Kukuruyukkk...!
The chicken's voice was very loud, repeating like an alarm. Wait, the sound of a chicken? Didn't grandpa stop raising chickens since his rheumatism often recurred? Grandpa must have raised the chickens and hid them from mom and dad. "Okay fine, I'll keep this a secret if grandpa gives me something," my sly smile broke out.
Wow, the morning air is always fresh..! I took a deep breath so that the fresh air would enter my lungs, because tomorrow afternoon I have to go back to Jakarta and face the pollution every day. " Auch, but my body feels a little unwell," I stretched my joints and felt the pain.
Knock-knock-knock.
"Nduk, are you awake? Grandma brought you breakfast," followed by the sound of the door slamming open.
Grandma? My eyes were a little bulging, my heart was beating fast, and suddenly the morning air didn't feel fresh anymore. In fact, the air made my lungs uncomfortable to breathe!
"Here, eat, Nduk. If there's anything you need, call grandma. Grandma 's going to dry the clothes in the backyard," she said as she went out.
This is crazy! I'm really not in my grandfather's house. This isn't the bed I usually sleep in. And this, whose clothes are these? Whose clothes am I wearing? These are old-fashioned clothes, I can't wear them!
My emotions were running high.
"Oh my God, what happened last night wasn't a dream..." I complained in frustration.
I lay down, too lazy to do anything. Even facing a tray full of food no longer tempted my spirit. Usually, I was unable to refuse food. "OMG , what should I do? How unfortunate my fate is. How will my family react if they find out I 'm missing? Will the news spread on campus 'A student ran away because he didn't graduate.' Oh, no!" My mind was full of bad images.
I heard a horse neighing. "Wow, this place is like a forest!" I cursed in annoyance. I got up and opened the bedroom window. A very wide expanse of grass was visible. At the end of this wide yard, as far as the eye could see there were only trees and trees. "So, this is indeed in the middle of a forest. Huufft... my curse was not wrong!"
Some distance away in the corner of the yard, several horses were being fed. "There are 2 small horses, and 4 big ones. Oh wait, there is another big horse. That one horse is placed separately. Maybe the horse is sick, so it is separated," I chattered to myself, chasing away the bad thoughts. The horses were being fed by a little boy. "Hmm, employing little children. What an era without human rights..! There is no Child Protection Law. What kind of narrow-minded era is this…"
The little boy put the bucket of drinking water for the horses. After that, he ran to the middle of the yard. He approached someone. Oh, it turned out he approached a young man. last night. They both started doing exercise movements. It looked like they were practicing martial arts. Their bodies were plump, blocky like Rambo. My bad mood suddenly decreased. No! I must not be manipulated. That young man is only good-looking physically. There are many handsome guys like him. Yes, the actors I watch in Korean dramas are no less handsome. I definitely must not be fooled by him. He is the one who took my keris, I must hate him!
"Grandma, why aren't you eating your breakfast?" Grandma's voice startled me.
"Oh, Grandma. I'm not hungry. Just take the food out."
The grandmother approached and took the tray of food. She went out.
Not long after, grandma came back to my room. She brought the same tray, but the contents were different. The tray contained a small teapot, cups, and snacks.
"The sun is already high, Nduk. It's almost noon. Your stomach is still empty. Even if you're not hungry, fill your stomach. This is just a snack that Nduk prepared for you. Please eat it, Nduk." After putting the tray on the table, she turned to leave. But suddenly she came closer to me. She sat down beside me. Then, she held my hand with both of her wrinkled hands.
"What's your name, Nduk?" he asked, still holding my hand.
"Kirana," I answered with a slightly confused expression.
"Son Kiran, grandma knows you're angry with us. Grandma knows you don't like living here. Even so, you have to take care of your health, Kiran," he said pitifully. He let go of his grip but still continued speaking, "You see outside Bara and Jiteng practicing silat. Every day they train hard. Bara is the backbone of this kingdom. Although few people know, Bara is a hero of Majapahit. You know son, Bara is Raden Gajah Mada's adopted son."
"Gajah Mada?" I said in response to my grandmother. Although I got a D in my History of the Kingdoms subject, the name Gajah Mada was not unfamiliar.
