A short story by Abu Rifai
showed 1 o'clock in the morning. It came at least once in a few minutes. Because it was present at dawn, the sound became more audible. Some people who were still awake hear it clearly. Some people who had been sleeping woke up for a while even though they finally slept again because they felt that the sound was not a sign of danger or a disaster.
The sound was continuously heard night to
night. Finally, the origin of the sound then became the subject of discussion
in the community. They began to guess things, especially when some people saw
the difference in Widodaren River. The color of the water in the river turned
slightly black. Previously, things like this never happened.
The issues reached Mulina's ear, a widow
who lived with her daughter in the village of Lumbungmas. He rushed home from
the market. Mulina was concerned that the recent events related to her
ancestor, the widodari. People in the village believed that their village was
guarded by a widodari named Lintang. In the past, she bathed in the spring of
the village. Because of that, the spring is called Sendodaren.
The Widodari then fell in love with a man
from humankind. They got married and had children. There was a tradition that was
required for the descendants of the widodari.
"Nduk[1],
how old are you now?" Mulina asked her daughter when she was at home and
found Nila in the living room.
"It's been nineteen, Mom," replied
Nila. Mulina was stunned. She looked at the wall before replying. On the walls
of the house that began to crack, many items were installed: paintings of
farmers and puppets, red-faced masks, and wedding photos with the deceased
husband. She looked at the A4-sized photo carefully.
"It's time, Nduk," explained the
mother.
Nila didn’t answer. She fully knew that
what her mother meant was marriage. Two years ago, her mother had told her that
when she was nineteen, she had to get married to avoid distress.
"But I'm not ready yet, Mother. I am
still young. I want to go to town, study or at least work to find experiences.
My life will be narrow and colorless if at this young age, I have to get
married." Nila whined like a child under the age of five who asked for
marbles. From her eyes, it was clear that she did not want to obey the mother's
request.
"It's a risk, Nduk, our risk as a
descendant of widodari." Mulina's face looked as tangled as Nila. In his
little heart, she felt pity of the daughter. However, regardless of the
daughter's feeling and even her own feeling, Mulina must continue to uphold the
customs that had been passed down through generations by her family. Every girl
from the family lineage must marry when she reached nineteen. If not, the
disaster would come to the village, especially the family. Mulina still
remembered her great-grandmother's words when she was a child.
"Don't assume that this tradition is a
disaster, Nduk," said the great-grandmother, smiling. Her wide smile made
her old face more and more wrinkled. Facial lines were getting more and more
accurate. Even so, somehow Mulina felt that her great-grandmother still looked
beautiful. There was a kind of aura that she couldn’t explain. Aura of grace
and charm.
Since then, Mulina had been a very obedient
daughter. She was a woman who was so loyal. His faithfulness was proven by his
years of singleness. Her husband died when Nila was three years old. At that
time, Mulina was truly afflicted by an endless sadness. Many men proposed her to
be wife, but she refused all applications. The name of her husband who had been
buried had been perfectly imprinted in her heart. Nobody could replace it.
Mulina decided to live without the presence of another man and took care of
Nila alone. In fact, every woman from her family's lineage was obedient as a child
or wife. The character seemed to have been engraved from birth.
"Somehow your child later, you will
have one daughter as your mother has you as her daughter. Every generation is
like that. There is only one daughter. It is the girl who is to continue our
tradition. Explain this to your child later, Nduk. Otherwise, our ancestor will
be unhappy, angry." Mulina recalled the advice of her great-grandmother.
But she quickly ended the memory. She now looked at Nila, the only daughter who
still looked down sadly.
"Nila, my daughter," Mulina
called. No answer.
"Are you close to a man? Is there
someone you love or loves you?" Mulina asked. A widodari descendant was
not restricted to marrying anyone. She could choose to marry anyone. It could be
an skipper, a farmer, even an unemployed man. Mulina herself married a farmer.
No words slid from Nila's mouth; there was
only a shake of the head, still looking down. That answer was a lie. Actually,
Nila just refused a man. His name was Subandi. He was the son of Mr. Burhan,
the village chairman and the farm skipper in the village of Lumbungmas. Subandi
had a charming face, but his temper was so sickening. He liked to play women,
gamble, and swear. The young man was more or less the same as his father when
he was young. Mr. Burhan seems to pass on that trait to his only son.
"If it's nobody, immediately look for
it. Or if you don't want to, I will find a man.”
Nila did not answer, she left her mother
and went to the room with a step off. There she cried. Her dream to get out of
the village looking for experiences seemed on the verge of failure.
While Nila wrestles with her sadness,
people were still wondering about what sound appeared when darkness came. The
sound still always came in the middle of the night and started to make people
got to the level of bitter and fear. They began to guess that the sound was a
sound that came from a supernatural being, or rather, the one guarding the
village of Lumbungmas: Widodari Lintang.
Talks about the sound were increasingly
widespread in the community. Some people even conveyed this to outsiders. In
general they were scared and curious even though there were one or two-three
people who felt nothing. Unfortunately, none of them wanted to check directly
around the village, especially in Widodaren River—a place that was used by the
widodari to bathe and meet his soul mates.
