Susuk<\/p>\n
By Dewi Anggraeni<\/p>\n
\"Absolute nonsense!\" Russel blurted out, irritated. \"Nothing
\nmore, nothing less. Utter nonsense!\"<\/p>\n
Russel was offended. Martinus and Ratna, two of his trusted
\ncolleagues, had just slandered the love of his life, Rika Juwita.<\/p>\n
\"Rika ...,\" Ratna had said, \" ... has a susuk. Haven't you
\nnoticed, Russ, she is actually not pretty. However, no matter
\nwhere she goes, she becomes the center of attention. All her
\nsuperiors fall under her spell, except Sunarti. And that's
\nbecause Sunarti's a devoutly religious person.\"<\/p>\n
Ha! thought Russel, she's jealous. He was intrigued
\nnonetheless, how a person with such integrity as Ratna would
\nstoop that low.<\/p>\n
Just then, Martinus took over. \"We have thought about this,
\nRuss. Believe me, we're not in the habit of intruding on our
\nfriends' private affairs, that's why we didn't bring this up
\nuntil now. However we noticed that you were getting really
\nserious with Rika. My wife, Korina, finally persuaded me to talk
\nto you. Ratna happened to agree we should see you about it.\"<\/p>\n
Russel looked incredulously at Martinus. \"You too, Martinus?\"
\nasked Russel, his voice turning falsetto from emotion. \"You, a
\ngood Christian, believe in susuks?\"<\/p>\n
Martinus was momentarily thrown off-balance, then quickly
\ngathered himself. \"Russ, you are new to this land of ours.
\nThere's a great deal you've yet to learn, about the people and
\nthe mores. Susuks exist, Russ. Many people have them, men and
\nwomen. And as a Christian, I regard them as the craft of the
\ndevil. That's why I'm concerned about you.\"<\/p>\n
Martinus and Ratna finally looked at each other, then meekly
\nexcused themselves. They saw they'd get nowhere, with Russel
\nstanding his ground and refusing to listen to them.<\/p>\n
After his friends had left, Russel walked to the bar and
\npoured himself a glass of whisky. Sipping it slowly he found a
\ncorner on the couch and sat down, thinking.<\/p>\n
Martinus was wrong. Of-course he knew a lot about Indonesians
\nand their mores. Hadn't he read a number of books about Indonesia
\nbefore coming here? Hadn't he learnt the language, made
\nacquaintances with Indonesians who lived in Sydney? Of-course, he
\nhadn't gone so far as to read Clifford Geertz, or Margaret Mead.
\nWell, he didn't come here to do anthropological research, did he?
\nHe came as a quality assurance consultant for PT Plasmak!<\/p>\n
Huh, fancy Martinus and Ratna giving me advice about women.
\nWhat does Martinus know about women? All his life he has never
\nleft the precinct of his church! And Ratna, trouble with that
\nwoman is, she's too intellectual. That's what happens when women
\nare top-heavy he mused.<\/p>\n
The more he thought of the conversation, the angrier he
\nbecame. Suddenly, he smirked. Trust women. No matter how
\nintellectual, they are not beyond petty jealousy. She may be more
\nsenior in position, but Rika is definitely more successful
\nsocially. He sculled the rest of his drink, and rose to get ready
\nto pick up Rika. He'd arranged for them to have dinner at home,
\nhis home. He had given careful instructions to his cook, Siti, to
\ncook Rika's favorite dishes.<\/p>\n
Russel was a little disappointed when Rika's mother opened the
\ndoor. He'd expected to see his love, beautiful and ready.
\nSuppressing his annoyance, he followed Rika's mother in and
\naccepted her offer of a cool drink.<\/p>\n
\"Rika's still in the bathroom,\" the middle-aged woman
\nexplained, continuing with small talk.<\/p>\n
But Russel was unhappy. She told me to come at half past six.
\nShe should have been ready then. Still bathing indeed! he
\nthought.<\/p>\n
Rika's mother, her voice made unsteadily staccato by her
\nasthma, telling him about the difficulty she had in finding
\nreliable and hard-working domestic help, only irritated Russel
\nfurther. He hardly took notice of what she was saying, and his
\neyes didn't shift from the passage that separated the front of
\nthe house from the bedroom area.<\/p>\n
Forty minutes later, when Russel was on the point of giving
\nup, Rika appeared in the passage. She was wearing a white velour,
\ntight, mini skirt with dark blue borders at the hem, and a pale
\nblue lace top. Her hair glimmered under the neon light. No doubt
\nshe spent ages on that hair, while I waited here listening to her
\nmother's waffling passed through his mind.<\/p>\n
But his irritation slowly disappeared, and in its place was a
\nkind of giddiness he experienced whenever his love approached.
