My name is Yudha Batara.

I study at Harapan Muda High School. When this story begins, I'm the new student there.

People often say I'm handsome—much more handsome than most boys my age.

I inherited my looks from my mother.

I used to think being handsome was a blessing.

I was wrong.

Sometimes, a good-looking face only makes people remember a tragedy more easily.

And that tragedy...

destroyed my life.

Before everything happened, my family was happy.

My mother was a loving housewife. My father was a well-known surgeon in our city. He was busy, but he always tried to make time for us.

At least...

that's what I believed.

Then social media changed everything.

After reconnecting with her old classmates online, my mother began attending school reunions. At first, it was only once in a while.

But little by little, the reunions became more frequent.

And she started coming home later and later.

One afternoon, after school, I found my mother standing in front of the mirror, putting on makeup. Wearing a light blue dress, she looked much younger than her age.

"You look beautiful, Mom," I said.

She smiled while fixing her hair.

"Thank you, sweetheart."

She picked up her handbag.

"Yudha, Bi Lastri has prepared dinner. Please look after Yuli while I'm gone."

"Where are you going, Mom?"

"A reunion. This time it's with my elementary school friends."

I let out a quiet sigh.

She had gone to one last week.

And now another one.

I didn't like it when she went out at night.

After spending the whole day at school, all I wanted was to come home and know she was there.

We didn't even have to talk.

I just wanted us to be under the same roof.

That night, Dad came home earlier than usual.

He walked into my room while I was doing my homework.

"Where's Mom?"

"She went to another reunion."

Dad fell silent.

His face showed disappointment.

"Tell your mother not to come home so late."

He walked out of my room.

A moment later, I heard him making a phone call.

"Marni, where are you?"

...

"You should be home."

...

"Yudha and Yuli need you."

I stopped writing.

For the first time...

I felt something wasn't right in our family.

A few days later, the four of us had dinner together at a restaurant.

Dad looked at Mom seriously.

"I'm not stopping you from attending reunions."

Mom nodded quietly.

"But there has to be a limit."

Dad took a deep breath.

"Our children need their mother."

Mom lowered her head.

She didn't argue.

The rest of dinner was painfully quiet.

A few nights later...

I woke up when I heard a car stop in front of our house.

I glanced at the clock beside my bed.

2:00 a.m.

I walked outside.

Mom had just stepped out of a car.

A man got out from the driver's seat.

"Oh... you're still awake, Yudha?" Mom asked with a smile.

I nodded.

She pointed at the man.

"This is Uncle Toni. We were classmates in elementary school."

He smiled politely at me.

As they stood close together, I caught a strange smell.

Alcohol.

It came from both of them.

A few moments later, Uncle Toni drove away.

I followed Mom into the house.

"Mom..."

She turned around.

"Dad said you shouldn't come home this late."

She smiled softly.

Then she leaned closer and whispered,

"Don't tell your father I came home this late, okay?"

She walked toward her bedroom.

I remained standing in the living room.

For the first time in my life...

I felt afraid.

I didn't know...

that nights like this were slowly tearing my family apart.

That afternoon, Yuli and I had just returned from our piano lesson.

The car that usually picked us up stopped in front of our house, but something immediately felt wrong.

Several police cars were parked outside the gate.

A small crowd of neighbours stood on the sidewalk, whispering to one another. Their voices were low, but their expressions said enough.

Something terrible had happened.

My heart began to pound.

Before the driver could say anything, I pushed the door open and ran toward the house.

"Yudha! Don't go inside!"

Someone called my name.

I didn't stop.

I rushed through the front gate and into the house.

The living room was filled with strangers.

Police officers moved quietly from one room to another, speaking in calm voices that somehow made everything feel even more frightening.

In the corner of the room sat Bi Lastri, the housekeeper who had worked for our family for as long as I could remember.

Her face was pale.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she didn't say a single word.

I took another step.

Then I noticed it.

A small stain on the floor.

I froze.

Before I could look any closer, someone grabbed my shoulder.

"No!"

A neighbour quickly pulled me back.

"Don't go any farther."

"Let me go!"

I struggled to free myself.

"What's happening?"

"Please... what's going on?"

The neighbour didn't answer.

Instead, he held me even tighter.

Behind me, I heard Yuli crying.

Her frightened sobs echoed through the house.

I tried to push forward again.

"Please!"

"Tell me what's happening!"

No one answered.

The only sounds I could hear were quiet sobs...

and the clicking of a camera somewhere deeper inside the house.

A few days later...

The cool morning air of Bandung greeted us as Yuli and I boarded a crowded public minibus.

Neither of us spoke.

Since that day, silence had become a part of our lives.

Yuli hugged her school bag tightly on her lap.

Her eyes were still swollen from crying.

She had barely smiled since we arrived in Bandung.

We were now living with Grandma and Aunt Santi.

Everything had changed so quickly that it still didn't feel real.

Dad had been taken into police custody.

Mom...

was never coming home again.

The minibus stopped at a traffic light.

A newspaper boy walked between the waiting vehicles, holding several newspapers above his head.

"Morning paper! Morning paper!"

Without meaning to, my eyes drifted toward the front page of one of them.

