Chapter 4

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Story 3

Prediction

A horrifying future…

Haida was a hardworking housewife, a loyal companion, and a loving mother. She had been married for thirteen years and had been blessed with four children. All of them were boys. The eldest was aged eleven, the second nine, the third seven, and the youngest was only five years old. Haida’s husband was a successful doctor.

Overall, Haida’s life with her family was a perfect and harmonious one. That’s until recently, Haida started having nightmares.

Haida dreamt of horrifying images. At first, the dreams were vague images of corpses, blood, and murder among other things. However, the dreams were becoming more clear with each passing day. Until one night when Haida was sleeping, she dreamt of something horrifying. Something that affected her family.

Haida dreamt of her husband and four children being murdered in cold blood. However, she did not see who the murderer was because its face was blurry.

Haida woke up in shock. She rubbed her throbbing chest, muttering the shahadah.[1] She wiped the sweat on her neck and then looked at her husband who was sleeping soundly. She then checked on her children one by one. All of them were sleeping peacefully. Haida sighed heavily in relief.

Even so, every night, the same dream would repeat itself, becoming clearer every time. For example, through her dream, Haida found out that the murder would occur during her firstborn’s birthday. This was inferred from the various decorations such as balloons and a half-eaten cake which still had parts of the boy’s name written on it. The matter bothered Haida as she and her husband were really planning a birthday party next week. Albeit, slightly, this affected her even when she took those dreams as mere coincidences and just her mind playing tricks on her.

However, all that changed in the blink of an eye. Haida had a dream of walking together with her family inside a shopping mall to buy the items needed for the party. At first, Haida didn’t think much about the dream as usual, but the next day, Haida became scared and confused when every specific act that happened in the dream truly happened in reality. Every small detail was similar. From the mall that they went to, the shops they visited and also the items they bought. Even the present that her husband chose for their son was exactly the same as what Haida saw in her dream the night before. How could this be when she did not tell anyone else about her dream?

Haida started panicking but she kept her feelings to herself. She did not want her family to worry. That’s why she went on her days as usual.

That night, Haida had a dream again. This time, the dream was very long. It showed her from morning till night. In the morning, she went into the eldest’s room and wished him a happy birthday. Then, she and her husband did all the preparations for the party that was to be held in the evening. Haida prepared the food while her husband placed all the decorations, like balloons and a banner that had ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!’ written on it. In the evening, guests that comprised of her child’s friends and even her and her husband’s acquaintances arrived. They celebrated the birthday happily and in high spirits. As night crawled, the guests started going back. Haida, her husband, and their four children were lounging in front of the TV, feeling too tired until they fell asleep. Suddenly, Haida saw someone breaking into their home and killed her whole family that was sleeping on the sofa. One by one until all of them died, covered in blood. Haida shrieked. She woke up. Looking at the clock on the wall, it showed that the time was 6.30 in the morning. It was time to wake up. Today would be a long day. She needed to prepare for her child’s birthday party.

After showering, Haida went in front of her child’s room. Her plan was to wake the boy up and wish him a happy birthday, but she simply stood there. For some reason, she hesitated. Things could perhaps be similar to what happened in her dream? Haida tossed the thought far away. She entered the room. Her son was already awake but he was still sitting on the bed. He was wearing blue pyjamas. Similar to the one in Haida’s dream. She had an ominous feeling.

All day the events, one by one, happening made Haida feel restless. From the most trivial things to the finest details, everything that happened in her dream was reflected in reality. Haida became agitated. Her heart was palpitating so much that she couldn’t even focus on her son’s birthday party. She was too afraid of the day going on. She did not want everyone to go home, leaving her family alone in the house. Haida was afraid that what she dreamt of this past month would become reality. She was frightened.

The birthday party ended. Everybody was gone. Haida’s husband and sons sat tiredly in front of the TV, lounging on the sofa. Haida could only observe them. She did not want to take her eyes away from them even for one second. Haida watched as her important ones fell asleep one after the other, possibly because they were exhausted having fun earlier. Afterwards, Haida stared at the front door. Anytime soon, someone would break in from that door and stab her family one by one with a knife. Killing them in front of her eyes. The people that Haida loved the most in this world. Haida could not imagine her life without them. They were her everything.

Haida was too afraid of losing them. She couldn’t bear that. No matter what would happen, she would never let the lives of her family to fall into the hands of a cruel murderer just like in her dreams.

As such, Haida went to the kitchen. She opened a drawer and took out a sharp knife. Haida brought the knife to the TV room where her husband and children were sound asleep. She inhaled deeply. Then, without any hesitation, Haida stabbed her family one by one with the knife. Starting with her husband, her first son, until the final child. Haida stabbed them countless times to make sure that they were truly dead. Finished, Haida left a breath of relief. Now, no one could hurt her family. Haida sat, surrounded by the corpses of her family, smiling. She felt calm. Because the prediction in her dreams won’t ever come true.

-End-

Munir gaped. He did not expect the story to have that kind of ending. While he was lost in thought, a few village kids came to visit.

“Assalamualaikum, big brother Munir! When did you come back?” asked a ten-year-old youngster. He was holding a newspaper in his hand. It was probably just bought from the grocery shop.

“It’s been a few days already. What are you guys doing here?” asked Munir while standing up to sit on the stairs of the veranda. [2]

“We have something to tell you but it’s a bit weird…”

“What?”

“Er… did you bring a kid back?”

“Yeah. He’s around you guys’ age. Seven-year-old. Why? You wanna play with him?”

“Eh, no… It’s just that we saw him earlier.”

“Where did you see him?”

The kids exchanged glances.

“Where did you guys see him? As far as I know, he didn’t go anywhere. He’s been in his room all this time.” said Munir, stern.

“Er… we saw him flying out of the window. Then he went back inside.”

“Huh? You’re being ridiculous!”

“It’s true… We saw him…”

“Enough! Stop spouting nonsense. Get lost! Doing your homework would be better than spouting drivel. Get lost!” scolded Munir.

The kids went back in a rush, afraid of Munir who they knew was fierce. They were in such a hurry that one of them left the newspaper behind. Munir took it and read the headline on the front page.

‘A woman was arrested after being suspected of murdering her husband and four children.’

Munir dropped the newspaper to the floor, shocked. He massaged his head that started to spin. Prodding the paper with his leg he read the title again.

“Ah… just a coincidence…”

Munir went back to the veranda. He looked at the black novel that was laying there. If it was up to him, he really wanted to stop reading the novel. Even so, for some unknown reason, his heart was unwilling to. It was asking Munir to continue reading the novel. The old book seemed to be calling for him. Munir sighed.

“It’s not like me to stop things half-way. Since I’ve read it, might as well finish it.” Munir decided.

He then grabbed his empty coffee cup and went to the kitchen to refill it. Then, he went to the same location and sat with the same position as before. Munir grabbed the novel.

“What stupid story is next…”

[1] Basic belief of the Islamic faith. Reciting it shows your faith in God despite experiencing bad things. In this case is also used as a one-step exorcism.

[2] Malaysia traditional village house. Veranda with stairs.

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