"Yes, Bara is the adopted son of Raden Gajah Mada. Raden Gajah Mada is the war general of this country. Where there is a great kingdom like Majapahit, of course it is not only fought by one person. Bara is the shadow of Raden Gajah Mada. As the nature of shadows, he is not seen by many people, both by the people of Majapahit and the enemy," my grandmother told the story of Bara and Gajah Mada at quite a long time. Strangely, my grandmother's story did not bore me like my lecturers' explanations. She continued, "In the next 2 months, Majapahit will face a big battle. A battle against an undefeated kingdom, namely the Manunggal Kingdom. Actually, Raden Gajah Mada and his troops are strong enough to fight that kingdom, it's just that since that person joined the Manunggal camp, the kingdom seems to have no chance to be defeated."
"Is that person so strong that Raden Gajah Mada and Bara couldn't defeat him?"
"Raden Gajah Mada had to face thousands of Manunggal Kingdom troops. Bara was the one who had to face that person." Grandma's expression became even sadder, "Some time ago Bara came home with a serious injury. Even though he had never had a serious injury like that. Since he was 14 years old, Bara had been fighting. His martial arts skills were considered great, as great as Raden Gajah Mada. No other warrior was able to match him, but at that time, unexpectedly, Bara lost to him." Grandma was silent for a moment. Then she looked at me and held my hand again, "That's why, Kiran… Grandma begs you to be sincere in lending that keris to Bara. For the sake of Majapahit. Only that keris is able to maintain the integrity of Majapahit. If something happens to you, that keris could disappear. For that, eat now, son…"
"Disappeared? What do you mean Grandma? If something happens to me, the keris will disappear??"
"Yes, Kiran. I'm sorry Grandma was mean to you," Grandma suddenly fell to the floor. He prostrated to me, "If you are gone, if something happens to you and you die, the keris will also disappear. For that reason, take care of yourself. Forgive grandma who asked you to look after the keris. Forgive grandma for hurting your feelings..."
I was speechless again. So, I had to keep myself from dying so that the keris would remain intact... My lips smiled numbly.
***
Okay, I don't want to die here anyway..! Of course, I will take good care of myself and the keris. I will soon return to my original world and live my days as usual; watching movies, traveling, culinary tours. Eh, no, I will live my day better after I get back.
The sun was already directly above the crown of the head. The two people who were practicing martial arts had stopped. It was now time for lunch. And right on time, the voice of a boy called me to eat together. I forgot his name, even though grandma had mentioned it earlier.
"How? Do I join you for dinner?" I paced back and forth. thought for a moment. Then, I clenched my fist, "No more sadness..! No more time to complain. I have to fight in my life, wherever I am..!" I decided to live my time well. I went out and headed to the dining place.
In the room they were already sitting around the food. Sitting cross-legged on a simple mat. Without further ado I sat down and ate.
"How does it taste? Do you like it, Nduk?" asked Grandma Surip.
"Yeah, it's pretty good," I replied while chewing my food.
"Jiteng, after eating, take Mbak Kiran around. Accompany her. From now on you have to serve her well," said the grandmother to the little boy. The boy just nodded.
After eating, we went for a walk; looked at the vegetable garden, looked at the horses, and went out of the yard a bit to look at the forest. And Jiteng agreed to teach me gardening tomorrow morning. Earlier, he was shocked when I said I didn't know how to plant vegetables.
"Remember, exactly at 7 o'clock. My schedule is tight, so you have to be on time. I will teach you how to plant vegetables from 7 to 8. Because at 8 o'clock I have to feed the Hero and the others," he said firmly, sounding annoying.
"Is the champion the name of a horse or a chicken?"
"That's Mas Bara's horse. I can't be even a little bit late in feeding him, because the Jagoan's digestive system might be disturbed if I'm late in eating."
"Is his digestive system disturbed? Hahaha... you're just making me laugh. It's just a horse."
"Shhh , be careful when you talk. The hero's ears are very sensitive. If he hears, he might kick you."
"Hahahaa... you're always up to something," Jiteng joked funny, making me a little bit amused. We went back home because it was already dark.
***
"Mbak Kiran, Mbak... Wake up..!" the noisy voice kept bothering me. Apparently, it was Jiteng who had been waiting for me. I almost forgot I had an appointment with him this morning. We immediately headed to the back garden. The various vegetables I saw yesterday looked fresh with the morning dew.
