MATA BATIN – EPISOD 3
Keesokan harinya, Amirul tidak dapat menumpukan perhatian di sekolah. Matanya terus memandang ke arah jam dinding, menunggu waktu rehat. Dia berasa gembira dan takut pada masa yang sama. Gembira kerana akhirnya ada seseorang yang dapat membantunya memahami kemampuan misterinya, tetapi takut kerana tidak tahu apa yang akan dipelajarinya.
Apabila loceng rehat berbunyi, Amirul segera menuju ke taman seperti yang diminta oleh Maya. Dia melihat Maya sudah duduk di bangku yang sama seperti semalam.
“Awak datang awal,” kata Amirul sambil duduk di sebelahnya.
Maya tersenyum. “Saya tahu awak akan datang. Awak ada banyak soalan, kan?”
Amirul mengangguk. “Ya. Pertama sekali, siapakah awak sebenarnya? Dan kenapa awak tolong saya?”
Maya menghela nafas perlahan. “Saya juga ada mata batin seperti awak. Saya sudah mempunyai kemampuan ini sejak saya kecil lagi. Ayah saya seorang bomoh, dan dia mengajar saya cara menggunakan kemampuan ini.”
“Bomoh? Macam dalam cerita-cerita lama ke?” tanya Amirul dengan tidak percaya.
“Bukan bomoh yang awak tengok dalam filem. Ayah saya adalah seorang yang mempunyai ilmu untuk membantu orang dan melindungi mereka dari makhluk halus,” jelas Maya.
“Kenapa awak pilih untuk tolong saya?” tanya Amirul lagi.
“Kerana saya tahu bagaimana rasa apabila pertama kali mendapat kemampuan ini. Ia menakutkan dan membingungkan. Saya tidak mahu awak melalui semua ini seorang diri,” jawab Maya dengan tulus.
Amirul terdiam sejenak. “Terima kasih. Tapi saya takut. Saya takut saya tak dapat kawal kemampuan ini. Semalam di rumah Faisal, saya tak sengaja panggil makhluk halus dan dia kacau Faisal.”
Maya mengangguk. “Itu sebabnya saya nak tolong awak. Awak perlu belajar mengawal emosi awak. Makhluk halus tertarik dengan emosi kuat seperti takut dan marah.”
“Maksud awak?” tanya Amirul.
“Semalam awak takut, kan? Dan takut awak itu yang tarik makhluk halus tu datang,” jelas Maya. “Kalau awak tenang dan yakin, makhluk halus takkan dapat kacau awak.”
Amirul mengangguk, cuba memahami. “Jadi, saya kena belajar mengawal emosi saya?”
“Betul. Dan saya akan ajar awak caranya,” kata Maya.
Maya mula mengajar Amirul beberapa teknik asas untuk menenangkan minda dan mengawal emosi. Dia juga mengajar Amirul cara untuk “menutup” mata batinnya apabila tidak mahu melihat makhluk halus.
“Cuba sekarang. Tutup mata awak dan tarik nafas panjang. Bayangkan ada pintu di hadapan awak, dan tutup pintu tu,” arah Maya.
Amirul mengikut arahan Maya. Dia menutup matanya dan menarik nafas panjang. Dia membayangkan sebuah pintu di hadapannya dan membayangkan dirinya menutup pintu itu.
Apabila dia membuka mata, dia terkejut. Semua bayangan aneh yang biasanya dilihatnya di sudut matanya telah hilang.
“Wow! Ia berjaya!” serunya dengan gembira.
Maya tersenyum. “Tentu lah. Tapi ini hanya permulaan. Ada banyak lagi yang awak perlu belajar.”
Mereka terus berbual sehingga loceng berbunyi, menandakan waktu rehat sudah tamat.
“Jumpa lagi esok. Saya akan ajar awak cara mengenali jenis-jenis makhluk halus,” kata Maya sebelum berlalu.
Selepas sekolah, Amirul pulang ke rumah dengan perasaan lebih tenang. Dia rasa akhirnya ada harapan untuk hidup normal walaupun dengan kemampuan anehnya.
Malangnya, ketenangan itu tidak bertahan lama. Semasa dia sedang membuat kerja rumah di biliknya, dia terdengar suara tangisan dari arah bilik tetamu.
Dia turun ke bawah dan melihat tiada siapa di bilik tetamu. Tetapi tangisan itu semakin kuat. Amirul ingat apa yang diajar oleh Maya dan cuba menenangkan dirinya.
Dia menutup matanya dan membayangkan pintu yang menutup. Tetapi kali ini, ia tidak berjaya. Tangisan itu semakin kuat, dan Amirul mula merasa takut.
