“What is it?”
“You have two choices,” the man said, his voice sending a chill down my spine.
“Which are?” I asked, my voice trembling.
“Return the stones in either their original form or in cash. Your choice.”
His words drained the strength from my body. Just when I needed money the most, it was about to be snatched away. My mind was in turmoil.
“But I have no money…” I stammered, utterly lost.
“What’s the most valuable thing you own?” he asked again.
I paused, searching for an answer.
“My wife and child are the most precious things in my life,” I finally said, struggling to respond to his demand.
“Then give me your child,” he said, his eyebrows arching as he delivered the cruel statement.
“Who are you really? Enough with the nonsense!” I barked, my temper flaring.
“Face reality. You don’t have a child. Didn’t Dr. Liem tell you years ago that you were infertile? So how do you have a baby now?”
His words hit me like a brick, triggering memories I had tried to forget. Dr. Liem’s diagnosis from years ago echoed in my ears. I had no response.
“Don’t you wonder what your wife does while you’re out working? Haven’t you noticed how Suji always comes home early? Or how he sometimes skips going to the quarry altogether?”
“Stop right there!” I shouted.
“Just wait until you see who the baby resembles!” he sneered. “That child is the payment for the stones you stole.”
He kept speaking, but I was at a loss for words.
“You don’t have a child. That baby belongs to Suji. Your wife has been unfaithful. Leave her, and let me take the baby.”
“Are you Sarjono, the man who was castrated for impregnating those young girls? You must be bitter about not being able to have children now!” I finally recalled. He was Suji’s eldest brother, a notorious womanizer who had been exiled years ago.
He laughed maliciously, stoking my fury.
“I may not be able to have children, but I have money. And with money, I can have anything I want—including your child and wife. Ha-ha-ha…”
I stood there, seething with rage. Suji’s face flashed in my mind, filling me with disgust. I also remembered the time I found Suji’s jacket at the quarry, with a photo of my wife tucked inside his wallet.
This world had deceived me, full of the tricks and lies of its inhabitants.
Translated from here.