Break

An absurd dream is common for Iwan. Before he sleeps, he kills a cockroach. As a person who would go so far as to apologize before cutting tree branches, he is reminded of his bloodlust against that high-speed freeloader in his sleep. Soon, there will be sunrise. It’s a matter of time before Iwan rises from his bed and folds his blanket. In the meantime, let’s peek into his dream.

In a modest cowshed, a pair of cows live. They are brothers, strengthened by blood and love. One is wise, and the other is obstinate.

“Brother, may I have some grass?”

“No.”

“I’m famished, brother.”

“As am I. However, the slender figure has given these grasses to me, brother. Me! They truly love me.”

“That is false, brother; I have observed the slender figures for many monsoons. They burn leaves and inhale the smoke. They mourn for their loved ones for three monsoons after one’s death. They exchange things with colorful sheets and give an extra meal to one of us before consumption.”

“Impossible, brother; how can you mock them after everything they’ve done for us?”

“Plowing their fields? Pulling their carts? Forced to race against our kin through a muddy field? How about our mother, who was milked to death? How about our sisters who are now in our mother’s stead?”

“The slender figures feed us, brother; it is only a give and take. When they take me, I will dine with the slender figures. Festive, joyful, and extravagant, it must be! Yet you reject it, brother.”

“Your notion is flawed, brother. That is why, share with me the grasses, and you shall not reach the desired girth-“

“AHA! So this was your plan all along? What a despicable brother, I will not trust your pretenses.”

“Brother, when I traverse the landscape after plowing the field at noon. I saw a gathering of these slender figures sitting around a huge fire. They rotate fragments of our meat and consume them. I could not have been mistaken, brother; the smell of the flesh is surely of our kin. I also saw the head of our distant kin lying on a cart taken somewhere else. They show satisfaction from this brother! Their faces each engraved with an atrocious grin, they moan with lust!”

“Very amusing, but I am not convinced. I shall dine with these grasses and feast with the slender figures.”

“I’m sorry, brother, I can no longer save you, for you have fallen too deep and forsake my warning. I will care for your offspring once you are no longer in this world, brother. As they have consumed your lover, our parents, our siblings, and many more.”

Sunset is here, and the lamps at the cowshed shine dim. As the foolish brother finished his meal, a group of slender figures arrived, and they prepared themselves to move one of the pair. The wise brother survives with his heart shattered because his foolish brother did not heed his advice.

“Look, brother, they will be here soon; my time has come. I shall be born anew!”

“Once again, you are mistaken, brother… But alas, I’m too late to save you. Once they take you far away and raise their blades, you will experience a profound realization that the grasses are not a benevolent offering and instead are a malevolent curse.”

Iwan wakes up while gasping for air; his back itches so much. Yesterday, he healed 20 patients for the organization’s weekly social service; he arrived home, hobbled, and took a warm bath. Water has the property of diluting energy; since Iwan healed 20 patients, chances are he got contaminated by patients' dirty energy. A salty bath would help, but he forgot to put salt in it, so now he’s barely able to sleep. Luckily, this Monday, there are no patients for him; instead of resting, he resorts to a walk across the region’s vast landscape.

“Dear passengers, shortly we will arrive at Pakem station. To all passengers who ended the trip at Pakem station, please prepare your belongings. Thank you for using our metro service. See you on the next trip! Doors will open on the right.”

“Aaah, fresh air. The final frontier of civilization before the sacred groove. Guess I’ll head southwest soon.”

A breakfast is necessary, and a warm one is better for a cold morning. Only one crosses his mind, and that is Soto Lenthok. He walks into a tent restaurant; a long bench and tables welcome him. Condiments scattered across the tables, such as salt, sweet soy sauce, sambal, lime, fritters, and most importantly, krupuk, were Behind him is a colorful tent filled with the restaurant name, menu, and a muscular rooster. He picks the bench on the other side, protected by a wall, a magnificent choice for leaning your back. He then scanned a barcode on the table and put his order in his phone: two soto lenthok, a hot tea, four fried mendoan, and two krupuk. Check the price, pay through instant bank transfer, and all that remains is waiting patiently.

A droid arrives with Iwan’s order; the smell of chicken broth warms his nostrils and melts some mucus left inside it. A hill of rice with shredded chicken meat on top makes his stomach growl. Tiny pieces of floating spring onion, beansprouts, rice noodles, and three lenthoks cramped together, all visible in the clear yellow broth. A quick prayer starts his breakfast, followed by three squeezes of lime for each bowl. It's a slightly brutal way of using a condiment because the soto could get too sour. That is the end result, and now he must cope. Even the warm and soft cassava texture from a lenthok won’t save him. After two bowls of soto, a hot tea successfully saves his tongue from suffering.

As the cold gradually reduced, he continued traveling to Kulon Progo, just southwest of his current location. He took the electric commuter train to enjoy the view since it would be pitch black if he used the metro train again.

The train station is at the border between the mixed-use farm and the residential area of Pakem and Kaliurang Sacred Groove. Despite no fence protecting the sacred groove, nobody dares to enter it. The train departs, and the sight of double track railway, lush forest, bright paddy fields, lively farms, sparse plantations, small villages, and the majestic Mount Merapi with its breath growing and receding.

He takes a transit at Tempel station; his next stop will be Yogyakarta International Airport station. However, that stop has been scrapped because two train passengers next to him are dreaming while leaning on both shoulders. As a result, he’s reluctant to even stop at his destination. The train moves to the east along the southern beaches and hills; a beautiful view of the sea is worth the shoulder pain.

Quadruple tracks with beams, trying to reach the heavens, signify successful railway electrification. Trains tend to obstruct his view, but the most painful are freight trains. They are long and frequent, not to mention some double-stack freight trains.

Once the commuter train reaches the terminus, that is Kalasan station. The two passengers at his shoulders depart, and the pains fly to the sky. Time to go home with satisfaction, he takes the metro, which takes him downtown. On the train, he checked his phone for news; 25 kilograms of rice were stolen this afternoon at the regional silo. Since rice is shared for free, rice is treated sacredly because it’s a staple food, and selling rice is prohibited because it’s a fundamental human right to have food. The same goes for houses or apartments, education, healthcare, fresh air, water, equality before the law… You name it. You can imagine what the offender will face even though stealing 25 kilograms are meager amount compared to the silo’s storage capacity.

When the train arrived, Iwan departed and went to a park beside the station’s exit. An empty chess table caught his eye; a little exercise wouldn’t hurt. A kapok tree shaded him and the chess table from the scorching heat, but sweat still flowed down his t-shirt, slightly wetting it. A few minutes later, a man approached Iwan and asked him something.

“Hello, would you like to play chess with me?”

“Yes, please. I haven’t played it for a while now, but there's no need to go easy on me.”

“Alright then, may I know your name?

“I’m Iwan Himawan, how about you?

“I’m Indra Purnamasidhi. Are you, by any chance, Sundanese?”

“Just a bit. Why don’t we get started?”

“Of course, let’s play fair and square!”

Notes:

Soto Lenthok: Chicken soto served with lenthok or fried mashed cassava.

Krupuk: Deep fried crackers.

Mendoan: Half-cooked fried tempe.