I woke up early in the morning and it was difficult to close my eyes again. I've never felt a night like this before. It's really, really quiet. However, the night atmosphere at the top of Wonosobo is still far less.
"I can't live the rest of my life feeling empty like this. Oh God, what should I do?" I held my chin in both hands, my gaze gazing out the window, towards the stars that were chatting. They seemed happy with their togetherness. If the sky was clear, they would appear together. If the sky was cloudy, there were rarely any stars that came out alone.
Gradually the darkness of the night faded. The chickens started crowing. As time goes by it gets louder. They are fighting over the loudness of their voices. The loudest voice indicates a high level of masculinity. That's what my grandfather said, who used to like keeping roosters.
I got up from my long daydream and walked towards the bathroom. I had been waiting for the rooster to crow to accompany me to the bathroom. At least their voices could drive away my fearful instincts a little.
As soon as I arrived in front of the bathroom, I hurriedly opened the door.
"Oh my gosh..!" I screamed in shock. My blood flowed to my face uncontrollably, causing my face to turn red as fast as lightning. There was someone in the bathroom..! And worse, that person was Bara. Luckily he had finished taking a shower. He went out without saying a word.
"Really, you're already taking a shower this early in the morning?! Even the chickens have just woken up. The sun hasn't even risen yet. He's really too much, too diligent," I could only grumble in the bathroom to dispel my embarrassment.
When I came out, grandma was already busy lighting the fire in the kitchen stove.
"Grandma cooking this early?" I asked briefly before returning to the room.
"It's boiling water, Nduk. Grandpa and Bara usually drink tea this early in the morning," he answered in between blowing on the wood from the fireplace. It seemed like the stove was warm, so I jogged over to it. I was going to go to my room to cover myself, but I would try to keep my eyes open every now and then in the early morning.
"It looks like you're all cleaned up and ready, Nduk…" Grandma said while looking at me, "I'm actually happy to have you here, but what can I do? Be careful out there, Nduk. Take good care of yourself. Grandma has also prepared several bottles of potions that you'll need. Don't forget to rub that oil on your skin every morning and evening, so that mosquitoes won't…" Grandma's lips hadn't finished speaking but I interrupted her.
"Wait, what does grandma mean?"
Grandma's eyes were a little surprised, instead she asked, "Bara didn't tell you?"
"What were you told, Grandma?"
Grandma sighed and began to tell me that I had to go to the royal palace. The journey there would take at least 2 days and 1 night by horse. Bara would take me to Raden Gajah Mada's residence. And when we arrived there, they would immediately prepare war strategies. While they were preparing for war and fighting on the battlefield, I had to stay in the palace, for my safety.
I had just adapted to this environment, in Grandpa Surip's house, now I have to move to explore a new environment again. My tomato plants have not yet borne fruit, and I just felt a little enthusiasm when concocting herbal medicine, but I have to leave all that. Huufft..! It feels so annoying. But this was nothing compared to when I had to move from my era to this era. I took a deep breath to calm myself.
***
"I already told you that I have never traveled on a horse..!" I replied, annoyed and panicked that I would still be forced to ride a horse.
"But yesterday you said you had ridden a horse. How could an adult not be able to ride a horse!" Jiteng denied me endlessly.
"Yes, I have ridden a horse, only once, when I was traveling in Dieng. Even then, the horse was led by the owner. I can't ride this horse alone, let alone for a 2-day journey!" I strongly refused to ride the brown horse. Grandpa and Grandma Surip looked confused looking for a way out.
"If you walk, it could take 4-5 days. Get on quickly, the sun is already high," Bara firmly told me to get on the brown horse, the stallion named Maman. I was very disappointed with his indifferent decision. I didn't care if it took 4 days, 7 days, or 10 days to get to the palace as long as I didn't ride a horse..! I wanted to shout all those sentences at him, but a feeling of resignation came earlier. Once again, I could only sigh.
"Huh, this horse's name is much better than yours, Jiteng," I said glaring at Jiteng, venting all my frustration on him. He was the one who caused this misunderstanding. He thought I could ride a horse. And during the 2 weeks I lived here, no one told me to learn to ride a horse. However, now until tomorrow I have to ride a horse..! Like a newborn baby being told to run!
After Jiteng briefly demonstrated how to ride a horse, I tried it. Only until my sitting position looked stable did Jiteng release his guidance. He released Maman with me who had just met. Hiikss... even though my breath and heartbeat seemed unstable. He failed to notice that.