I started digging the soil as instructed by Jiteng. He gave me tomato seeds, bitter melon seeds, and spinach seeds. At one stage, when I was digging the soil to plant some spinach seeds, Jiteng shouted, "Miss, don't go near that area to dig..!"
"Why? I will plant this spinach in the area of the big, fresh vegetable plants," I said, pointing to the fresh plants.
"The vegetables that will be cooked must not be planted in that area, Miss. That is a prohibited area."
"What do you mean forbidden area?" I asked without paying any attention, I continued digging the ground. But Jiteng rushed towards me and grabbed the machete I was using.
"Mbak Kiran, this vegetable area belongs to Jagoan! This is all Jagoan's food. Mas Bara will be angry if he finds out that someone has damaged these vegetables. Look, Mbak Kiran's dug up soil has dirtied the bean leaves..! I've been tired all day cleaning, watering, and removing every pest that sticks to it."
I was just stunned when Jiteng grumbled saying all that. As if he still couldn't believe that the vegetables for horses were of better quality than the vegetables eaten by humans.
"Actually, the vegetables planted by Grandpa Surip also produce good results. It's just that many of the leaves have holes due to caterpillars. Meanwhile, Jagoan's vegetables rarely have holes, because I was told to guard these vegetables all the time. If a caterpillar touches the leaf, Mas Bara flicks my ear 10 times. In one day, my ear can be flicked 70 times, uhh It hurts so much..." Jiteng complained while holding his ear.
At 10 minutes to 8, Jiteng ran towards the horse feeding equipment. Then, he processed the horse feed ingredients. After finishing, at exactly 8:00 a.m. he gave the Champion his food container.
It turned out that the horse that was placed separately was the Champion. His color was jet black, only a few white stripes on the head. His hair was neatly arranged. He looked very clean. Even the way he ate was not haphazard like the other horses. He kept his mouth clean. His body was upright, tall, and sturdy.
Jiteng and I watched the horses eating. Jiteng took good care of them.
After finishing his food, the hero sips the water in his drinking bucket until it is empty. Then he is released by Jiteng.
"Hey, why did you let Jagoan go?" I asked, surprised and worried that the horse had disappeared.
"He's heading to Mas Bara on the riverbank. Mas Bara will train the Jagoan's running skills. They circle this forest every day," Jiteng answered casually. "Let's go inside and have breakfast. I have to be ready to practice silat by 10 o'clock."
"Oh, I see... Mmm, in order to train the hero to increase his running speed, Mas Bara always skips breakfast, huh? That means we will have breakfast without him, " I tried to twist the question so that it would not be too obvious that there was a certain tendency.
"Mas Bara had breakfast before going to the forest. How could he train if his body wasn't strong. He clearly cared about his health."
***
Unlike the routine in the other world where I often spend relaxing, my days are now more structured. No less than Jiteng's busy schedule. After learning to garden in the morning, this afternoon Nenek Surip plans to teach me how to mix traditional medicines.
Just after lunchtime, grandma was getting ready. We walked to a room located at the back end of the garden. As soon as he arrived, Grandpa Surip was already in the room. He was pounding something.
"What is it, Grandpa?" I asked to start a conversation.
"This is betel leaf, Nduk. While this one is guava leaf. Grandpa is making medicine for bee stings," he explained.
On the table there were also several types of oil. In addition, I noticed the cupboards arranged like a library. In the cupboard there were many cups and bottles made of bamboo. This room was full of traditional herbal medicines.
"Are Granpa and Granma are healers?"
"We are just studying, Nduk. To treat the wounded. After Grandpa could no longer join the war, Grandpa filled his time with this," answered Grandpa Surip while still pounding leaves.
"Especially after traveling, there are usually scratches and wounds on Bara's body. We have to take good care of him. In addition, sometimes there are also some colleagues who hide here when they are seriously injured," Grandma Surip added.
I am quite interested in knowing the benefits of these traditional medicines. Usually when I have the flu and other illnesses, I don't like to go to the doctor. I prefer herbal medicine. While I have the opportunity, I want to learn more about it. Who knows, maybe I can become a herbal therapist in my world.
Now the smile in my heart can slowly grow.
And I learned one meaning of life;
Happiness does not come from an environment that has everything (to support you),
But you have to grow it from within yourself.
Yes, happiness comes from your heart, for yourself.
