The Midnight Radio
Episode 51

"Inox."

"Inox."

"Inox."

I exhaled a rough breath, closing my eyes and ears tightly as the whispers began to sound.

Pluck up!

A pair of hands touched my two hands that were still covering my ears making me open my eyes immediately. "Bang Win" I said softly.

"Another wonder?"

I nodded while still looking at him. Bang Win took out a box from the paper bag he was carrying and opened the package. After fiddling her phone for a moment, she let go of both my hands.

Instead, he put a small headphone in his ear. The music I recognized as Kitaro's work entered the eardrum and created a feeling of comfort. The volume is not too loud, making me still able to hear the sound of Bang Win, but powerful enough to muffle their invisible whispers.

"If it starts to cry strangely, just use this? Download aja Murotal on your phone instead of music or listen to both alternately. You just have to be happy" said Bang Win.

I nodded in understanding and leaned my back.

***

"Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh, Inoxu present from the second floor studio Story of Midnight 12.08FM Radio Rebel Bandung greet all listeners wherever they are. Tonight as usual, I, accompanied by Adul, will share the story of the speakers for all listeners. One song asked by Andyaz Nurita Ayuningtias from Sujiwo Tedjo with Ingsun will be the opening story tonight. Stay tuned and don't go anywhere."

I turned off the mic and looked towards Adul who was contacting the source. Once heard by me, he asked our source to wait for a moment.

"So that's what Sujiwo Tejo is singing with Ingsun. Welcome to the listeners who have just joined. And at the end of our connection, there's already a source by night. Huh hello? With whom where?"

"Hello, with Roni in Tongkeng."

"Well, deket from here dong, Kang?" ask Adul.

"Yes Kang, I'm in a tenement house behind Deltamart."

"Oh yes you know, because there is only one farmhouse there," continued Adul. "What does Roni want to tell you?"

"You want my love story, Kang?"

"Please Kang."

"I have a daily livelihood as a siomay seller."

"Wih, Inoxu Tea's antics, nih" said Adul.

"Can't I say don't cut it first?!" a voice sounded from the end of the connection. I was shocked and stared at each other with Adul, Remi and Gia in turn.

"I'm sorry, Kang" said Adul. I touched his shoulder to give him some spirit.

"I continue, right? I had a livelihood as a siomay man who wandered around my residence after Ashar and returned when the trade was up. Usually at ten o'clock at night. During the sale, I always pass the complex near here. There is one house that I never miss because the homeowner's daughter almost every day to buy. Over time, due to frequent encounters, I fell in love with the girl. Her non-excessive behavior, especially her gentle speech made me unable to stop thinking about the girl."

The silence was created so I decided to ask carefully. "Kang Roni is in love?"

"Yes, Tea. I fell in love and cultivated the courage to express it. As I see it, the response of this girl is also positive, the more days I solidify the intention."

"𝚃𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 ...."

I tilted my head to clarify what I had just heard. Although smooth, the sound can be heard clearly through the headphones I wear.

"𝚃𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚊𝚢𝚊 ...."

My breath choked when I realized that the sound was coming from the end of the connection. However, Adul, Gia and Remi did not react at all. In a short time I understood, where the voice came from.

"What's up, Kang Roni?" tanya Adul broke my attention.

"I told the girl my heart one afternoon when she and her schoolmates were gathering. The girl's attitude was sweeter than yesterday and it made me even more excited. I revealed it straight away and what I received, was far from my estimate.

My heart ached when the girl laughed at what I said. I said I was interested and wanted to have a relationship with him. Because he laughed, I still thought, maybe the girl thought I was joking. Therefore, I repeated my words again, and the girl's laughter grew louder to the attention of her friends.

In an instant, I became the schoolboy's moons. They said I should be glazed, I was self-conscious and didn't put my expectations too high. In my heart, I was crying. The pain turned my feelings of love into emotions in an instant."

"My story is not finished!" jendak Kang Roni.

"𝚃𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 ... 𝚂𝚊𝚢𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚞 𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚐 ...."

I'm back to frowning.

"Please follow Kang Roni," Adul's face was not excited because several times hit by a jolt.

"Now that I live happily with my beloved girl, no one can separate us anymore. Forever we will always be together" continued Kang Roni.

Bruaks!

I took off the headphones, put them down rough and ran downstairs to look for Bang Win. Fortunately, Bang Win was sitting on the sofa with Kang Utep.

"Anterin I went to the tenement behind Deltamart!" I cried with breath.

"Why Inoxu?" ask Kang Utep.

Bang Win himself without asking much directly stood up and headed outside.

"Come on Kang, come with me!" take me.

Kang Utep followed me to where Bang Win's car was parked. I quickly entered, and asked Bang Win towards the location.

"What the hell is Inoxu?" ask Kang Utep again.

I told her the voice I heard on the phone, including how I was initially unconscious, if the voice asking for help came from the end of the line.

Arriving at the location, we immediately went down. Bang Win asked some male residents who were patrolling about the tenement house that Roni inhabited. According to the words of residents, it has been a few days Roni does not look out for sales.

The location of the tenement house inhabited by Roni is located at the very back and adjacent to the courtyard which is full of carts of sales owned by other residents. As soon as it approached, it was completely dark and smelled of mothballs that were very stinging.

Tok tok!

"Rone!"

"Ron's? Roni!

"Rone!"

The people who came with us knocked on the door of the tenement but there was no word at all. After re-knocking for a while, one of the residents went to see mr. rt because he saw an irregularity. In the suffocating tension, we waited for the arrival of rt sir before breaking down the door.

Bruaks!

The door was smashed after the rt pack came and made all who looked into the tenement house immediately look away. I who tried to come to see, was immediately blocked by Bang Win who stood guarding me. When I found out that I was still jumping a little to see, he turned around and held my head with both hands.

"If I ask you not to look, would you be horrified?" tanyanya gently.

I nodded, though still in a curious state. Bang Win took me away from that tenement. Kang Utep himself was still there with the citizen fathers. Whether who called, not long later came several police cars along with the car team Inafis (Indonesia Automatic Finger Print Identification System) who served in the scene of the crime to get evidence, fingerprints or clues in a case.

"In dalem see what the hell is Bang?" I'm still curious. We returned to the car to wait for Kang Utep who had not returned.

Bang Win looked at me fixedly, "Promise not to be afraid?" tanyakanya.

I'm nodding.

"A man sleeps by hugging the body of a girl dressed in a school uniform who has begun to rot."

"Roni?" I just don't believe it.

"Can be. And most likely, the voice you heard, was that girl's voice," Bang Win added.

Kang Utep approached us and said that the police intended to ask for information because we were the first people to come here to meet Roni.

At the police station, I told the police everything. Broadcast footage proves that I know Roni because he was the source of tonight's broadcast. As the police listened to Kang Utep's broadcast footage, they were stunned and knew why I was visiting Roni. The voice asking for help was clearly heard as we played the recording together.

This makes the police shudder because the results of the Inafis team examination stating, if the victim had died more than two days ago.