Lilia tilted her head when she heard that answer. Was Jean afraid that she was affected by the nightmare just now?
The woman put down her spoon and got up from the sofa, then moved to Jean's side. She embraced the man's arm while looking straight at her husband. Lilia's eyes were as clear as the night sky and full of determination.
"I will be fine." Lilia confirmed. "Jean, you don't have to worry about me. I think I had nightmares because of the road's uneven surface, and I couldn't sleep well. But I'm a hundred percent fine, so you shouldn't put on a gloomy face like that!"
Lilia ended her words by reaching out and tapping Jean's forehead which was filled with wrinkles. She smiled wickedly as the man's eyes widened in surprise. In the next second, the dark expression on Jean's face melted away, replaced by the usual tenderness.
Without saying anything, Jean pulled Lilia into his arms and rested his head on the woman's shoulder. Jean took a deep breath, enjoying Lilia's distinctive scent that smelled like flowers. The familiar scent helped him calm his tense nerves.
Lilia frowned as Jean embraced her with more strength than usual. Her waist ached from the tightness of the man's embrace, but Lilia chose not to say anything. She stroked Jean's blonde hair softly, like a caring mother.
While stroking Jean's head, Lilia prayed that their days ahead would be full of peace and tranquility. If so, her husband wouldn't have to worry about things like this now.
*****
An hour and a half later, the sky was getting darker as the RV approached their destination village, Arum Village.
Their journey had not been easy because the road they took was getting more and more damaged. In addition, yesterday's rain fell made the road muddy and slippery. Even though they were using an RV, it felt like they were driving through a wilderness.
Lilia had to hold onto the table so she wouldn't be thrown every time the RV went through a big enough hole. She smiled wryly as she recalled the journey she had taken when she was only ten years old. At that time, the road conditions were just as bad as now. Because of that, Lilia suffered from motion sickness along the way.
"Jean, it looks like the road leading to Arum Village hasn't changed much, has it? Even though it's been years since I came here, the road conditions are still as bad as then!" Lilia said while turning to the man sitting beside her.
"Well, it's what it is." Jean replied short while rubbing the back of Lilia's hand.
After Jean hugged Lilia earlier, the man finally let go of his painful embrace. But Jean refused to let go of Lilia's hand. The woman was a little surprised by his attitude that felt even more spoiled than usual. But Lilia didn't have the heart to refuse, so she let Jean hold her hand.
"That's because this village has been closed to the public." Jean's voice brought Lilia back to reality.
It took Lilia a while to process Jean's words. Then her eyes widened when she finally understood the meaning. "Closed? What happened?" She asked with a confused face.
"There are cases of illegal mining here, so the police are sealing this entire area for mutual safety." Jean explained. Another reason that led the police to close down this village was the exposure of human trafficking cases, but Jean deliberately did not mention it. He didn't want to scare Lilia before they got there.
"Hmm... so no one lives in this village?" Lilia tilted her head as she asked.
Lilia still remembered the time when she came here. There were scatters of small villages in remote areas of the forest. Lilia's school wanted its students to have experience living in a remote village, so the school chose this area. Although the village was small and less prosperous, they had beautiful rice fields. Lilia felt a little sad that the villagers had to leave such a beautiful place.
Jean squeezed Lilia's hand lightly as he stared out the window. The scenery of the forest filled with various types of trees and animals was reflected in the man's blue eyes. But Lilia had a feeling that Jean was seeing something different.
"...yes, because this village was closed 14 years ago." Jean replied after pausing for a moment.
14 years ago… Lilia felt that there was a lot going on at that time. She attended her school program in this village 14 years ago, and Jean came to visit here 14 years ago. Apart from that, this village was also closed in the same year...
"Huh?" Lilia noticed something strange. She grabbed Jean's arm and made the man turn to her. "If this village has been closed since 14 years ago, can we really go in there?" She asked with another confused look. "Didn't you say this village is closed to the public?"
Jean chuckled and stroked Lilia's head. "Of course we can, because we are not ordinary people. The Widjaya family has purchased this entire area to develop. So there is nothing wrong if the land owner wants to visit, right?"
Lilia's mouth fell open when she heard that. The Widjaya family bought this entire area? No wonder they were called one of the richest conglomerate families in Indonesia! If they decided to buy something, the scale was never half-hearted!
Lilia nodded as she realized something. No wonder Jean said he wanted to meet an old friend! Could that friend be part of the Widjaya Family? Or was he Jean's relative?
The woman felt even more impatient to see the present Arum Village. Did the village that was filled with rotten wooden houses get transformed into a beautiful and luscious tourist spot?
Lilia got the answer half an hour later when the RV stopped at the entrance to the village. Even though it was still four in the afternoon, the cloudy weather made the atmosphere look darker than usual.
The thick clouds in the sky blocked most of the sunlight. A glimmer of light that managed to escape from the cloud lit up the oddly quiet Arum Village. Apart from the chirping of a few birds, there was only the sound of blowing the wind. The village's appearance was still the same as the village that Lilia had in mind 14 years ago.
Lilia's vague memories slowly became clearer as she looked directly at the village. She was just a ten years old girl 14 years ago. Even though she was more mature than her age, she was still a child. Her memories of this village were only blurred fragments. If Jean didn't bring her here, Lilia wouldn't be able to plug her memory pieces together like now.
The lady was standing at the door of the RV. Her feet touched the ground which was still wet after last night's heavy rain. There should have been a path leading up to the village, but it was now overgrown with weeds after being left unkempt for years.
Lilia looked around with a mixture of feelings of nostalgia and confusion. The condition of the village was still the same as it was in her memory. But why wasn't there any sign of development at all? Didn't the Widjaya Family buy this land to develop it?
She turned to Jean to ask, but the man had already started down the path leading to the village. Their hands were still tightly knit together, so Lilia had no choice but to follow Jean's steps.. Clifford and another bodyguard walked in front of them to make sure the path they were taking had a safe foothold.
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