Someone seemed to be walking quickly toward me, his steps appearing hurried. As he got closer, he realized it was Arlan, one of the labor bosses like me. Supervising 30 people under him, he approached me.

"Mr. Adnan," his voice was low, a gentle man indeed, "Mr. Adnan, please call the boss now."

I nodded to him, "Yes, I'll be right there. What's up, Lan?" I called him Arlan. He was two years younger than me. He was a high school graduate, so he was appointed foreman because he could write and calculate better than the others.

"I don't understand, sir. Okay, I'll get on with my work. I just met with the boss. I was asked to work overtime because I have additional work to complete."

I nodded again, "Okay, thank you, Lan."

"Okay, sir, you're welcome."

As Arlan left, I put down the dodos tool I'd been using to pierce the oil palm fruit bunches. I left my colleagues and excused myself to go to the boss's office for a moment. They continued their work.

I cleaned some of the dirt off my hands and face. I explored the areas where other workers were working. I passed several groups similar to ours. I didn't forget to greet them; fellow foremen often knew each other, as they often gathered to discuss pay and bonuses.

Up ahead was the boss's office. The boss's office was also in the front room, near the living room, where guests from various circles came. There were also guests picking up kernels and also from the oy that sourced raw materials from our factory. Cars came and went through the living room, carrying raw materials from our factory.

I reached the boss's office, knocked, and the boss invited me in.

Boss Tama was sitting in a swivel chair with a soft, swiveling seat. The boss turned his chair to face me and asked me to sit too. My chair was also made of foam, but it didn't swivel and had a thinner seat.

"Mr. Adnan," Boss Tama moved his right fingers alternately, tapping on the table like he was playing an organ keyboard. Kletuk, kletuk, alternating from his thumb to his little finger. I was forced to listen to the kletuk-kletuk, waiting to see what the big boss would say next.

"You're working overtime tonight!"

Firmly and without warning, straight to the point. I couldn't refuse, but would my teammates under my supervision also be working overtime?

"Me alone or with my team, sir?"

Boss Tama pointed forward with just one index finger, his large belly moving forward so that his chair seemed to move forward as well. "You alone, there will also be foremen from other teams. Tonight we'll be calculating targets, as the workers' quotas are distributed tomorrow. So we'll be calculating in preparation for tomorrow."

Firm, straightforward, and to the point. I didn't dare ask any more questions.

"Yes, Boss. Then I'll go back to my other colleagues to complete today's targets." I stood up and began to excuse myself.

Without a response, Boss Tama raised his right palm and moved his fingertips toward the door. It means, "Please." Silently, firmly, to the point, and without any words at all.

That's my boss. If it were my first time, we might be confused as to whether this person was angry or displeased with us. But in fact, that's Boss Tama. He speaks only as necessary and uses a lot of gestures. In fact, that's what happens to all the foremen in this factory, and they all tell the same story.

"Adnan!"

I stopped when I reached the exit of Boss Tama's office. I was surprised because Boss Tama usually doesn't speak again after I've excused myself.

"What's wrong, Boss?" I leaned sideways, my right hand still on the door handle.

"You're doing great, your team always hits its targets. Keep it up and keep improving!" I said firmly and expressionlessly. It was a sign of appreciation for me.

"Yes, Boss Tama, I'll continue."

I opened the door, stepped out, and then closed it again. Phew! It felt so good to receive appreciation from Boss Tama, the man who doesn't like to talk much and often only acts by gestures. Thankfully, it wasn't his reprimand that mattered.

Previously, someone he reprimanded, a foreman, was also fired the next day for daring to contradict his boss. The foreman protested, feeling that Boss Tama was unfair in cutting his salary. This was because their targets weren't met, and the foreman wasn't happy because the bonus was canceled. He protested and demanded the bonus, though not all of it. The boss was furious and fired him.

A cruel boss? Maybe, but I've never been scolded by him, except for being strict with me and telling me to always meet work targets.

I returned to my team, my coworkers. They asked what was wrong, having me suddenly summoned by the big boss. I explained that I'd been asked to work overtime, and I suggested they go home together without me, of course. If anyone was afraid, they should go home together so they wouldn't be bothered by Satan or any other ghost. They were a bit disappointed because they thought I was the only one among my coworkers who wasn't afraid of ghosts. I could lead the way well when crossing the boundary of the old house. If one person dared, everyone would follow behind. Why were they so afraid?

I advised them that Satan would be afraid if people were together, as long as they recited the Ayatul Kursi (the Throne Verse), which would make Satan flee. I assured them that when they arrived at Mang Krimo's Warung Krimo, they would pray together, reciting the Ayatul Kursi (the Throne Verse). Then, Adam assured them that no ghosts would bother them.

