Aster Veren
Episode 197's

- Esther

"Aunt what happened?" I was really panicking when I found an aunt in pain at a crossroads without anyone accompanying her there.

I know it's late afternoon and the streets are deserted, but from so many places why should aunts have to experience this bad event in a quiet place like this?

Aunty left not too long ago to buy something, but I got a call from aunt. If I knew this would happen, I would definitely forbid auntie from going out. But out of all the questions that were piling up in my head right now, I was just thinking about why could auntie bleed like this?

Did aunt fall? My mind wondered while paying attention to my surroundings, then turned to the increasingly powerful hand of aunt holding my hand with her expression of filial piety.

"Aster ... auntie,"

"Yes aunt, hold on I will ..," I stopped when I saw Dean standing not far from where I was standing, and I quickly called him to come closer and help me lift my aunt up.

"Dee!"

"What really happened to Faren?" The question immediately helped me lift up my aunt's body, but because her body was bigger and stronger than mine. The boy immediately took over and took my aunt alone.

"Is there not one vehicle that can take your aunt to the nearest hospital?" Ocehku really did not find a single vehicle around us.

How now? Whether we should walk .., my mind came to a standstill when I saw the figure of Carel walking quickly approaching me and Dean.

"Follow me!" Excited as he put the phone in his hand into his pants pocket. Shortly thereafter a black car approached at a fairly rapid pace before stopping in front of us.

"Come in." It keeps Dean rushing, and so do I.

I who saw aunt grimacing withstanding the pain could only hold her hand firmly, cold sweat was already flooding into aunt's body now. I don't even know what to do?

"Uncle, have you contacted him?" Dean's voice struck me and shook my head quickly to answer his question.

"Yet. I—"

"Let me call." Cut him out immediately take out his phone.

***

Arriving at the hospital, the aunt was immediately rushed to the emergency department and immediately treated. The anxious me could only wait in the waiting room with mixed feelings now.

The thought of aunty sitting by the side of the road started to come back to shadow me. Even the figure of the man I don't want to see and don't want to admit his presence keeps popping up in my eyes. Wh who? The man who followed me and Yuna that day, Dean and Yuna's father.

Nah! Let's get rid of this bad thought. Don't think about anything okay. My mind shook my head again, trying to shake off all those bad thoughts.

But, if you have to think about it, isn't that weird? Why did she keep watching me and aunt from that distance? Does he have anything to do with a fallen aunt? If that were true .. I really wouldn't have stayed silent.

"Faren?" Dean's voice breaks down my daydream, "drink first." Continue while giving me drinking water. With my hands trembling slightly, I grabbed the drinking water and held onto it until my body stopped shaking.

"Where is that guy?" I asked not to find the figure of Carel anywhere.

"She said she'd take care of everything and asked me to accompany you." The answer made me confused.

"Taking care of what ...," I murmured unable to continue my words when my own mind could not control. It's obvious that she takes care of all the registrations that I should have personally taken care of as a member of the aunt's family. But why would that kid take care of it?

"What?"

"Did you see that guy watching us behind the bus stop?" The next made me nod briefly.

"So what I saw wasn't a hallucination?" I murmured in frustration.

"... It looks like this has something to do with your aunt. Then, because he saw me. I—"

"Everything I've taken care of, so you're—" he stopped Dean's speech and soon stopped when he heard Dean's phone ringing. Quickly the boy answered the incoming call he received.

"Yuna!" Sarah's voice was loud enough to be heard by me, I saw Dean was looking at me with his pale face almost gone.

"I'll be there. Wait for me!" He immediately got up from his sitting position.

"What's going on?" Ask me to come up from my sitting position, stop the pace.

"I'll be right back, so you wait here until your uncle comes."

"But—Dean?" My words are not listened to. That person had already passed from before me, leaving me together with Carel.

"It looks like you guys had a pretty tough day today huh?" His murmur made me reach for my forehead and massage the base of my nose, trying to get rid of the pulsations on my forehead.

"So how much should I change?" I asked her then along with her who was already sitting next to me. I saw him just looking at me flat before he got busy back with the phone in his hand.

"You didn't hear me?" My follow-up is still unembristed.

Whatever, I can only hope that the aunt and the baby in her womb are okay. Hopefully there is no .... My mind stopped when I saw my uncle running towards me in a hurry, looking very panicked and full of worry.

"What's going on? How is Nina doing now? Is she okay?" He said while holding my shoulder quite firmly.

"Doctor's still checking, calm down, uncle. I—"

"Tell me, what really happened? Why did he bleed and ...," cut him off without continuing his words, I saw that uncle's attention had been distracted by Carel's figure still sitting sweetly beside me. He had even looked at uncle quite sharply. I don't know what he was thinking when he saw uncle, obviously his gaze was really scary.

***

"I'm sorry ... our son hiks .. I—hwaaaa..," Isak's voice crying aunty really slashed my heart. I who heard the condition of the aunt from the doctor who handled the aunt was rendered helpless. Likewise with the uncle who heard the aunt had a miscarriage due to severe bleeding.

I who was still standing behind the door of the aunty's ward could only clench my hands tightly, trying to digest all the situations that were happening today. Even the shadow of the mysterious man who was recognized as Dean's father had sprung up again in my head.

Why is that guy watching us? Did he do this to auntie? Or did he just happen to follow Dean all the way to where I went to see my aunt? Then did aunt fall? But aunt is not a careless person, then why? My mind can't stop thinking of reasonable reasons to justify my aunt's current condition.

"... what, is it possible that this is related to Dean's departure as well? I mean, Sarah called Dean for a few minutes when we got to the hospital. Does that mean that person deliberately separated Dean and Yuna from my supervision, uncle and aunt? At the expense of aunt?" I continued muttering as I found the puzzle piece in my head. Although I'm not sure why auntie's been sitting in such pain by the side of the road.

.

.

.

Thanks for reading...