Eve and the Artemis (UNEDITED)

06

M knocked on the door twice. He unlocked the door and pushed it open. After a whole day out, he finally came back late in the evening. He meant to check on the girl. But what he saw next was not something he expected.

"FUCK! KID! YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO TOUCH THAT!" M knocked off a magazine out of her hands. Ayana was caught off guard. M's breath became unsteady out of shock. He took a quick glance at his hidden storage which apparently has been rummaged through. The storage where he kept all the 'adults stuff'.

"Berapa banyak buku kau dah bukak?"

Ayana kept quiet.

"Nevermind. Keluar makan. Aku beli nasi goreng pattaya. Atas meja tu." He dismissed the girl after coming to a realisation that it was his fault. Leaving the girl alone in a place full of curiosity.

"Abang dah makan?"

"Yeah."

Ayana nodded and walked past M, straight to the dining table in the living room. M's house wasn't big. It's just a landed house with two rooms, a small kitchen and a bathroom. One room is M's bedroom, and another is a room where he stored all his stuff, from guns to shoes.

Ayana ate silently at the table. The time was 7pm, so M's house became dim as several lights in his house went out.

"Bila abang nak bunuh Ayana?" the kid suddenly asked when M went out of the storage room.

"When I feel like it."

"Abang masih tak nak tembak daddy Ayana?"

M didn't answer and continued walking to his bedroom to hide his 'adult stuff'. Then, he went out of his bedroom and laid down on the living room sofa.

"Abang ada daddy?" Ayana still on the topic.

"Dulu." M answered short, hoping she will finally shut up.

"Abang sayang daddy abang?"

M ignored the girl again and turned on the television. His hand kept on pressing the remote control button.

"No news on the dead Azizan Ismail nor Abhiraja Chandra." He told himself after watching several news on different channel for almost an hour. "Nampak sangat higher ones involved, tak nak bagitau rakyat yang mamat tu sebenarnya roamed free kat luar, bukannya meringkuk dalam penjara. This whole country is a joke."

The news which broadcasted a politician attending a ceremony now shifted to another news.

"Kami telah mendapat laporan tentang kehilangan seorang gadis 9 tahun bernama-"

M turned off the television fast. He then looked at Ayana to see her reaction. Ayana with a smudge of ketchup on her cheeks prolonged the eye contact.

"Kenapa abang tutup? Bukannya Ayana tak tau pasal berita tu."

Oh. She was right, he thought. But he doesn't want to admit it because of his ego. So he stood up.

"Aku memang nak tutup pun. Nak masuk bilik. Air masak nanti amik dekat dapur." He coughed, a bit embarrassed. He then walked into his room.

M closed the door, turned off the room's light and turned on the night lamp. He took out his phone and laid down on his bed.

"Oh, just on time." M said when he read a message from Orked.

'Hasyim Basree's info. Check your mail. - Bunga'