Tiba-tiba, dia melihat seorang wanita tua duduk di sofa di bilik tetamu. Wanita itu memandangnya dengan mata yang sedih.
“Siapa awak? Apa yang awak mahu?” tanya Amirul dengan suara yang goyah.
Wanita itu tidak menjawab. Dia hanya menunjuk ke arah sebuah almari lama di sudut bilik.
Amirul terdiam. Dia tidak tahu apa yang harus dilakukan. Akhirnya, dia memutuskan untuk menghampiri almari itu.
Dia membuka almari itu dan mendapati sebuah kotak lama di dalamnya. Dia mengeluarkan kotak itu dan membukanya. Di dalamnya terdapat beberapa barang lama – foto-foto usang, surat-surat, dan sebentuk cincin.
Wanita itu mengangguk perlahan sebelum perlahan-lahan menghilang.
Amirul terdiam dengan kotak itu di tangannya. Apakah maksud semua ini? Siapakah wanita tua itu? Dan apakah kaitannya dengan barang-barang dalam kotak ini?
Dia memutuskan untuk menunjukkan kotak itu kepada ibunya.
“Mama, awak kenal barang-barang ni?” tanya Amirul selepas meletakkan kotak itu di atas meja dapur.
Ibunya terkejut melihat kotak itu. “Di mana awak dapat ini?”
“Dalam almari lama di bilik tetamu. Ada seorang wanita tua yang tunjukkan saya kat situ,” jawab Amirul.
Wanita itu mengambil kotak itu dengan tangan yang gemetar. “Ini… ini barang milik nenek awak. Dia meninggal sebelum awak dilahirkan.”
Amirul terkejut. “Nenek saya?”
Ibunya mengangguk. “Dia selalu cerita ada harta pusaka yang dia simpan di suatu tempat, tapi kami tak pernah jumpa.”
“Jadi… wanita tua yang saya nampak tadi adalah nenek saya?” tanya Amirul dengan tidak percaya.
“Mungkin,” jawab ibunya dengan suara perlahan. “Nenek awak ada kemampuan istimewa juga. Dia selalu cakap dia boleh lihat benda yang orang lain tak nampak.”
Amirul terdiam. Adakah ini bermakna kemampuan mata batinnya diwarisi dari neneknya?
“Kenapa awak tak pernah cerita pasal ni sebelum ni?” tanya Amirul.
Ibunya menghela nafas. “Saya takut. Saya takut awak akan fikir kami gila atau sesuatu. Dan saya takut kalau-kalau kemampuan itu turun kepada awak atau adik-beradik awak.”
Amirul memandang ibunya dengan simpati. “Saya faham, Mama. Tapi sekarang saya ada kemampuan ni, saya perlu tahu lebih banyak.”
Ibunya mengangguk. “Esok, saya bawa awak jumpa Pak Cik Man. Dia adik kepada nenek awak. Dia tahu lebih banyak tentang keluarga kita.”
Amirul mengangguk. Dia akhirnya akan mendapat jawapan tentang asal-usul kemampuannya.
Malam itu, Amirul menghantar mesej kepada Maya.
“Maya, saya ada berita baik. Saya jumpa keluarga saya yang juga ada kemabilan sama dengan saya. Mereka boleh tolong saya faham lebih banyak tentang mata batin.”
Maya menjawab dengan cepat. “Bagus sangat! Jumpa saya esok. Saya nak dengar semuanya.”
Amirul tersenyum. Akhirnya, dia tidak sendirian lagi. Ada Maya yang membantunya, dan sekarang ada keluarganya yang mungkin dapat memberikan jawapan tentang kemampuan misterinya.
Dia tidak tahu bahawa ini hanya permulaan bagi sebuah rahsia keluarga yang lebih besar dan lebih misteri…
THE INNER EYE – EPISODE 3
The next day, Amirul couldn’t focus at school. His eyes kept glancing at the clock on the wall, waiting for recess. He felt both happy and afraid at the same time—happy because finally, there was someone who could help him understand his mysterious ability, but afraid because he didn’t know what he was about to learn.
When the recess bell rang, Amirul immediately went to the garden, just as Maya had asked. He saw Maya already sitting on the same bench as yesterday.
“You came early,” said Amirul as he sat beside her.
Maya smiled. “I knew you’d come. You have a lot of questions, don’t you?”
Amirul nodded. “Yes. First of all, who are you really? And why are you helping me?”
Maya let out a soft sigh. “I also have the inner eye, just like you. I’ve had this ability since I was a child. My father was a shaman, and he taught me how to use it.”