***
Grandpa Surip walked towards the door and raised his right hand slightly. A moment later, a dove landed on the back of the hand he had prepared. Then his left hand stroked the dove's head, as if to say thank you for its hard work. After a leaf-like object was taken from the bird's foot, it flew back. Grandpa read the contents of the leaf carefully.
"Is that a letter? I never thought a letter would actually be delivered by a bird. I thought that kind of thing only happened in the magical story of Harry Potter," I muttered in amazement.
Grandpa's face looked more serious after reading the contents of the letter. But for some reason, Grandma Surip didn't ask much about the contents of the letter. She just sat there pensive. Even though I, who had no interest in the letter, couldn't wait to ask; what was the content of the letter, why did Grandpa's face become more serious after reading it, was it sad news, etc. Understandably, in my world, especially among millennial students, the main characteristic that characterizes us is 'nosy'. Not being nosy means not being sociable. If you're not sociable or behind the times, you could be ostracized in the realm of socializing in this super sophisticated century. The effects of not being nosy are huge, right?
After a while, someone entered the room. Yes, that someone was him. My curiosity about the contents of the letter was slightly eroded by his presence. He immediately approached Grandpa. And Grandpa responded to his intentions, "You already know what he looks like."
"I saw Dara flying here."
"You can guess what news he brings," Grandpa said flatly.
"I didn't think we'd have to act this quickly."
Hearing Bara's unusually pessimistic words, Grandpa's face became even more worried, and he immediately asked, "Is there a problem??"
"I've tried many times, but I still can't use it," Bara explained as he held out the keris he was holding.
Wow, that's my keris. My eyes and ears kept on watching their conversation even though we weren't sitting at the same table. I sat alone in the corner of the room while pretending to study herbal medicine.
"Maybe it is true what has been circulating all this time that 'The Keris Galaksi only begins and ends with its owner'," said Grandpa Surip, looking up at the ceiling.
The conversation was silent for a moment. Then Grandma Surip joined in, "then there is no other way, we must ask for his help once again."
Bara immediately added, "He will not be able to withstand the great power of the Keris Galaksi. His inner strength is not sufficient."
"It's true, he doesn't have any inner strength. But he is the only blood descendant of the keris master," explained Grandpa Surip, supporting his wife's statement.
"Are they talking about me? Why don't they just include me in the conversation?" I asked myself, my curiosity unstoppable.
"Yes, only Kiran can be the first to take the Keris Galaksi out of its container. We have no other way," said Nenek Surip firmly.
"Give me the keris. I'll try," I snapped as I stood up and walked toward them.
"Why did you make a decision so quickly without consideration?! You won't be able to handle its power," Bara replied to half in surprise.
"I don't know, I'm the type who acts first and thinks later," I said casually, then I turned to ask Grandpa Surip, "Grandpa, what risks will befall me if I try to pull out the keris?"
"To use the Keris Galaksi, one must have great inner strength. If not, the keris can suck the person's soul. Bara certainly has perfect inner strength, but he cannot initiate the use of the sacred keris. The Keris Galaksi must be opened first by the heir of the keris owner. And that person is none other than you, Nak Kiran. Unfortunately, you do not have inner strength."
"What does grandpa mean by 'my soul was sucked out'?"
"You will feel weak and maybe pass out."
Oh, that's all. Once again without thinking, I immediately snatched the keris from Bara's grasp. My one determination was that I had to return to my world immediately! For that, I would do anything.
It turned out that I could easily remove the keris from its sheath. I looked at the keris in front of me. I wondered what power it had that it threw me into this world. A light appeared from it. The keris began to shine like a bluish lamp. A few seconds later, fine smoke emerged from the tip of the keris, straight through the roof. And the atmosphere outside the window turned full of fog. The fog blocked the sunlight so that the daytime atmosphere became dark. Then, the darkness was reduced by the appearance of stars. A starry daytime! This was the first time I had seen the phenomenon of the sun and stars side by side.
We were indoors so we couldn't really see how beautiful the starry sky was, we could only enjoy it through the window.
Without realizing it, my vision began to blur. My body was very weak. My legs were shaky and powerless. The keris container in my left hand fell. Bara immediately took the Keris Galaksi before I dropped it too. His hands were multitasking while maintaining my body which was also staggering to the floor.
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