Cooldown

Towering skyscrapers of bamboo, recycled plastic, wood, and ash colored this region's skyline. Smaller apartments with 4-10 rooms, either yellow, brown, or green, are their color. Covered with greens of trees, bushes, and grass. Outside the ring road, sparse land of rice, fruits, wood, and tubers spans for kilometers over the horizon. Dots of villages and industrial zones; scribbles of road, rail, and power lines visible from a delivery drone camera, Seeking the addressee. A small bloom of fumarole rises from the mouth of Mount Merapi. Pale green mountains to the south, home of the kegelkarst. Another green mountain to the west, slowly towering into highlands and volcanoes. To the north, Turgo Hill confronts the lowlands head-on, with Mount Merapi just behind, covering Mount Merbabu and other mountains in the north. Bright blue sky as the canvas completes the scenery of this colorful city.

Yet smoke of brown and black reached the sky. They are born as tiny dots of fire; the sun blesses them as they slowly grow and destroy everything in their path—Paddy fields, plantations, and now forests. With El Niño at its peak and the sun's power at the climax, no water can handle the rampage of its nemesis. As the fire mercilessly carved a path over its opponent, Iwan is on the rooftop of his apartment with a pan, coconut oil, salt, white pepper, and two free-range chicken eggs.

"Wan, are you really gonna cook here? It's futile; it won't cook thoroughly."

“Mas Bambang, see for yourself. I will cook a sunny side up. This 45-degree centigrade heat is enough, to say the least."

"Just cook your eggs on your stove; you'll get your beloved over hard eggs."

"Gas and electricity are free, but a heat like this is no common occurrence. A man must challenge himself to experiment, try new stuff, observe, adapt, improvise, and learn… Oh, double yolk, my lucky day!"

"Wow, a real double yolk! It's the first time I've seen this sort of thing."

"How about the second? Double yolk as well?! Hahahahaha! Thank God… All that's left is to wait."

"Sorry, I got a call; I'll be back, mas Iwan!"

"Hello, oh mbak Eka, how's your trip to the beach?"

"It's packed here; even Wediombo beach is too dense! So many people are playing and swimming in the sea. The sea is warm as well, so it didn't help much."

"Do you move to another beach?"

"Nope, I'm on my way to Dieng now. I need cold air right now. Even the train's air conditioner's not working."

"Well, good luck on your trip!"

"Thank you. How's Mimi?"

"She's with Iwan right now on the rooftop. Every 10 minutes, the water is replaced, so she's not feeling too hot."

"Thank you for taking care of her. Please take good care of her when I leave for Canada next month!"

"Will do. I have to go now, it's time for lunch! Bye!"

"Bye!"

"Oh, mas Bambang! It's done. Would you like to have one?"

"No thanks. I have something good on the bottom of my pot. I present you with fresh, hot intip with salt and grated coconut."

"Masterpiece! Let's have lunch together then."

"Aye, I'll bring teh poci for us. Wait for me!"

"Sure thing!"

"Let's dig in."

"Let's dig in."

"Your tea is the best! The smell of jasmine, slight bitterness, rock sugar sweetness, thick black tea, and heat! This is sublime."

"Thank you wan. It still amazes me how most people prefer ice on their mouth instead of hot tea."

"Ice is temporary; hot tea is perpetuity."

"This heat somehow makes us more poetic. How about you, Mimi? Do you feel the same way?"

*Woof*

"I call that a yes. Must've been the effect of freshly replaced water."

"Thanks for covering me wan."

"No prob."

"Ouch! Really toasted on this side."

"Is it good?"

"The rice is crunchy and quite bitter at the bottom layer. But the white upper layer is the best part. A bit crunchy, mostly soft, and that's where the savoury grated coconut and salt meet. Overall, 10 out of 10."

"Turning into a cooking show real quick. For me, warm rice with lime juice and pandan leaf before cooking is the best. It smells so comforting and tastes a bit sweet. The cherry on top is two sunny sides up with double yolk. The most unpredictable and beautiful scene I've watched over the span of 28 years of my life. The soft egg white is delicious and flows smoothly to my esophagus. 4 bright red dots, not too fishy, so I don't have to put a lot of white pepper on it. It oozes out quickly and blends with the rice. Overall, 10 out of 10 as well."

"So the winner is…"

"Blue team!"

"Yay! Oh, is that your phone?"

"Just as I finished my lunch. How timely, excuse me, I'll be back."

"Hi Wan!"

"Hey, dude!"

"Ah, sorry to disturb your date, I'll-"

"We're not dating!"

"I know it's hot, dude, but please keep your sanity intact."

"Don't worry, mine's intact. So what's up?"

"I have some bad news; look at this advertisement."

"Property? Hold on, it's that Gadingharjo? I thought It's still empty."

"It is for now, but soon… it'll be full of buildings. Those land developers use their companies to sponsor sports events and even become the main sponsors of the junior football league. I've hacked one of the company's databases and Indra's electronic devices; I found something good. They used Indra as their tool to develop the scorched lands, strengthened by the Land Utilization Commandment. Several new politicians are on the regional government's body affiliated with land developers."

"I see; by putting those politicians, in case Indra can't or fails to be their tools, those politicians will take the steering wheel. Coup d'etat is way too risky; impeachment makes sense, I guess."

"Exactly! We have to warn Indra about this."

"Let's meet him at his official residence. Our status as his friends should smooth things up."

"Aight dudes, let's roll!"

Note:

Teh Poci: Tea served in clay teapot and cups with rock sugars.