The next day at school, the atmosphere felt different for Dava. She felt like a pair of eyes were watching her from somewhere. Every step she took, every interaction, felt like it was being watched. She told her friends about this feeling.
"You're just paranoid, Dav," Alex said as they gathered on the basketball court before the bell rang. "After what happened with Niko, it's natural you'd feel that way."
"It's not paranoia," Dava argued. "That person sent a photo of Niko at the internet cafe. That means he's been monitoring us. And he knows we're investigating."
"Then what should we do?" asked Fahri.
"We need to be more careful. And we need to find out who in this school has the ability and motive to do all this," Dava replied.
Their conversation was interrupted when Bella, Anindi, and Zara walked by. Bella shot Dava a sharp look, but this time it wasn't sarcasm. Just a questioning look.
"What's wrong with him? Why is he only staring today?" Reyhan whispered.
"Don't worry," Dava said, even though she was also curious.
The first period was economics. Their teacher, Mrs. Siska, discussed the material monotonously. Dava tried to concentrate, but her mind wandered to the evidence in Niko's flash drive.
Suddenly, her cell phone vibrated. A message came from an unknown number.
The message: "Stop investigating. This is the final warning."
Dava immediately straightened up. She looked around the class. All her friends were paying attention to the teacher. Who sent this message?
She replied: "Who is this?"
A few seconds later, the reply came: "Someone who knows everything about you. About your mother who works at an oil company, your father at a bank, and about the incident in the park when you were six years old."
Dava froze. The incident in the park? Only his family and a few other people knew about it. Who was this person?
Message: "What do you want?" Dava typed.
Reply: "I want you to suffer like the one you made suffer. Stop now, or I will destroy you slowly."
Dava didn't reply anymore. His fingers clenched. Someone was targeting not only him, but also his family. And someone who held an old grudge.
During recess, Dava immediately gathered his friends in a quiet place, near the sports warehouse.
"There's a new development," Dava said, showing the message on his phone.
They read the message with serious faces.
"He threatened your family?" Alex said worriedly. "This is too much."
"Who is the 'he' he is referring to? Who are you making suffer?" Daren asked.
"I don't know," Dava answered honestly. "I don't remember ever making someone suffer this much."
"We should report it to the police," Fahri suggested.
"With what evidence? A message from an unknown number? They won't take it seriously," Reyhan argued.
"He mentioned the incident at the park," Dava said quietly. "That... that's something very personal."
"What happened at the park?" Alex asked.
Dava sighed.
"When I was little, about six years old, I had a playmate. A girl. I don't remember her face or her name. But one day, we were playing in the park, and a thug tried to kidnap her. I tried to fight back, but I was still small and weak. In the end, she was taken away."
Everyone fell silent.
"What happened to the girl?" Fahri asked quietly.
"I don't know. The police searched, but they never found her. Her family moved away shortly after. I was traumatized for months. That's why my parents made me learn self-defense."
"So... maybe this person is the girl's family? Blaming you for not saving her?" Daren guessed.
"Maybe," Dava said. "But that was a long time ago. And I was just a kid. It wasn't my fault."
"People who hold grudges don't always think logically," Alex said. "This is dangerous, Dav. You should talk to your parents."
"No," Dava denied quickly. "They're already too busy. I don't want to add to their problems. I'll handle this myself."
Meanwhile, Bella was still curious about Dava's behavior. She approached Niko Santoso, who was alone in the library.
"Niko," Bella said, surprising Niko.
"B-Bella? What's wrong?"
"I want to ask you something. What's your relationship with Dava? I saw you together at the internet cafe yesterday."
Niko immediately panicked.
"Nothing! We're not together! You saw wrong."
"Don't lie, Niko. I saw you come out of that internet cafe, and Dava was behind you."
Niko broke out in a cold sweat.
"Please, Bella. Don't ask again. It's dangerous."
"Dangerous? Why?" Bella urged.
"I can't talk. He'll hurt me," Niko whispered in fear.
"Who? Dava?"
"Not Dava! Someone else! Please, Bella, just forget about me. Forget what you saw."
Niko then took his book and hurried away, leaving Bella increasingly confused and curious.
