"Oh... has he been having nightmares for a few days now?" A voice came from the other end of the phone. His name was Ali, Aliff's father.
Ina leaned tiredly against the sofa, her eyes occasionally glancing toward Aliff's room. "Yes, Ali. I'm really worried about him."
"Ali," Ina sighed deeply, "What do you think is actually happening with Aliff? This isn't like him at all."
"Hm... I don't know either, Ina. Are his dreams really scary?"
"That's what worries me even more," she said. "Every time he wakes up from his dreams, he's always crying. But strangely, he can't remember what he dreamed about. Normally, he always shares detailed stories about his dreams, but this time he hasn't."
"I think," Ali tried to reassure his wife, "maybe he's still not used to living there. Don't worry too much, Ina. I'm sure he will adapt to his new environment quickly."
"Hm... alright," Ina finally conceded. "I'll hang up now. It's getting late."
"Okay," Ali replied. "Take care of yourself and the kids. Send my regards to them."
"Okay, goodnight."
"Yes, goodnight to you too."
***
That morning, Aliff felt something unusual. His body felt heavy, as if something was pressing down on him. Slowly, he opened his eyes. As his vision cleared, he found a bundle of gray-and-white fur curled up comfortably on his chest. Cica, Sarah's cat, was sleeping soundly on him.
"What?!" Aliff exclaimed in surprise. "When did this cat sleep here?" He looked at the cat with still sleepy eyes.
Just then, his bedroom door opened, and Sarah peeked inside.
*Wasn't my bedroom door closed last night? Did Mom close my door?*
"Hey, Cica!!!"
Hearing her owner's voice, Cica lazily opened her eyes. The cat's tail slowly swayed.
"Cica: Hmm... Seems like it's morning?"
"Cica: Huh? Strange... why am I sleeping on this person?" A soft, sleepy voice was heard, making Aliff freeze.
"Huh?!" Aliff was shocked again, this time because he could clearly understand what Cica was saying. It wasn't just a typical meow like a regular cat, but clear words in human language!
Cica gracefully jumped off Aliff's body and walked lightly toward the door.
*This is weird...* Aliff thought, *Why can only I hear that this cat can talk in human language? That's so strange!... What if I now have the power to understand animal language? Hmm...*
"Hey Aliff, let's wake up and have breakfast. Mom made special fried rice!"
"Okay," Aliff replied, *Forget about that; I'd better eat first.*
***
That morning at the dining table, Sarah carefully observed Aliff's plate. The fried rice on his plate looked different from everyone else's—there were no green vegetables at all.
"Hey, Mom?" Sarah finally mustered the courage to ask.
"Yes, what is it?" Their mother turned her attention to her daughter.
"I've never seen Aliff eat vegetables," she said. "And you always give him food without vegetables. Why is that?"
"Try asking your little brother himself," their mother replied with a gentle smile.
Hearing the word 'vegetables,' Aliff's face soured. His lips curled, and he glared at his plate with dissatisfaction.
"Vegetables are not tasty," he stated firmly while continuing to eat his fried rice. "So Aliff doesn't like them."
"What?! Why is that?" Sarah was surprised by her brother's firm answer. "You know that vegetables can make you healthy, right? Come on, open your mouth and say 'Ahh'..."
Sarah tried to feed Aliff a piece of vegetable from her plate.
"Hmm... no!" Aliff quickly turned his face away, evading Sarah's attempt to feed him.
"Hey, hey, what's wrong with my little brother?" Sarah refused to give up. "Do you really dislike vegetables that much?" She still tried to get the vegetables into Aliff's tightly closed mouth.
Razak and Ina watched them with flat expressions.
"Haa...
"Enough, enough," their mother finally intervened. "He's not going to eat it, Sarah."
"But why?" Sarah placed her spoon down, looking at her mother curiously. "Why does Aliff dislike vegetables so much?"
Their mother lowered her spoon, ready to explain. "That's because every time he eats vegetables, he throws up. It's not just about vegetables—there are many foods he can't eat. Whenever he tries to eat them, he always ends up vomiting."