The headline was impossible to miss.

SURGEON ACCUSED OF KILLING HIS WIFE

Shocking the Entire Nation

My chest tightened.

I immediately looked away.

I couldn't bear to read another word.

I already knew who the surgeon was.

I didn't need a newspaper to remind me.

Outside the window, life continued as if nothing had happened.

People walked to work.

Street vendors prepared their carts.

Students laughed with their friends on the sidewalks.

The world kept moving.

Mine had stopped.

A few minutes later, the minibus slowed down in front of a large school gate.

A sign stood proudly near the entrance.

Harapan Muda High School.

This would be my new school.

A new city.

A new life.

Or at least, that was what everyone kept telling me.

I stepped off the minibus and looked at the unfamiliar buildings before me.

For a brief moment, I wondered if anyone here knew who I was.

Then another thought crossed my mind.

Maybe they already did.

I took a deep breath.

No matter how hard I tried...

I couldn't escape what had happened.

And somehow...

I had a feeling that this school was about to remind me of that every single day.

The gates of Harapan Muda High School stood tall before me.

I took a deep breath before stepping inside.

Everything about me was new.

A new uniform.

New shoes.

A new school.

A new city.

But none of it felt exciting.

All I could feel was fear.

Beside me, Yuli walked toward the junior high school building, which shared the same campus.

She stopped for a moment and looked at me.

"Big Brother..."

I forced a small smile.

"I'll be fine."

"You should go."

She nodded quietly before disappearing into the crowd of students.

I watched until I couldn't see her anymore.

Only then did I walk toward the teachers' office.

"Come in."

A middle-aged woman greeted me with a warm smile.

"You must be Yudha."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"I'm Mrs. Rina, your homeroom teacher."

She handed me my class schedule before leading me down a long hallway.

"Don't worry," she said kindly.

"I'm sure you'll make friends soon."

I smiled politely.

"I hope so."

The classroom door slid open.

The conversations inside immediately faded.

More than thirty pairs of eyes turned toward me.

Mrs. Rina stepped inside first.

"Good morning, everyone."

"We have a new classmate joining us today."

She looked at me.

"Please introduce yourself."

I swallowed nervously.

"My name is Yudha."

"It's nice to meet you all."

For a moment, the classroom remained silent.

Then several students clapped politely.

Mrs. Rina smiled.

"There's an empty seat next to Andre."

I walked toward the back of the classroom.

A cheerful-looking boy moved his chair slightly to give me space.

"Hi."

"I'm Andre."

"I'm Yudha."

"Nice to meet you."

His smile looked genuine.

Since moving to Bandung, he was the first person who had spoken to me as if I were just another ordinary student.

For the first time in days...

I allowed myself to believe that maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all.

The morning classes passed quietly.

I listened to the lessons, answered when the teachers called on me, and kept mostly to myself.

When the lunch bell finally rang, the classroom quickly became noisy.

Groups of students gathered around their desks, chatting about everything from homework to social media.

One conversation nearby caught my attention.

"Did you guys see that news everyone's talking about?"

"The surgeon?"

"Yeah."

"It was all over Instagram last night."

"My mom wouldn't stop talking about it."

"They even showed it on TV."

"I heard the whole country knows about it now."

"That's so scary."

I lowered my head and opened my lunch box.

I didn't want to hear another word.

A boy suddenly glanced in my direction.

"Hey..."

"The new kid."

Several students looked over.

He grinned mischievously.

"What's your dad's job?"

I hesitated.

"..."

"What?"

"Too embarrassed to answer?"

A few of his friends laughed.

"Maybe he's a doctor."

"Yeah," another boy joked.

"What if he's related to that famous surgeon?"

More laughter filled the classroom.

I kept staring at my lunch.

My hands slowly tightened beneath the desk.

The boy noticed.

"Oh..."

"Look."

"He's getting angry."

"Come on."

"It was just a joke."

The laughter grew louder.

Something inside me snapped.

I stood up so quickly that my chair crashed onto the floor.

Bang!

The entire classroom fell silent.

Every pair of eyes was fixed on me.

I looked straight at the boy.

"Enough."

Only one word.

But the smile disappeared from his face.

No one laughed anymore.

At that exact moment, Mrs. Rina walked back into the classroom.

She looked around in confusion.

"What happened here?"

Nobody answered.

I quietly picked up my chair and sat back down.

The room remained unusually silent as the afternoon lesson began.

Across the classroom, one student had been watching everything.

Her name was Lita.

She had long black hair tied neatly behind her shoulders.

Her desk was covered with carefully organized notebooks filled with colourful notes.

Unlike everyone else...

She hadn't laughed.

She hadn't whispered.

She hadn't looked at me with suspicion.

She simply watched.

Not with fear.

Not with pity.

But with quiet curiosity.

As if she was trying to understand someone everyone else had already judged.

Andre leaned slightly toward me.

"Are you okay?"

I nodded.

"I'm fine."

The words came out automatically.

The truth was...

I wasn't fine at all.

I had come to Bandung hoping I could leave my past behind.

But after only one day...

I realized that some shadows could follow a person anywhere.

And somehow...

I had the feeling this was only the beginning.