LEBUHRAYA KULAI

Ada jalan yang hanya muncul untuk mereka yang tak sepatutnya melihatnya. 

Some roads only appear to those who were never meant to see them. 

written by: H 

Perjalanan malam di lebuhraya bukanlah sesuatu yang asing. Tetapi bila gelap terlalu gelap, dan sunyi mula berbunyi.. itulah masanya segalanya berubah. 

Driving at night isn't unusual. But when the darkness gets too deep, and silence starts to make noise, that's when everything changes. 

Aku bersama ibuku dari Shah Alam hendak ke Kota Tinggi, Johor. Perjalanan dari Shah Alam ke Kota Tinggi mengambil masa kira-kira 4 jam lebih.

I was with my mother, driving from Shah Alam to Kota Tinggi, Johor. The drive usually takes about four hours.

Bukan sekali dua ulang-alik dari Shah Alam ke Kota Tinggi, malah perkara itu memang biasa bagi kami. Cuma kadang-kadang aku masih celaru nak ambil lorong mana sebelum masuk Kota Tinggi/Kulai atau Senai.

It wasn’t our first time. In fact, it’s something we do often. But I always get confused at the interchange—should I take the Kota Tinggi/Kulai exit or head toward Senai?

Selalunya aku akan menggunakan lebuhraya Senai. Lebih selamat bagiku. Dan biasanya perjalanan lancar sahaja—tetapi malam itu… lain.

I usually choose the Senai highway. It feels safer. Most of the time, the journey is smooth—but that night was… different.

Kami sampai ke Lebuhraya Johor dan termasuk ke simpang Kota Tinggi/Kulai lebih kurang jam 11 malam. Gelap. Sunyi.

We entered the Johor highway and took the Kota Tinggi/Kulai exit around 11 p.m. It was dark. Quiet.

Waze aku pula meragam. Arah menunjukkan perjalanan tinggal satu jam lebih, tapi entah kenapa… terasa panjang.

My Waze started glitching. It said we only had about an hour left, but it felt way longer.

Ibuku nyenyak melelapkan matanya sementara aku ditemani lagu Lithe.

My mom had dozed off, and I was left alone with Lithe’s soft tunes playing in the background.

Ketika melalui jalan Kulai, aku dah mula perasan sesuatu yang pelik.

As we passed through the Kulai stretch, I started to notice something… strange.

Bunyi yang aku dengar sangat dekat. Nak kata bunyi handphone ku, bukan. Handphone ibuku pun bukan.

I kept hearing a sound nearby. It wasn’t my phone. Not my mom’s either.

Bunyi seperti ringtone. Tapi bukan.

It sounded like a ringtone, but off. Artificial.

Bunyi tu sekejap sahaja. Dalam 2-3 saat. Tapi aku dengar selang setiap 10 minit. Bunyi gelak… tapi macam robot.

It lasted 2–3 seconds, and came every 10 minutes or so. It was like laughter… but robotic.

Aku ingat aku salah dengar, tapi memang betul aku dengar dengan jelas. Aku cuba perlahankan lagu aku. Bunyi itu tiba-tiba hilang…

I thought I was hearing things. But no. It was real. I turned down the music… and the sound vanished.

Ibuku terbangun, cuba untuk temani aku sebab hanya kereta kami sahaja yang bergerak menyusul jalan gelap-gulita itu.

My mom woke up and kept me company. Ours was the only car on that pitch-dark road.

Dia bercerita tentang kami adik-beradik ketika kecil, untuk alihkan fikiran.

She started talking about our childhood memories, trying to distract me.

Tapi tiba-tiba… kami terhidu satu bau yang sangat tidak menyenangkan. Bau seperti tanah. Tapi bukan.

Then suddenly, we both caught a strange, foul smell. Like soil. But off.

Aku tanya, “Mamy, what smell is this?”

I asked, “Mamy, what smell is this?”

Ibuku diam. Tak jawab apa-apa. Tapi aku nampak mulut dia terkumat-kamit baca doa.

She didn’t answer. Just quietly started reciting prayers.

Kami diam hampir 15 minit. Tiba-tiba Waze aku glitch, “Recalculating… recalculating…”

We stayed silent for about 15 minutes. Then my Waze glitched: “Recalculating… recalculating…”

Telefon aku sangkut. Tak boleh swipe. Lagu pun berhenti. Sunyi.

My phone froze. I couldn’t swipe. Even the music stopped. Silence.

Aku nak ambil telefon tu, tiba-tiba aku nampak lampu dari belakang—kereta!

I reached for my phone, and then I saw headlights behind us—a car!

Tapi lampunya terlalu terang. Silau. Aku bagi signal untuk dia potong. Tapi dia tak potong.

The lights were too bright. Blinding. I signaled for them to overtake—but they didn’t.

Sebaliknya, aku terdengar bunyi hon panjang dari belakang.

Instead, a long horn blared behind us.

Ponnnnnn!

Aku terkejut. Tengok cermin sisi. Ada kereta Wira berkarat dan tinted kosong.

I panicked. Looked at the side mirror. It was an old, rusted Proton Wira with blank-tinted windows.

Kereta tu perlahan-lahan potong dari kiri ke kanan. Tapi dalamnya kosong. Takda pemandu.

It slowly overtook me—left to right. But it was empty. No driver.

Ibuku suruh aku pasang surah pelindung. Aku patuh. Tapi aku tetap… tengok.

My mom told me to play protective verses. I obeyed—but I couldn’t stop looking.

Mata aku macam dipaksa tengok. Kereta tu laju… dan tiba-tiba hilang.

It felt like my eyes were being pulled toward it. Then it sped up—and disappeared.

Aku dan ibuku cuba tenangkan diri. “Mungkin budak nakal,” kata ibuku.

We tried to calm ourselves. “Maybe it’s just some prank,” my mom said.

Tapi tak sampai seminit, kabus turun. Tebal.

But not a minute later, thick fog rolled in.

Jalan depan tak nampak. Lampu jalan langsung tak ada. Hanya lampu kereta kami menerangi.

We couldn’t see ahead. No streetlights. Just our headlights cutting through the mist.

Masa tu aku nampak seorang perempuan berdiri tengah jalan.

That’s when I saw a woman standing in the middle of the road.

Pakai baju kurung putih. Rambut panjang. Mula-mula aku sangka orang sesat.

She wore a white baju kurung. Long hair. At first, I thought she was lost.

Aku perlahankan kereta… dan masa tu dia pusing muka.

I slowed down… and then she turned.

Muka dia rata. Kosong. Takda mata. Takda hidung.

Her face was blank. No eyes. No nose. Just emptiness.

Aku tekan minyak. Pecut. Ibuku jerit suruh perlahan, tapi aku tak peduli.

I floored it. My mom screamed for me to slow down—but I didn’t care.

Jantung aku rasa nak pecah. Ayat Kursi aku pasang kuat-kuat.

My heart was about to explode. I played Ayat Kursi loudly.

Perjalanan kami perlahan-lahan kembali tenang.

Gradually, the journey settled.

Sampai di simpang masuk Kota Tinggi, barulah aku nampak kereta lain.

At the Kota Tinggi turn-off, we finally saw other cars.

Baru aku rasa aku dah kembali ke dunia sebenar.

Only then did I feel like I was back in the real world.

Itu kali terakhir aku ikut cakap Waze tengah malam.

That was the last time I listened to Waze late at night.

You might be driving on a road that was never meant to exist. 

Writer: Hailie

Genre: Horror experience 

Published on @LessonLane 

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