One afternoon, a resident who met Mr.
Burhan at the shop invited him to talk about this matter.
"Where did the strange sound that
appeared in the midnight come from, sir? Could it be from Widodaren there?"
He asked.
Mr. Burhan did not immediately answer. He
chose to pause for a moment then laughed a little, "Ha ha ...
nothing."
But what's in Pak Burhan's mind was
actually not like that; this was a good news. The people's opinion could be a
weapon for him. He could make narration with this, especially with his control
of power and wealth. A few days ago, his son Subandi told him that he was
rejected by Nila. This rejection, in addition to hurting his son, certainly
also offended his pride. What he and his child wanted must be realized. He would
do everything to get something.
A few days after that, the narration that
the strange sound coming every night came from Widodaren's spring, was
increasingly heard. In addition to spreading through his own mouth, Mr. Burhan
also paid his loyal bodyguards to join in provoking the community. They said
that Widodari Lintang, the guardian of Lumbungmas village was angry because her
message about the hereditary tradition had not been implemented.
"You already know that Nila, the
widodari descendant is now nineteen? That means, marriage must be carried out
immediately. If not, a disaster will occur in the village. The strange noises
in the middle of the night were a warning. Soon my charming son, Subandi will
marry her," said Pak Burhan to almost everyone he met.
The people in the village then just believe
that saying. They were reluctant to refute the skipper.
The success of the provocation made people
urge Mulina to marry her daughter quickly. So that we were not exposed to
distress, they said. Actually, quite a lot of men put their hearts on Nila, but
because Pak Burhan had said that Subandi would marry the woman, they withdrew,
did not dare to compete.
Pak Burhan and his family arrived at
Mulina's house one night.
"Dear Mrs. Mulina, now Nila is
nineteen years old. As a widodari descendant, we all know that Nila must be
married immediately. The sound that appeared in the midnight was a warning from
the widodari. My son, Subandi put his heart on her. I hope their marriage can
be carried out immediately," said Pak Burhan.
At that night, despite Mulina and Nila's
heavy feelings, the marriage plan was officially agreed. The date of the
marriage was also determined. There were at least three things that make this
agreement happened: traditional and social pressure, strange noises at night,
and the power of Mr. Burhan.
Two weeks before the wedding, a firewood
seeker, Supardi, said something different about the strange sound.
"The strange sound is the sound of the
trees being cut down. Besides that, it turns out there is a factory in the
forest! I saw it when I was looking for birds at midnight," he told
people. Of course some people were shocked by this. Some people wondered
because some time ago, there was an issue that Mr. Burhan was secretly making a
factory in the Lumbungmas forest.
The news finally reached Pak Burhan's ears.
He was furious. The wedding would be held soon. This news would be a nuisance.
In addition, he also felt offended.
"No one should think like that!"
said Pak Burhan to his bodyguards. Not long after, Supardi disappeared, along
with the evaporation of the information he brought in the community. A trusted
narration was again the narration created by Mr. Burhan: the sound in the
middle of the night was the warning sound of the widodari.
And the marriage was finally held on a
night like the marriage of widodari descendants before. Full moon light
illuminated the village of Lumbungmas.
"Don't be sad, Nduk," Mulina said
to the girl who was sitting in front of the mirror. The wedding dress had
wrapped her body. Various beautiful makeup had also been attached. The mother
tried to calm Nila who she knew still could not fully accept this marriage.
"This is a heritage scarf," she
added while giving a red scarf. The scarf would be given when a widodari
descendant was about to get married. Nila received the scarf. There were a few
drops of tears on her face, and she rubbed them with the heritage scarf.
"The Subandi family is ready, so are
the guests. Quickly control yourself and get out into the living room."
Mulina patted Nila on the shoulder and
walked away. Nila was now alone. Imagining her marrying with a arsehole like
Subandi made her felt sad. Maybe she could accept this marriage if the man was
a good person or at least she loved. Subandi did not have both. Now, Nila could
only hope that marriage would change Subandi's attitude.
Nila looked at the mirror; she saw the reflection
of her face. She would soon be the wife of a man. Nila then held a red scarf
and looked at the widodari's painting on the wall of her room. The woman in the
painting wore red clothes. Her body seemed to glow.
"Why do you have to create a tradition
like this?" She asked the painting as if talking to a human. With remnants
of determination, Nila moved from her chair and began to walk towards the
living room. But only a few steps, a large explosion sound was heard from a
distance. Spontaneously, people shouted and ran out of the house. Nila was the
same. She came out of the house and watched a big fire in the middle of the
forest. Nila saw her guests running in that direction.
"What the hell! My factory!" shouted
Mr. Burhan then ran up and down. Subandi also ran away with him. Nila was
stunned, confused by what was happening. But there was a sense of pleasure in
his heart: at least she didn't get married tonight.
Nila looked towards the full moon. Up
there, a few meters above her house, there was a beautiful woman wrapped in red
clothes with a glowing body. {}
Marcapada, 10/15/2018 23:46
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