The Silent Guide
Seeing Irwan and Nadia fall, the woman floated forward and bent down, extending both her hands to the terrified Irwan and Nadia. She smiled kindly but didn't speak. Irwan and Nadia looked at each other, then with trembling hands, they took the woman's outstretched hands.
The woman helped them both stand up, then she bowed in front of them and turned, pointing towards the waterfall on the cliff.
Irwan and Nadia, not understanding the woman's intention, stood in silence, looking at each other, their hands clasped and trembling.
"Wh-what does she mean?" Irwan stammered, his voice trembling.
"D-don't know, m-maybe she wants us to go there," Nadia stammered, her voice also trembling.
The woman turned to look at Irwan and Nadia again, then she nodded as if confirming what Nadia had said was correct.
"Um... y-you mean we have to go there?" Irwan asked, double-checking.
The woman nodded again, then she floated behind them and gently pushed them forward. Irwan looked back and once again saw the woman nod without saying anything. Finally, he held Nadia's hand and walked forward, crossing the narrow path that separated the two lakes of different colors in front of them. They walked in single file because the path separating the two lakes was only wide enough for one person.
Irwan walked in front, and Nadia held onto Irwan's backpack from behind. They walked step by step towards the waterfall on the cliff right in front of them. When they reached the middle, Nadia looked back, and suddenly she hugged Irwan tightly from behind, so hard that Irwan almost lost his balance.
"He-hey, what's wrong? Why did you suddenly hug me?" Irwan asked.
"Th-that woman disappeared, Wan," Nadia stammered.
"That's why you shouldn't look back. We're halfway there. Switch places, you go in front," Irwan said.
"No, I'll stay behind. It's scarier in front," Nadia replied.
They continued their journey across the path separating the two lakes, but this time Nadia kept hugging Irwan tightly the whole way. "Brrrrrrs!" The sound of the waterfall grew clearer. After half an hour of struggling on the narrow path separating the two lakes, they finally reached the ancient gazebo right in front of the waterfall lake, which had normal-colored water. Irwan and Nadia could see that the water from that lake flowed into the river that flanked the gazebo, filling the two differently colored lakes behind them.
"Th-this place is nice... i-if it weren't so creepy," Irwan said.
"Y-yes, it could actually be a tourist spot... as long as it's not haunted," Nadia replied.
"So now that we're here, where do we go?" Irwan asked.
"D-don't know. Try to think," Nadia replied, still holding Irwan's arm tightly.
Irwan squinted his eyes. Faintly, he saw a light, like fire, behind the rushing waterfall.
"I think there's a cave behind the waterfall. Come on, Nad," Irwan said.
"Huh... you want to try going there? Is it dangerous? Is it scary?" Nadia asked.
"How would I know? Everywhere's scary now," Irwan replied.
"O-okay, l-let's go then," Nadia said.
******
The Hidden Gateway
They both walked to the left, circling the lake while holding onto the cliff to get behind the waterfall. When they arrived, Irwan's guess was correct: behind the waterfall was a cave lit by torches hanging on its walls. They stepped to the mouth of the cave and peeked inside. The cave looked like a tunnel lit by torches all along its length.
"L-looks safe, should we go in?" Irwan asked.
"Are you sure you want my opinion?" Nadia retorted.
"Okay, let's go in," Irwan urged.
"Yeah, I already knew you wanted to go in because you're curious. Whatever I say won't make a difference," Nadia said.
"Click... clack!" They both began to step cautiously into the muddy, damp, but brightly lit cave, holding hands.
"Wan, what do you think is at the end of this cave tunnel?" Nadia asked.
"How would I know? Don't ask weird questions," Irwan replied.
"I'm just making conversation so I don't get scared and lonely," Nadia said.
"I know, but your questions make me think and tense up," Irwan replied.
"Sorry, sorry," Nadia said.
"You promised you wouldn't be scared anymore, right?" Irwan asked.
"Uh... are you scared?" Nadia asked back.
"Of course I'm scared!" Irwan replied.
"Well, then don't talk about promises with me. We're both scared," Nadia said.
They continued walking cautiously and vigilantly through the tunnel. When they reached the mouth of the cave at the end of the tunnel, they both paused for a moment before entering.
"Whatever happens, don't go far from me," Irwan said.
"Yeah, I know," Nadia replied.
After trying to calm themselves, they immediately stepped forward together. As soon as they entered, Irwan's and Nadia's eyes widened, and their mouths dropped open. They were in a very large and spacious, yet not very deep, cave chamber. In front of them was a massive temple-shaped monument with a tall, stepped conical roof reaching the cave ceiling and attached to the wall, as if the temple was part of the cave wall itself (for reference of the temple's form, please search for "Candi Cangkuang").
The temple had a large, tightly closed gate and stairs leading up to it. Irwan and Nadia gazed at the large temple and the closed gate in front of them with a mixture of awe and dread. Then Irwan turned to look at Nadia.
"Is it possible this is the gate Brian and Riana told us about when they heard the story from Rahman?" Irwan asked.
"Don't know, but it's definitely... a gate... in front of us," Nadia said.
"If it's true, then this is our way out, so we can leave here and go back to the real world. Brian and Riana said we need to find an artifact to use at this gate, right?" Irwan asked.
"Yes, one is in Lina's cave," Nadia replied.
"Hmm, right. I really want to go to Rahman's shack and find the other key, because according to Lina, he can go in and out, right?" Irwan replied.
"Is that true? I wasn't really paying attention because I was so scared back then," Nadia replied.
"Ah, you're hopeless. Come on, what are we doing here? It'll get creepy if we stay too long," Irwan replied.
"Yeah, let's go," Nadia replied.
They both turned and walked back along the tunnel they came from. As they were walking,
"Wan, who do you think that woman was?" Nadia asked.
"How would I know? But that woman showed us this gate," Irwan replied.
"Hmm, do you think she might be the goddess from the legend and the true form of the statue in Lina's cave?" Nadia asked.
"Don't know either. Maybe, I guess. Anyway, let's not think about it. The important thing now is that we know where the gate is," Irwan said.
They kept walking, but suddenly Irwan realized something and pulled Nadia's hand to stop.
"What is it?" Nadia asked.
"Don't you hear the sound of the waterfall, Nad?" Irwan asked.
Nadia fell silent. She tried to sharpen her hearing, then she turned to look at Irwan next to her.
"You're right, why can't I hear the waterfall?" Nadia asked.
"Come on, Nad!" Irwan urged.
They quickly walked, and when they reached the mouth of the cave where the waterfall should have been, there was no water dripping at all, and the path they walked on was not muddy. Irwan and Nadia stepped out, their eyes immediately widening. The two differently colored lakes, which had initially looked beautiful and bright, were now pitch black and completely dry, as was the small lake in front of the waterfall. All that remained was the gazebo, which now looked like the ruins of a long-destroyed building. What they had seen before seemed like an illusion that had now vanished, and this made them both tremble with fear.
"O-oh no, what now, we can't go back, it's dark," Nadia said, clutching Irwan's arm.
"W-whether we like it or not, we have to spend the night in this cave. We can only leave tomorrow morning," Irwan said, also trembling.