I said goodbye from the horse. Then, my grandmother handed me a bundle of supplies. So that the bundle would not interfere with my hands for riding, I tied it around my waist. My grandmother had packed some things and food. It felt like my mother packing my supplies when I was traveling.
Step by step the horse was getting further away from the house. I still held Maman's reins carefully. I'm afraid that if I pull it too much, it will get angry and run fast.
Even after walking for a long time, I still moved Maman's reins very slowly, I realized that the horseman behind me was probably already God-level emotional. I was the same way when in the other world facing a slow car in front of me, I would definitely press the horn several times until my emotions subsided.
I wanted to know how high the emotions of the driver behind me were, but there was no rearview mirror that could be used to peek. I tried to glance, but my glance did not find the target without turning my head. Therefore, I was forced to look. And it coincided with his gaze directed at me. These eyeballs that met reminded me of an event. Without saying anything I immediately returned to my original position. Let this breath catch, my heartbeat fast, and my face turn red, as long as he didn't see it. Right now, my memory is only focused on one event in the bathroom this morning. OMG ... the shame that had been blocked and forgotten this morning finally burst out. Reflexively, both my hands moved Maman's reins. The reins that I accidentally pulled hard upwards, made Maman feel like he was being ordered to run. He did not hesitate to hold back his steps. He immediately ran fast as if to vent his impatience since morning. Unfortunately, I was not prepared for that. I was overwhelmed by Maman's running spirit.
Along with Maman's fast pace, the Champion also quickly chased after us. But his intention to stop us actually made Maman feel like he had to compete in speed. Competing in speed was their practice habit, whoever was the fastest would get a bucket of fresh vegetables as a prize. I had not been taught how to stop a horse that was going this fast. In the yard earlier, Jiteng had only taught me how to stop a horse that was going slowly. Once again, I could only surrender. I started to close my eyes.
A strong and swift pull forced my body to move. Suddenly, along with the strong wind, I was sitting on the back of a different horse. I was already on top of the Champion. Although the wind hit me hard while Maman was running, I was sweating. Cold sweat, accompanied by my energy that was drained from feeling afraid.
The hero slowed his steps. He stopped. And Bara helped me down. We sat down to rest.
It seemed like my life was not whole. I was still sitting there dumbfounded until he told me, "Let go of that."
"What do you mean?" I responded to his words, indicating that my life was starting to come back together.
"Take off the bundle of provisions," ordered Bara, who was helping Jagoan drink his water supply.
"Oh, this..?" I replied while trying to untie the bundle of provisions that was wrapped around my stomach. It seemed that I had tied it too tightly, or my strength had not fully returned, so I couldn't get it off. Maybe he couldn't wait. Without saying a word, he approached and helped untie the bundle of provisions. Well, that was normal. But for some reason I couldn't control my heart rate.
***
"If you don't drink it, I'll pack this lunch back up. We don't have much time to relax," he said, bringing me back to my senses. It turned out I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't realize how long we had been resting.
We prepared to continue the journey. And then I thought about Maman who ran away, "Bara, what about Maman who ran away, why didn't you chase him earlier?"
"Why expect something that leaves on its own accord?! I will not tolerate betrayal," he said, aimed at a horse, but sounding like a war commander's advice to his soldiers.
"Then what should I ride with?"
Instead of answering, Bara climbed onto Jagoan's back and gestured for me to join him on board. Did he mean we were riding the same horse together? I was still thinking about it.
"Come on, don't be slow!" he snapped impatiently at having to repeat the order.
***
The twilight light was almost gone. The condition in the middle of the forest, which was indeed dark due to the dense trees, was getting thicker. Surely in a few moments the forest path would be pitch black. I doubted whether the hero would be able to get through this forest, worried that without light he would fall into a ravine.
"Bara, is it okay to continue this journey?" I asked quietly.
I waited for his answer, but he didn't say anything. "Jagoan might fall into the ravine because there's no light, Bara," I said, raising my voice.
"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing," he said flatly, but somehow every word he said carried a serious meaning for me.
The journey continued. Sure enough, Jagoan had no problem with the darkness of the streets.
Without realizing it, it was already midnight. We had just arrived at the edge of the forest. Although the weather was not so bright, the sky was still able to illuminate the edge of the forest. There was a small river stretching in front of us. The gurgling of the water indicated that the river was shallow. Two kilometers after crossing the river, we would reach the nearest village. However, Bara decided to spend the night in this location, on the edge of the forest. I tried to understand his decision even though in my brain I was curious why he had to spend the night outside like this. I tried not to dig into his reasons because he always had a reason.
