The Hairpin

"Die, witch!"

A powerful blow struck the chest of a graceful woman. Her slender body was pushed back, crashing into the cave wall. Instantly, she collapsed, coughing up fresh blood.

"I should give you a mirror so you can see who the real witch is here." The woman struggled to rise, her long silver hair cascading over half of her face.

A harsh, mocking laughter reverberated off the cave walls. The owner of the laughter, an extraordinarily beautiful woman with pearl-white skin and hair as dark as the night sky, stared at her stumbling opponent.

"You can't even stand on your own two feet. How dare you challenge me?"

The white-haired woman grinned, clutching tightly onto her hairpin, shaped like deer antlers. Her blood already stained the hairpin, which was made from moonstone. A small but weighty object, it had been her primary weapon all along.

"I will continue to fight you until you release my sister."

"Hmph! Don't expect my master to grant your request. Nayaka is bound to the will of Dayu Datuh. She belongs to Dayu Datuh now."

The silver-haired woman roared in anger. She focused her strength in her feet and swiftly stomped the ground, propelling herself high into the air. Her intent was to deliver a kick towards the beautiful woman with her dark magic-infused power.

But her opponent had predicted her movement. The beautiful woman raised her hand, swiftly intercepting the incoming straight kick. However, she had underestimated her adversary.

Instead of truly kicking with her extended right leg, the white-haired woman switched and executed a spinning kick with her left leg. A deafening thud resounded as the foot collided with the face. Followed by the beauty's collapse to the ground, skidding across the hard earth.

"You insolent creature! What have you done to my beautiful face!" the woman exclaimed furiously.

"Your fake beauty has no place in this world. You must be eradicated."

No sooner had the white-haired woman finished speaking than she was thrown back once more. This time, she attempted to brace herself by planting her feet firmly in the ground.

Her body was dragged, but she couldn't avoid colliding with the cave wall. She struck the wall again. The fresh wound added to the pain, while the previous one hadn't even healed.

The white-haired woman coughed violently, spitting up fresh blood.

"Just die, Kamaniya!"

The loud cry was followed by a forceful punch to Kamaniya's back. The woman named Kamaniya collided with the ground. It felt as if her lungs were being sucked out, accompanied by excruciating pain in her chest.

And it was too late for her to dodge. Two burning palms pressed against her back. Faintly, Kamaniya heard an incantation being chanted as an immense wave of pain surged through her entire body.

"Now you have no power left, Kamaniya. I have destroyed your energy. It is time for you to die in my hands."

Kamaniya, still gasping for breath, glanced back. The beautiful woman grinned slyly, raising one hand high in the air.

Kamaniya's gaze caught the trembling air around the raised hand. Her instincts warned her to evade. So, she quickly rolled to the side, causing the beautiful woman's punch to strike nothing but empty air.

"You can't escape anymore. This place will be your grave, witch!"

Kamaniya felt like her breath was being cut off. The pain still surged through her. But she didn't care.

With the last of her strength, Kamaniya kicked a large rock toward her enemy. As her rival was caught off guard by the rock attack, Kamaniya swiftly darted towards another part of the cave.

The hill where she had taken cover now had many spaces. Kamaniya ran to the right. In a large room resembling a hall, Kamaniya fervently prayed for her heartfelt wish to come true.

She firmly planted her hairpin into the cave wall. Tears welled up in her eyes as she felt no movement.

"God, I beg of you. Open this portal. I beg you, God. I must not die here."

Kamaniya continued to grip her hairpin tightly. Meanwhile, her ears picked up the sound of approaching footsteps. The woman's face turned pale.

"God, I implore you. Please help me!" Kamaniya screamed loudly.

"Hahaha... it's useless to run. I will surely find you, witch!"

Kamaniya looked back. The distance between her and the beautiful woman was only a few meters away. The woman bit her lip, beginning to resign herself to her fate.

Then, a miracle occurred.

The spot where the hairpin was embedded slowly emitted a blue light. It started as a small glow, gradually growing larger until it formed a gateway taller than Kamaniya's body.

She immediately leaped into it, coinciding with the beautiful woman calling her name. Kamaniya closed her eyes, continuously praying for the god to grant her safety.

Loud noises filled her sense of hearing. Kamaniya tightly shut her eyes, afraid to see if her enemy was still chasing her or not.

Then, everything fell silent.

Kamaniya felt the pain again as her body slammed onto the hard ground. Her internal injuries worsened. Once again, Kamaniya coughed up blood.

She pulled out her hairpin and rolled around until she collided with something hard. Kamaniya's breath raced. The blue glow on the wall quickly disappeared, leaving only total darkness.

"Am... I... safe?" Kamaniya whispered to herself.

She looked around, completely unfamiliar with the place she had arrived. The woman struggled to regulate her breathing. In vain.

The pain from her internal injuries felt overwhelming. Kamaniya also couldn't heal herself quickly because her inner energy had vanished. She attempted to crawl away, but her energy was completely drained.