It couldn't be helped, but they finally understood. I had to work overtime. They went back to work so they could learn to be brave. How could 30 people together still be afraid? It was outrageous, of course.

Our target was also nearing completion, and the Maghrib call to prayer sounded at the mosque across from the factory. I rested and cleaned myself up, then performed ablutions and prepared to go to the mosque. I would pray after returning from the mosque, continuing until 8 p.m. Some followed me, but others prayed alone and took a break to drink and eat some cakes or rice they'd brought from home.

@ @ @

It was getting late, and our shift was over. They said goodbye and went home together, in a convoy like the previous night. Jono and Mr. Ranu said goodbye to me and went home first, and I greeted them and asked them to be careful. They left the factory together, and I went back inside.

I went straight to the living room at the front, near Boss Tama's office. Several people were already gathered there. Several other people seemed to be working overtime tonight. About 10 of them, and they were all foremen like me. They were the people Boss Tama trusted to lead small groups. They must have at least a pen and a good grasp of math.

This was because they would be Boss Tama's right-hand men in distributing bonuses, calculating biweekly targets, and also registering subordinates who were on leave and on leave each fortnight.

The results were how much each person received from their two-week salary and the amount of their bonus. They had to summarize, and I had the same task. It was no different. There were 11 groups on the night shift, and now there were exactly 11 foremen, and I was one of them.

I greeted them all, and everyone responded. I sat down on a long, U-shaped bench with a table in front of it. This was where we usually gathered when distributing salaries or employee honorariums, and also where we met if there were any issues among the workers.

"Mr. Fahri, is Boss Tama here yet?" I asked Fahri, the most senior foreman among us.

Fahri looked at me, "Not yet, Nan. He went out for a moment, he said he was buying something."

I nodded in understanding. Some of the other foremen were busy with their phones, while others were calculating something from the papers they had collected. They must be the daily papers he was summarizing. His name was Andi. Andi was the most diligent when it came to writing and tidying up, but I was the laziest, using the notes on my phone.

Of course, I've organized it in a spreadsheet so I can edit it if there are any changes every day when I get home from work.

Arlan still looks relaxed; perhaps he's finished his work, or perhaps he's tired, so he's just leaning back on the armrest of the chair behind him.

Shortly afterward, Boss Tama arrived from a distance. Beside him was Mr. Midan, one of the security guards. Mr. Midan was carrying a cardboard box slung over his right shoulder, while his left hand held a large plastic bag.

Yes, of course, Boss Tama was walking without carrying anything, except for his cell phone in his right hand. He's Boss Tama; everyone knows who he is. He speaks little, is firm, and if there's a problem, he takes it all out. However, he's actually kind, and he employs people carefully, selecting their abilities carefully, so he refuses to accept bribes, for example. Once, someone came to ask for his brother to be a foreman, but Boss Tama dismissed him. If that happened, it would only cause him trouble in the future.

He said that people who bribe know they can't afford it but want to get what they want. By forcing things, everything ends up in chaos.

Boss Tama sat alone in his chair, the others surrounding him in their current O-shaped chairs. However, Boss Tama was alone on the other side. Mr. Midan placed his cardboard box and large plastic bag on the table.

"Open it, Mr. Midan!"

Boss Tama motioned for Midan, the security guard, to open it. Mr. Midan quickly opened the box. It contained drinks and snacks. The plastic bag contained rice.

"Let's eat first before continuing overtime. Take everything! Mr. Midan, take some and eat too, okay?"

Mr. Midan nodded, "Okay, Boss!"

Well, Boss Tama was considerate. We distributed the food, rotating it around to see if anyone missed out. Everyone got a share and ate together. I opened my rice bag. The side dish was beef rendang, vegetables, tempeh, and tofu. A full portion, I said a prayer and began eating.

After eating, all the containers were cleaned, and Boss Tama began his meeting. This was about the daily report for the two weeks,s so that it would be ready for payroll distribution tomorrow. We would be entrusted with a certain amount of salary and bonus for each of the 30 employees under our supervision.

We summarized it, some on paper, some on notebooks, and some on our phones. Everyone recalculated and assessed whether the report was accurate. We were busy with our own notes.

Before we realized it, the night was getting late, and we were still busy working on our two-week report. Boss Tama had also entered the room, saying he wanted to review another report. We each went back to our own business.

Until...

Clap!

The lights went out, everything was dark, and we were silent for a moment. We turned on our phones, and the lights began to light up. The security guards were immediately prepared to turn on the generator if the electricity didn't come back on soon.

It was quiet and dark, with the lights flashing in our faces, like ghosts. Andi even played a little prank and suddenly turned on the phone's flashlight under his beard. The result was a ghostly glow. Some of us tiptoed, getting angry with Andi, but he just laughed. We waited for the generator to start or for the electricity to come back on first.

The night felt piercing this time, on our night of overtime.