It turns out, I'm not the type who can stay in curiosity, "Wouldn't it take long for us to stay in that village, Bara? I thought it would be less than an hour..."
As usual, he didn't answer me right away. He was busy making a fire. I didn't want to lose, I interrupted him again with the same tendency.
"Come on Bara, there must be an inn there. We need a comfortable place to rest. Aren't you also tired after a day of traveling?"
The fireplace was already burning brightly, but he didn't respond to me.
"Hey, why are you ignoring me…" I whined, starting to desperately try to persuade him.
"Here's a blanket, go to sleep soon. We'll head to the village early in the morning," he said as he threw a piece of cloth. This time my hopes of sleeping in a comfortable place were completely dashed. Huufft.. I could only surrender again.
I couldn't close my eyes right away because I was still carried away by my emotions. I stood up and put - or rather threw - the blanket he gave me under the tree, where I would have to sleep later. I walked away from the fire, towards the river to clean myself. I hoped the cold river water would be able to refresh my feelings.
"Where are you going?" His question surprised me. He rarely initiated conversation.
"To the river," I answered simply.
"Don't go too far. Just over there," he said, pointing to the riverbank right in front of our camp.
"I won't run away! You don't have to tell me where to clean myself..!" I said annoyedly as I walked away, deliberately going against his orders. I was starting to get annoyed with his bossy attitude.
The fire was no longer visible, so I ignored his warning not to stray too far from the tent.
"Wow, this river water is so fresh..." the cold feeling washed over my tired skin. Also, it seems to be able to get rid of my annoyed feelings tonight.
After all the emotions had flowed away with the river current, I stepped out of the water.
"Aarrghhh..!" I almost slipped because my shoes were slippery. Luckily, he unexpectedly held my hand. He was indeed responsive. I was relieved.
I raised my head to thank him. "Bara, tha..," I was so stunned, I couldn't finish my sentence! I was so shocked to look into the eyes in front of me. It turned out he wasn't Bara! Reflexively, I wanted to release my hand from his grip. But he ignored it, instead cutting off both of my hands. I struggled, but my resistance meant little to him. He dragged me to a place where his friends were waiting. I was forced to scream for help.
"Calm down, Miss… No need to scream so loudly," said one of them.
"His ears are very sensitive, he will definitely come here soon to find you. I bet he will arrive before the count of ten," added another, while playing the count, "One, two, three, four, five, six… There he is, the hero is here."
This group of people seemed to already know about Bara. They probably had even planned this ambush. Oh, was this the reason why Bara seemed extra strict with me? OMG, I didn't think about this at all... Suddenly I felt very guilty, but at the same time calm when I saw him appear.
Bara didn't seem panicked. He immediately said firmly, "if you still love your life, let that girl go!"
"We must first prove the truth of the heirloom keris 'Galaksi'. Show us its magical powers!"
"Then you will really lose your lives if you want to see it."
"Hahahhaaa..!" The gang greeted Bara's words with laughter while drawing their weapons. This was the first time in my life that I had witnessed people clashing with sharp weapons! Were they serious about killing each other?! Crazy!!!
Bara also took out a weapon from its container, but it was not his grandfather's keris. Bara used his own sword.
They moved forward simultaneously to gang up on Bara. "That's not fair! You guys are so unmanly, how dare you gang up on me! One by one, move forward!" I shouted, worried that something might happen to Bara.
"Shut up, Miss. Don't interfere!" said the man who cut my arm.
"But you guys are unfair, ganging up on me and..." I hadn't finished speaking but he quickly covered my mouth. One of his hands was strong enough to cut off both of my arms, and the other hand was now covering my mouth. I struggled but it was in vain. His calmness seemed unmoved by my resistance.
While I was busy struggling – trying to fight the villain behind me – the sword fight in front of me suddenly went silent. The noisy sound of the fight turned into groans of pain. The group of people fighting Bara were already lying on the ground, groaning in pain, holding back their wounds. I don't think the battle had even lasted 10 minutes. " Wow, really crazy! He's great," my eyes widened in joy. I didn't realize that the person behind me had released the hand that was covering my mouth, then turned to draw his sword and crossed it around my neck!
"If you don't give me the keris, I'll cut off his neck!" he shouted, feeling desperate.
Glekkk, I swallowed hard in shock. If my neck had an Adam's apple, it would have been scratched by his sword. The blade actually touched the skin of my neck. Oh my God, is this my final fate?
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