A Prayer Between Two Choices Part 3
The phone call ended. Only the dial tone remained, seemingly racing with Andi’s heartbeat. Cold sweat immediately soaked the back of his neck. His heart screamed to rush into the night, but his common sense held him back. Becoming a reckless hero without preparation would only worsen the situation and endanger Eta’s life.
Andi remembered Bang Doni, his neighbour across the street who served as a non-commissioned officer at the local police precinct. Without wasting time, Andi grabbed his motorcycle key from the bedside table. He hurried out of his room, ignoring his mother’s puzzled gaze as she sat in the living room.
“What’s wrong, Ndi? Where are you going at this hour?” his mother asked, half rising with a worried expression.
“Eta is in danger, Mum. Andi has to help her. Andi promises not to act recklessly, Andi will ask Bang Doni for help!” Andi exclaimed, hastily kissing the back of his mother’s hand before sprinting across the yard.
Across the road, he pounded hard on Bang Doni’s gate. Fortunately, the sturdy man had just returned from duty and was still wearing his field uniform trousers. Upon hearing Andi’s stammering but panic-filled explanation, Bang Doni’s police instincts kicked in immediately. His relaxed face turned pale and stern.
“Open the tracking app or check her last status, Ndi. We need a precise location, we can’t just raid blindly,” Bang Doni ordered quickly while grabbing his jacket and operational vehicle keys.
Andi reached into his pocket, his trembling hands opening Eta’s message history. His brain worked hard to piece together the information. Indeed, that afternoon before they lost contact all day, Eta had posted a WhatsApp status from a VIP room at a restaurant doubling as a karaoke venue in the city centre, celebrating a sales target achievement with her manager and a company client.
“At Mutiara Restaurant, Bang. VIP room on the second floor,” Andi said confidently.
“To be quick, follow my car from behind. I’ll call the criminal investigation duty officers to head to the location as backup.”
Andi nodded firmly. He immediately started his Honda Vario 110 FI. The automatic scooter that had accompanied him on the road for the past ten years roared through the night, driven through the city streets with one certain purpose: to save someone whose name he always mentioned in his prayers.
Upon arriving at the restaurant, the atmosphere in the VIP area seemed odd. Music thumped softly, but the door to one of the rooms at the end of the corridor was locked tightly from the inside. Faint sounds of a commotion could be heard. With his authority as an officer, Bang Doni, assisted by restaurant security, immediately broke down the door.
Crash!
The scene inside made Andi’s blood boil to the top of his head. Eta was curled up in the corner of the room, her face streaked with tears and her makeup smeared messily. Her hands gripped a shard of broken glass tightly to protect herself from a middle-aged man—her company’s client—who appeared aggressive under the influence of alcohol. Meanwhile, the manager who should have protected Eta did nothing, merely sitting stiffly on the sofa with a pale face, pretending not to see.
“Police! Stop and raise your hands!” Bang Doni’s baritone voice thundered across the room, instantly paralysing the lecherous man’s courage. The precinct officers who had just arrived behind them immediately moved to secure the suspect and the manager involved in the negligence.
Seeing Bang Doni and Andi at the doorway, the glass shard in Eta’s hand fell to the floor. The girl sobbed heavily, her body trembling as she hugged her knees. Andi stepped forward, his chest heaving as he suppressed his erupting anger. However, when only a few inches remained between them, Andi’s steps halted. He remembered his mother’s pain, remembered his boundaries as a man not yet bound by marriage vows.
Instead of embracing Eta to comfort her, Andi removed his cotton jacket and handed it to the girl’s lap.
“Wear this, Ta. Cover your arms and shoulders. You’re safe now,” Andi said with a trembling voice, trying to hold back his own tears. He lowered his gaze, not daring to look directly at Eta’s pale face.
Eta accepted the jacket with shaking hands, wrapping it tightly around her body that was cold from terror and the betrayal of her work environment. Behind her heartbreaking sobs, there was a look of deep regret directed at Andi, who kept his gaze lowered.
That night, under the dim disco lights of the VIP room, the glittering world that had dazzled Eta’s eyes collapsed instantly. Her ambitions and the sweet promises of her career shattered into pieces, leaving a bitter realisation that she had strayed too far from the light of the prayer house where she once took shelter, and how precious the protection of a man who truly feared his God was.
The initial statement process at the police precinct took until just before the dawn call to prayer. With lingering sobs and trauma still gripping her, Eta firmly refused when offered to return to her boarding room. Her safety was not yet fully guaranteed, especially if her manager’s network of contacts intended to silence her. For security reasons, Bang Doni suggested that Eta be taken to a safe place with an adult woman to accompany and calm her. The only option that night led to one place.
The roar of the motorcycle engine stopped in Andi’s yard. The dawn air felt sharper than usual. As Andi awkwardly let Eta trail behind him up the porch steps, the front door suddenly opened from inside.
His mother stood rigid at the threshold, wrapped in a white prayer robe. Her sharp gaze immediately swept over Eta’s dishevelled appearance, then shifted to stare intently at Andi’s prized cotton jacket now wrapped around the girl’s shoulders. A tense silence seized the three of them. There was no loud scolding or explosive anger like before.