jono stopped right in front of me, his right hand outstretched toward me. What was he up to? Was he going to hit me? My tiny body would be destroyed if Jono tried to hit me, my friend.

Pluk!

No, it turned out his right hand was touching my right shoulder. He was about to speak, but his lips started moving and then moving again, until he said,

"Boss! Ranu isn't going because there's an important family event. She's afraid of ghosts! She's afraid of passing the old house at the entrance to our village at night, Boss! After Isha prayers, the ghosts roam there like a market! The market isn't open until Maghrib, so Ranu asked permission to avoid the night market, Boss!"

Pffttt! I almost laughed, but I held it in with all my might. Jono is indeed a poet who always knows how to create words, even if they're funny, but they're touching. Even if he's not famous, he's like a pufferfish, you know?

He he he, what's clear is that Jono is a poet from a village, even though he's a laborer like me, he's adept at twisting words. Well, this time, despite his humor, his words have made me think. If that's true, then Mr. Ranu is just making an excuse to get home early.

Now, I looked at Mr. Ranu. His gaze seemed slightly lowered, and was he embarrassed?

"Mr. Ranu, is what Lek Jono said true? Mr. Ranu wants permission to go home early just because he's afraid of passing the old house in the row of bushes on the border of our village?"

So, my friends, the palm oil mill and the rubber and cassava processing plant are in one block. And, within each group, there are several groups. Usually, the groups are grouped by region or village. I have 30 groups to supervise, so I'm the foreman of 30 people, all from my village, Bulan Indah.

Mr. Ranu couldn't say anything else, feeling embarrassed. "What Jono said is true, sir. I'm afraid to pass by that old house. It's often scary at night, but it's not so scary in the afternoon."

What other excuse could this be? Does it make a difference whether it's past 8 p.m. or Maghrib time? This Mr. Ranu is always up to something. Mr. Ranu himself is actually a friend of my father's, which is why I permitted him earlier. But seeing this, I became irritated because a ghost could ask for permission and sacrifice the common good to achieve a target and, of course, to get a group bonus.

"Sorry, Mr. Ranu, I'm canceling your permission this tim.," Mr. Ranu's face was disappointed. He must have lost his previous enthusiasm. "But Mr. Ranu, don't worry about going home past that old house." Actually, the old house belonging to the late Mbah Pati is the only access road to my village. So, if you want to get to my village, you have to go through that route. The other route is through dense forest where wild animals are rife.

"I'll accompany Mr. Ranu later, or we can go home together so nothing will happen, Mr. Ranu," I tried to comfort him. Mr. Ranu felt his disappointment ease, and indeed, he immediately brightened.

"Really, sir, we'll go home together?"

"Of course, Mr. Ranu."

I replied lightly. Mr. Ranu thanked me and excused himself to go back to work. It would be Maghrib soon, so they would take a short break to pray and get back to work on completing the day's target. If the target was exceeded, it would count towards the bonus. At this, several of my teammates smiled with satisfaction, feeling that I was being fair.

They were all satisfied and returned to work. However, something was bothering me. How could this ghost scare so many people? Even Mr. Ranu himself was afraid to go home at night just because he passed by an old house whose owner had passed away, but Mbah Pati, as far as I knew, was a good person. In fact, she used to teach him the Koran as a child. He was a very kind person. The late Mbah Pati loved helping people, and he was alone, with no family.

Now, his former home is never cleaned or maintained. Everyone is afraid because the house is said to be haunted. Perhaps that's just a rumor that's been constantly circulating, making it seem as if everyone is now afraid to pass by the house.

Hmm... I clutched my chest. There's always something going on.