Who was Niko afraid of? And what was his relationship with Dava?
In the afternoon, Dava decided to go home early. He felt the need to investigate deeper into his childhood incident. Maybe there was a clue there.
He went to his magnificent house. Both of his parents were not home yet, as usual. The house felt big and empty.
Dava went to her father's archive room. She searched through old boxes filled with newspaper clippings and documents from years past.
After searching for almost an hour, she found a folder labeled "2009 Park Incident." Her hands trembled as she opened it.
There were several yellowed newspaper clippings. The title: "Missing Little Girl Kidnapped in Merdeka Park." And one photo that made Dava's breath catch.
The photo showed two small children laughing. One was her six-year-old self. And the other was a little girl with curly hair and bright eyes. Her face looked familiar.
Dava tried to remember. Who was this girl? She felt familiar, but she couldn't place it.
Then her eyes fell on the caption below the photo: "Dava Alendra and Bella Putri Himawan were playing in the park the day before the kidnapping."
Dava dropped the photo. Her chest felt tight.
Bella? Bella Putri Himawan? Is that the current Bella? Her enemy?
It can't be. It must be a coincidence of names.
But the more she looked at the photo, the clearer it became. The little girl did indeed bear a resemblance to the current Bella. The same eyes, the same smile.
Dava sat in silence. If Bella was the kidnapped girl, why didn't she remember? Why didn't Bella ever recognize her? And why had she hated her all this time?
Her mind was in turmoil. She had to find the truth.
She took out her phone and sent Bella a message.
**Dava: "We need to talk. It's important. Meet me at the park near school, 4 pm."**
A few minutes later, Bella replied.
Bella: "For what? I don't want to meet you."
Dava: "It's about our past. About something that happened a long time ago."
Bella: "I don't have a past with you. Don't make things up."
Dava: "I have a photo. A photo of us when we were little. In the park."
This time, Bella didn't reply right away. A few minutes passed.
Bella: "Okay. 4 PM. But if this is your trick, I'm going to hate you even more."
Dava put down her phone. She looked at the old photo. If Bella really was that girl, then the threats she received today made more sense. Someone was holding a grudge because of that incident.
But who? And what did it have to do with the server crash at school?
Dava felt like she was walking on a minefield. And the clock was ticking towards 4 PM.
Meeting in the Park and Buried Memories
At 3:55 PM, Dava was at Merdeka Park, the same spot from the old photo. She sat on a bench, holding a folder filled with photos and newspaper clippings. Her heart was pounding. This was the first time she had ever felt so nervous facing Bella.
At exactly 4:00 AM, Bella appeared. She came alone, her face still set in a disapproving expression and her arms folded across her chest.
"I'm here. Now, what's so important?" Bella asked bluntly.
Dava nodded toward the bench across from her. "Sit down."
Bella snorted but sat down anyway. "Hurry up. I don't have much time."
Dava took an old photo from the folder and handed it to Bella. "I found this at my house today."
Bella took the photo suspiciously. Her eyes widened when she saw it. She was silent for a long moment, staring at the photo of two children laughing heartily.
"What is this?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.
"That's me. And that... according to the photo caption, is Bella Putri Himawan. That's you, right?" Dava asked slowly.
Bella lifted her head, her gaze confused. "I... I don't remember. I don't remember taking this photo."
"Read the caption on the back," Dava requested.
Bella turned the photo over. The writing was written in faded ink: "Dava & Bella, Taman Merdeka, 2009. The day before..." The writing was cut off.
"Before what?" Bella demanded.
Dava took a deep breath. "Before the kidnapping incident. A little girl was kidnapped in this park. I... I was there at the time. And according to all reports, that girl was you, Bella."
Bella's face was pale. She shook her head slowly. "No. That's impossible. I was never kidnapped. My parents never told me about it."
"Maybe they were protecting you. Or maybe you were traumatized and chose to forget it," Dava explained.
"But why don't I remember anything? Why don't I remember you?" Bella asked, her voice almost a whisper.
"I don't remember either," Dava admitted. "But this photo proves we once knew each other. We were once friends."
Bella looked back at the photo. Suddenly, she held her head. "Ouch."