“A shaman? Like in the old stories?” Amirul asked in disbelief.
“Not the kind you see in movies. My father was someone with knowledge to help and protect people from spirits,” explained Maya.
“Why did you choose to help me?” Amirul asked again.
“Because I know how it feels when you first get this ability. It’s frightening and confusing. I don’t want you to go through it alone,” said Maya sincerely.
Amirul fell silent for a moment. “Thank you. But I’m scared. I’m afraid I can’t control this ability. Yesterday, at Faisal’s house, I accidentally summoned a spirit—and it disturbed him.”
Maya nodded. “That’s why I want to help you. You need to learn to control your emotions. Spirits are attracted to strong emotions like fear and anger.”
“What do you mean?” Amirul asked.
“Yesterday you were afraid, right? That fear is what drew the spirit to you,” Maya explained. “If you stay calm and confident, spirits can’t disturb you.”
Amirul nodded, trying to understand. “So, I have to learn to control my emotions?”
“Exactly. And I’ll teach you how,” said Maya.
Maya began teaching Amirul a few basic techniques to calm his mind and control his emotions. She also taught him how to “close” his inner eye when he didn’t want to see spirits.
“Try it now. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Imagine there’s a door in front of you, and close that door,” instructed Maya.
Amirul followed Maya’s directions. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He imagined a door before him and pictured himself closing it.
When he opened his eyes, he was shocked. All the strange shadows he usually saw in the corners of his vision were gone.
“Wow! It worked!” he exclaimed excitedly.
Maya smiled. “Of course. But this is just the beginning. There’s still a lot you need to learn.”
They continued talking until the bell rang, signaling the end of recess.
“See you tomorrow. I’ll teach you how to recognize different types of spirits,” said Maya before walking away.
After school, Amirul went home feeling calmer. He finally felt there was hope to live a normal life despite his strange ability.
Unfortunately, that peace didn’t last long. While doing his homework in his room, he heard the sound of crying coming from the guest room.
He went downstairs and saw no one there—but the crying grew louder. Amirul remembered what Maya had taught him and tried to calm himself.
He closed his eyes and imagined the door closing. But this time, it didn’t work. The crying became louder, and Amirul began to feel afraid.
Suddenly, he saw an old woman sitting on the sofa in the guest room. The woman looked at him with sad eyes.
“Who are you? What do you want?” Amirul asked, his voice trembling.
The woman didn’t answer. She only pointed toward an old cupboard in the corner of the room.
Amirul hesitated. He didn’t know what to do. Finally, he decided to approach the cupboard.
He opened it and found an old box inside. He took it out and opened it. Inside were several old items—faded photographs, letters, and a ring.
The woman nodded slowly before disappearing.
Amirul stood there, holding the box in his hands. What did all this mean? Who was the old woman? And what was her connection to the items in the box?
He decided to show the box to his mother.
“Mom, do you recognize these things?” Amirul asked after placing the box on the kitchen table.
His mother was shocked to see it. “Where did you find this?”
“In the old cupboard in the guest room. An old woman showed me where it was,” Amirul replied.
His mother took the box with trembling hands. “This… this belonged to your grandmother. She passed away before you were born.”
Amirul was stunned. “My grandmother?”
His mother nodded. “She used to say she kept a family heirloom somewhere, but we never found it.”
“So… the old woman I saw just now was my grandmother?” Amirul asked in disbelief.
“Maybe,” his mother replied softly. “Your grandmother had a special gift too. She always said she could see things that others couldn’t.”
Amirul fell silent. Did this mean his inner eye ability was inherited from his grandmother?
“Why didn’t you ever tell me about this before?” Amirul asked.
His mother sighed. “I was afraid. Afraid you’d think we were crazy or something. And afraid that the ability might be passed down to you or your siblings.”
Amirul looked at his mother sympathetically. “I understand, Mom. But now that I have this ability, I need to learn more.”
His mother nodded. “Tomorrow, I’ll take you to see Uncle Man. He’s your grandmother’s younger brother. He knows more about our family.”
Amirul nodded. He would finally get answers about the origin of his ability.
That night, Amirul sent a message to Maya.
“Maya, I have good news. I found out my family also has the same ability as me. They can help me understand more about the inner eye.”
Maya replied quickly. “That’s great! See you tomorrow—I want to hear everything.”
Amirul smiled. At last, he wasn’t alone anymore. He had Maya to guide him, and now his family might hold the key to understanding his mysterious gift.
He didn’t know this was only the beginning of an even deeper and darker family secret…