In the end, darkness once again enveloped Kamaniya. She lay helpless on the damp ground. Kamaniya could no longer hear anything, nor see anything.

Kamaniya felt as if she were swimming in darkness. Strangely, her body didn't feel any pain. Kamaniya furrowed her brow, her hands groping her entire body.

"What is this? How can this be? Wasn't I severely injured from the fight earlier?"

Kamaniya attempted to take a step. Her heart sank as she felt herself floating without the control of her body's movements.

Kamaniya turned her head left and right. Darkness enveloped her, feeling suffocating. Just as Kamaniya began to feel despair, suddenly a beam of light appeared. It started small, then gradually grew, revealing the silhouette of a figure that felt familiar in Kamaniya's memory.

"It's impossible. Is that... is it really you? But you died hundreds of years ago. Is it your spirit?"

Kamaniya swallowed. She tried to push her body forward. However, as she moved, the silhouette also suddenly moved away.

"Wait! Don't go! Come back! Wait for me, Yada!"

In vain. The silhouette couldn't be caught. Instead, it was Kamaniya's breath that nearly ceased. She gasped for air, but there was no sweat on her body.

Instead, Kamaniya felt a strong constriction in her throat. It was as if an invisible rope was coiling around her slender neck. Kamaniya thrashed about, desperately trying to keep her lungs filled with oxygen.

However, nothing went as planned.

Kamaniya's breath grew even more labored. The silhouette with its glowing light began to vanish, like thin mist blown away by the wind. Then, everything turned dark again, engulfing Kamaniya in silence.

The last thing Kamaniya remembered before closing her eyes again was the figure resembling her lover, intertwined with the shadow of Nayaka, her youngest sister. Then, Kamaniya fell back into slumber.

~~oOo~~

"Why do we have to come here at night? What kind of black magic are you looking for?"

The tips of the sneakers kicked the pebbles, revealing the emotional state of the owner.

Yada placed a finger on his lips, his gaze fierce.

"Hush! Nonsense! We just want to take some photos here."

"Oh my goodness, sir. Why don't we come tomorrow morning? When the sun is shining bright, the air isn't stuffy, and the atmosphere isn't as eerie as it is now."

The feminine voice continued to grumble. The combination of exhaustion, heavy-headedness from lack of sleep, first day of menstruation, and unfinished research was pushing the woman to the edge.

Yada let out a heavy sigh. He regretted bringing such a chatty assistant. Arum was indeed an intelligent woman with extensive historical knowledge. However, her mouth was equally incessant.

"Arum, can you please be quiet? I bribed the cave guard for us, and if you keep blabbering like this, we might end up getting kicked out."

Yada let out a loud exhale. Arum pursed her lips. As an assistant to a history professor, she was supposed to be ready to provide assistance when needed. However, Arum never anticipated that she would have to accompany her professor to Gong Cave at two in the morning.

They had been in Pacitan, a city in East Java Province, for several days. They had a reason for being in this place. Yada, a highly qualified history professor, had decided to conduct research on feminism during the Majapahit Kingdom.

As a result, they found themselves stranded in the ancient Pacitan cave. This non-virgin cave still held mysterious and eerie aspects when entered in the early hours of the morning.

"Come on, let's walk faster. We need to take photos of the stalactites and stalagmites here."

"Actually, I was hoping to find ancient paintings on the cave walls. Why are we only looking for stalactite photos?" Arum complained.

They were now in a chamber with incredibly beautiful stalactite formations. The headlamp's light successfully revealed their current location. Sendang Bidadari, a place within Gong Cave that contained a small pool of icy water.

Legend had it that lucky visitors at Sendang Bidadari would encounter real celestial beings. However, that early morning, misfortune seemed to be the one finding Arum and Yada.

Arum trailed behind Yada as they entered a permanent pathway. She reluctantly turned on her handheld flashlight due to the cave's pitch darkness.

"Shouldn't there be lights here, sir? Gong Cave is a famous tourist spot," Arum furrowed her brow.

"Maybe there's a power outage. The phone flashlight is enough. Let's keep going."

They continued their steps, this time more cautiously due to the pitch darkness of the cave. However, Arum's loud scream startled Yada, who was walking in front.

"Arum, what's wrong?"

"Sir... Sir Yada, I... I felt like I stepped on a person earlier."

"Huh?" Yada was confused.

Trembling, Arum pointed her flashlight downwards. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw a body lying on the cave floor.

"Sir Yada! There's a corpse! A corpse!" Arum screamed in fear, falling to the ground with a pale face.

Author Note: Dayu Datuh was a female witch from the Kingdom of Kediri. The transformation of Dayu Datuh into a black witch known as Calon Arang was triggered by anger, as her beloved daughter was insulted by the villagers of Kediri. Calon Arang used dark magic to transform into a leak, spreading disease and plague. Legend has it that King Airlangga, with the assistance of his teacher Mpu Bharada, managed to banish Dayu Datuh from the Kingdom of Kediri.