Raindrops knock on the roof since noon,
indeed, sir, the weather is unstable,
maybe that’s his way of saying
I think evening comes calm,
without hesitation and clouded by the clouds,
some days I don’t see the orange light reflecting on the trees in front
there are only drops of water between the leaves.
A simple house at the foot of the hill,
a place to talk and chat
Just me, mom and dad
Also a kitten,
Enough to escape the hustle and bustle of the townspeople,
who doesn’t know the time
bind without wanting to be bound
Tie a relationship just want to be respected
Oh never mind
As long as it doesn’t bother you, you don’t need to interfere.
People used to say don’t let little kids roam,
especially when the day changes shift
Remember the scary stories from yesterday.
From a distance
Some children I see are here
lifting the sheath from the puddle
The pincers scream every time they step on them.
But they laugh,
I don’t know what they’re laughing about
They were dressed neatly like students who had just returned from the Islamic boarding school.
A child
calling my name at the front door
“assalamualaikum”
“Matt?”
there was a knock on the wooden door which was starting to rot and was eaten by termites.
I see through the window,
it turns out that Dul
the eldest son of a fruit boss, with a large body who likes eel fishing
“Waalaikumsalam” I replied
I open slowly afraid the hinge will come off
my astonishment,
I remember that abah haji (as our teacher of the Koran is called) has not yet returned from Java.
Then why are they here?
“Where are you guys going this afternoon?” I asked ahead
His forehead is grinning
Dul replied
“Well, you weren’t informed about this afternoon, if you have returned to the village?”
Entin’s granddaughter of Abah Haji who is the same age as us
“Entin didn’t tell me that,” I replied
“Yes, he was at home with the teteh this afternoon, he said Abah Haji told us to recite the Koran this afternoon,” explained Dul.
Si teteh is a sister who is 3 years older than Entin.
firm but kind and friendly.
Like other granddaughters of Hajj,
the teteh is good at reciting and is often relied on when there is a recitation event in the village,
Si teteh is also one of the administrators of the Qosidah group who often wins competitions between villages and even at the district level
If there is a big day celebration or wedding, it will never be absent.
“Where does Entin dare to meet you, mat?” Ujang said,
son of a truck driver who goes to school with me,
well-built and likes to fight, he is the most reliable when we have a problem
“Ha ha ha”
They laughed as if they knew the meaning of Ujang’s words earlier
Dimas and Narto are no exception
two children who came with the Dul and Ujang
Their houses are close together, no wonder they are close and always seen together
however, his temper is different
Dimas who is calmer and Narto who is in installments
We call it the seed.
“Ah you guys” I cut their jokes.
“Okay wait a minute okay”
I went inside, looking for a sarong and songko
I grabbed the koko shirt behind the bedroom door
The white koko shirt that my mother gave to Eid last year
it still looks good because I took good care of it so it doesn’t get dull easily,
Don’t forget the small Koran that I usually put in my front pocket.
I saw my mother was standing with them on the terrace
It’s like mom knows where we’re going
We said goodbye and left
arrived at the path in the middle of the rice fields
which every afternoon we go to look for Dul’s favorite eel
I’m not very fond of eel fishing,
it’s just that Dul always invites us to accompany him.
This path is the fastest direction to the prayer room where we recite the Koran,
but instead the footsteps often falter because of the mud from the rice fields, especially during this rainy season
luckily when we passed, the ground wasn’t that sticky.
Until we arrived at the mosque, I saw that the father of Hajj was already inside
sitting holding the prayer beads
someone who is not young anymore
with a nurturing face
but fierce especially if we don’t listen to him teach
I’m not wrong to make him a role model
I hope the knowledge he gives will be my provision later
Reciting the routine activities of our village children
After maghrib prayer we gather in the mosque to pray
study religion.
It was time to go home, the silence of the night made us walk hand in hand
The quiet Dimas suddenly spoke
“You know, the story of someone from the lower village?”
“about what ?” I asked pretending not to know
I guess the direction of this conversation is getting bad
“My mother said, someone saw something in the new grave” said Dimas
” he said he saw white on the jackfruit tree ” he continued
“we’re done” I said in my heart
the others looked serious hearing Dimas’ story.