"But strangely," their mother continued, "if the food is fried, like fried tofu or fried shallots sprinkled on fried rice, he can eat it without any problems."
"So basically," their mother concluded, "Aliff can't eat raw vegetables or certain ingredients. His body seems to reject certain foods."
"Ehh?!..."
Sarah looked at her brother with concern. Aliff was still busy with his fried rice, seemingly unaware of the conversation about him. No, more accurately, he heard it but pretended not to.
"But Mom," Sarah was still curious, "isn't it dangerous if Aliff doesn't eat vegetables at all?"
"I've consulted with the doctor," their mother smiled reassuringly. "They said it's fine as long as his nutrition is fulfilled from other sources. That's why I always give him vitamin and mineral supplements."
"If that's the case, Sarah doesn't need to worry." After that, Sarah began to eat her food again.
***
The clock showed 4 PM. "Sister!" Aliff called cheerfully, running up and hugging Sarah from behind, almost making her drop the book she was reading.
"What's wrong, my active little brother?" Sarah laughed, ruffling Aliff's hair affectionately.
"Aliff is bored..." he pouted, still hugging Sarah. "Isn't there something we can do?"
"Hm..." Sarah closed her book, thinking for a moment. "What do you want to do?"
Aliff puffed up his cheeks, indicating he was deep in thought.
Aliff and Razak had already finished all their study assignments for the day—math and some writing exercises that Sarah had given them.
"Oh!" Sarah suddenly remembered something. "How about we go play downstairs? Did you know there's a grassy field and a playground below this flat? Want to go?!"
Aliff's eyes lit up at the mention of 'playground.' "Let's go down!" he cheered excitedly, pulling Sarah's hand.
"Alright, alright," Sarah laughed at her brother's enthusiasm. She turned to Razak, who was reading a comic on the sofa.
It was an old comic of his. Sarah had given it to Razak, and he was currently reading it.
"Are you coming too, Razak?"
"Razak will come," Razak replied briefly, closing his comic and getting up from the sofa.
"Then let's go!" Sarah cheered. "Mom, we're going to play outside for a bit, okay?"
"Alright, but remember to come back before 7 PM, okay?"
"Sarah knows, Mom," Sarah replied while nodding. "We'll be back before it gets dark."
The three of them left their room and headed for the stairs. Once they reached the bottom, Aliff could hear the sounds of people playing or talking to each other.
"Wow, it's so crowded!" Aliff exclaimed in awe, his eyes sweeping the surroundings.
They were outside their flat, next to Flat A. Beside their flat was a large grassy field that even had a soccer field and a basketball court.
But suddenly...
"AAAHH!" Aliff screamed softly, clutching his head with both hands. A strange sensation attacked his brain—unfamiliar voices began flooding his mind.
*What... is... happening?!... Why does my head hurt?!* At that moment, he could hear the voices inside his head.
"Look at those humans playing ball!"
"The weather is great for flying today!"
"Hey, there's food over there!"
"Be careful, there's a cat!"
The voices came from every direction—from the birds flying above, from the dogs running in the park, from the squirrels jumping in the trees, and even from the ants marching on the ground. All animals, big and small, seemed to be speaking directly into his mind.
*I can hear everything, do I really have powers now?*
"What's wrong, Aliff? Why are you holding your head?" Sarah asked worriedly, bending down to check on her brother.
"It's... nothing..." Aliff tried to smile, even though his head was still throbbing. *Sister Sarah won't believe me if I tell her I can hear the animals talking. Better not tell her.*
Even though he was young, Aliff was smart enough to understand that his ability wasn't something normal. He still remembered his family's reaction when he said he could hear Cica speaking in human language.
"Huh?!" Slowly, the pain in his head began to ease. The animal voices were still in his head, but not as loud as before, as if his body was starting to adapt to it.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Razak also looked concerned, observing Aliff's face, which still seemed a little pale.
"Yes, Aliff is fine," he answered.
*By the way, what's the use of this power? I think this power isn't very useful, but hey, better than having no power at all.*