"What's wrong?" Dava asked worriedly.
"My head hurts. There's an image... an image of a boy... screaming..." Bella closed her eyes, trying to concentrate.
Dava waited tensely. She hoped this would trigger Bella's memory.
But after a moment, Bella opened her eyes again. "No. I can't remember. This must be wrong. Maybe it wasn't me. Maybe it was another child whose name also happened to be Bella."
"But she looks exactly like you," Dava argued.
"Most kids look alike," Bella replied, starting to stand. "I think this is just another trick of yours, Dava. I don't believe it."
"Wait," Dava said, standing in front of her. "I received a threatening message today. Someone mentioned the incident at the park. They said they wanted revenge because I made someone suffer. If you were the one kidnapped, then maybe the threat was related to that."
Bella laughed sarcastically. "So now you're trying to make up a story that I was kidnapped and there's a mysterious avenger? You really are endless, aren't you?"
"This isn't a story, Bella. It's real. I'll show you the proof." Dava handed her a newspaper clipping.
Bella snatched the clipping and read it quickly. Her face grew paler. But then she crumpled the clipping and threw it to the ground.
"I don't care! I don't remember anything! And even if it was true, that's no reason for you to bother me all this time! Now, get out of my way! I want to go home!"
Dava saw Bella's teary eyes. She wasn't in disbelief; she was scared.
"Bella, please. We need to work together. Someone out there is endangering us both."
"Even if there is someone, I'm more convinced it's you and your friends who planned all this! Now, get away from me!"
Bella pushed Dava away and walked quickly away, leaving a frustrated Dava in the park.
Dava picked up the crumpled newspaper clippings and the fallen photos. She couldn't. Bella didn't want to remember, or she just couldn't.
As Bella walked quickly away, tears finally spilled. Why was she so afraid? Why was it that every time she tried to remember her childhood, her head hurt and her heart pounded with fear?
She arrived at the bus stop and sat alone. She took out her phone and called her mother.
"Mom," she said when the line connected.
"Yes, honey? What's wrong?" her mother asked.
"Mom, did... did something bad happen to me when I was little? Something like... a kidnapping?"
There was a pause on the other end. "Kidnapping? No, honey. Why do you ask that?"
"I was just... wondering. Someone said something."
"Don't listen to what people say, Bella. There was never a kidnapping. You're a good girl. Now, go home. I'm in a meeting."
The line went dead. Bella was lost in thought. Her mother was lying. She could feel it. But why?
Back at the park, Dava was still sitting on the bench when her phone rang. It was Alex.
"Dav, where are you? We have a problem."
"What happened?"
"Niko. He didn't come to school today. And I just got a call from his mother. She said Niko didn't come home last night."
"Did he disappear?" Dava asked anxiously.
"I think so. Or... maybe he was kidnapped by that mysterious person."
Dava cursed under his breath. "We have to find him. He's in danger because of us."
"We have to report it to the police, Dav."
"No. Not yet. That person threatened to harm his family if we involve the police. We have to look for him ourselves."
"How? We have no leads."
Dava thought for a moment. "That person is always one step ahead. He knows our every move. That means he must be watching us very closely. Maybe... maybe he's at our school."
"Do you think he's a student? Or a teacher?"
"Could be. Or maybe someone pretending to be a student," Dava replied. "We need to be more vigilant. And we need to keep an eye on Bella too. If this threat is related to our past, then Bella is in danger too."
"Have you talked to her?"
"Just now. She doesn't believe it. She doesn't remember anything."
"Then what should we do?"
"We'll watch over Bella from afar. Without her knowing. We also need to find out more about the kidnapping incident. There might be details we missed."
"Okay. We'll watch over Bella. You focus on investigating the past."
"Thank you, Alex."
Dava hung up. She looked around the park, which was starting to become deserted. This place held a secret. And she had to uncover it before it was too late.
She stood up and walked home, a feeling of unease lingering in her. Someone was playing a game with them. And that game could be fatal.
From behind the trees, a pair of eyes watched Dava leave. A faint smile appeared on her face.
"Getting closer, Dava. Getting closer to the truth. And getting closer to your destruction."