Dimas rarely makes a sound compared to the others
someone with a calm and mysterious demeanor
especially when he tells horror stories like that,
fits perfectly with his dark aura
“Halah, let me just hit it with a stone, who knows if someone wants to steal a jackfruit” Naruto’s response broke the tension.
“Hahaha, you’re right, but what if the stone turns towards you, you come home with bruises on your face,” said Ujang, breaking the atmosphere.
“Never mind, we start from the Koran, the devil is also afraid to see us”
Responding to their conversation, I pretend to be brave, even though my head has been imagining things that are not,
I took off the gloves and only wore shorts
just in case if anything goes wrong,
I saw the Dul just silent,
like he was seriously responding to Dimas’ story.
compared to the four of us, Dul is the most “heavy”
I remember what happened when we were chased by a dog when we came home from the fields
ha ha ha …
how can i not laugh remembering it
the pants he’s wearing are torn
he even cried because he said we left him even though we also ran
it’s just that we ran in front of it
since that incident he was traumatized when he saw a dog on the street.
the road to the prayer room is not like when we left
when we go home we change direction
no longer do we pass through the path in the rice fields
plus the sky is dark and there is no lighting.
We jokingly ignore the silence, laugh at their jokes,
talk nonsense along the way
Basically, anything that can be discussed will be discussed.
I look up this face
I don’t see the sky showing the moon
at all,
at night we came home only the sound of crickets and night birds shouted
I don’t know what the animals are talking about
accompany us or even make fun of
we arrived at that place,
cemetery area with new graves
they say it’s the grave of a woman who died by suicide
I don’t know, I got the confusing story, but for sure he died and was buried 2 days ago
”Then where is the jackfruit tree that Dimas meant earlier” I thought to myself
I was both curious and afraid that it might be true.
Narto and Ujang who had been talking along the way suddenly fell silent, adding to the silence that night
Si Dul just whispers to Dimas, I don’t know what I’m not clear about
we walked side by side that night,
Dul, who was beside Dimas, moved to a position close to Ujang,
what’s on his mind,
our position changed
Dimas is on the left side of the road, I am next to him, then Narto, Ujang and on the far right is Dul
indeed we passed a lot of trees and there were coconut trees, jackfruit and others plus shrubs on the side of the road that we passed
there are only graves
our right and left
And all I know is that the position of the new grave is to the right of us walking now
but where is the jackfruit tree next to? I thought
We didn’t make a sound, only the sound of footsteps from our flip-flops.
my mind is all over the place
questions like
what if we meet a ghost tonight?
Moreover, it’s Friday night, many say it’s a sacred night
somehow every friday night feels so different from other nights
quiet …
gripping …
suddenly Dimas whispered to me
“Mat, that’s the jackfruit tree,” he said slowly
“Which side?” I whispered out of curiosity and fear
“on the right side of the road” replied Dimas
I see it’s really a jackfruit tree
but I don’t see anything from the position we’re walking in right now
”Hopefully nothing’s wrong” I said in my heart
I don’t know if there is wind or suddenly Dul runs away screaming
my heart is about to burst
he ran ahead of us in front
very fast
We reflexively ran behind him, I thought that Dul must have seen the devil in the jackfruit tree earlier
We run so fast that I can’t feel my feet
following Dul who had helped start
ah I thought it would turn out like this, luckily we didn’t wear gloves
just loose shorts
My breath is erratic, we run as hard as we can
I’m out of breath I also hear their breath
I’m not strong anymore
I give up
I stopped running because I was tired
until I didn’t think that it was far past the cemetery area earlier
Dimas, Narto and Ujang start to stop running
and Si Dul sat in the middle of the road in front of us, I saw we were all so tired and sweaty
we can’t speak for a moment
it feels like something is burning in the chest
scorching hot…
Ujang asked surprised
“What did you see?”
while panting he asked that
we listen full of questions
when Dul was strong enough to speak he said
“I don’t see anything”
“hah?” we said together
“Yeah, I didn’t see anything, just run so you don’t run first.
I heard you guys whispering, surely you guys want to plan to run right?” Dul explained
I held back my laughter because Dimas was whispering to me earlier, but I thought our Dul was planning to run
“Ah, you are Dul, I thought you saw the devil earlier” Ujang was annoyed
‘hahahaha” the Dul even laughed
Dimas, Narto, and I laughed too, although we were a little annoyed.
arrrrrrgggggggggh damn Dul.
…