\nThe sway of her body, the easy smile on her lips. Oh, so
\ninebriating. And he felt good about himself, about everything.<\/p>\n
\"Ready?\" asked Rika coquettishly.<\/p>\n
\"Ready?\" Russel asked back. No matter how he tried to show his
\nannoyance at being made to wait, his voice sounded meek, even
\npleased.<\/p>\n
Just then, he saw Rika's likeness to her mother, yet there was
\nno trace of beauty in her mother. He didn't remain mystified for
\nlong, however, Rika tugging at his sleeve, saying goodbye to her
\nmother.<\/p>\n
Russel opened the car door for Rika, then rushed to climb in
\nhimself. He wanted to leave that narrow lane. It made him feel
\nclaustrophobic. When his car entered Jalan Thamrin, he turned to
\nlook at Rika. His love, who was aware of his gaze, raised her
\nchin slightly, then smiled flirtatiously at him. Russel felt so
\nstirred he nearly crashed into the car in front.<\/p>\n
\"You're beautiful. Very beautiful, Rika,\" he honestly stated.
\nSuddenly, Russel remembered the glimpses he'd caught at Rika's
\nhouse, how much his love looked like her mother. How could she be
\nso beautiful, when her mother was not? His musings were
\ninterrupted by Rika's voice singing and humming the latest pop
\nsongs.<\/p>\n
Udin, his gardener, shot up like lightning to open the gate as
\nsoon as he heard his master's car horn. He then quickly closed
\nthe gate behind them and watched the car enter the garage. When
\nRika stepped out, the gardener cast a surreptitious glance at
\nher, and looked away when the young lady raised her head toward
\nhim. He looked again when she turned to enter the house, with
\nRussel's hand pushing gently on the small of her back.<\/p>\n
Russel prepared a non-alcoholic drink for Rika. His love
\ndidn't drink alcohol. Russel had never asked for any
\nexplanations, being broadminded and accepting of people's various
\nlikes and dislikes. This evening however, he couldn't help
\nasking, \"Won't you try a bit of Bacardi? Just a few drops, for a
\nlift?\"<\/p>\n
Rika was uncompromising. \"No. I thought you knew consuming
\nalcohol was against my religion.\"<\/p>\n
\"Dancing is not?\" teased Russel.<\/p>\n
Rika just smiled.<\/p>\n
Siti announced that dinner was served. Barbecued chicken,
\nvegetables in coconut milk, salad and satay.<\/p>\n
\"Hmm. Smells delicious,\" Russel lavished Siti with praise as
\nshe was walking back to the kitchen. Siti smiled contentedly,
\nkeeping her head low.<\/p>\n
Rika sat on the chair that Russel pulled out for her, without
\nsaying a word.<\/p>\n
\"What do you think? I told Siti to cook the chicken and
\nvegetables for you. The satay and salad are my favorites.\"<\/p>\n
Again Rika only smiled. She picked up her cutlery elegantly,
\nfully aware of Russel's adoring look.<\/p>\n
\"Russ,\" she said, picking up a piece of chicken, \"What were
\nthe directors' reactions when you announced your plans to contact
\nthe clients, and offer them compensation for the defective
\nparts?\"<\/p>\n
Russel didn't reply immediately. He didn't like talking shop
\nwith Rika outside their working environment.<\/p>\n
\"Most of them disagreed. But Hamid proposed we modify the
\napproach.\"<\/p>\n
\"How?\"<\/p>\n
\"Hamid suggested we contact the clients, but instead of
\noffering compensation, we should offer them extra parts, free of
\ncharge. He said, since the clients don't know the parts were
\ndefective, let them think we're being generous, instead of
\ndishonest.\"<\/p>\n
Rika laughed. \"You may be an expert in quality assurance, but
\nHamid is the true entrepreneur.\"<\/p>\n
Russel wanted to end the conversation quickly. He was
\nparticularly eager to know about Rika this evening.<\/p>\n
\"The satay is especially delectable tonight, Rika. Won't you
\ntry it ? This is a chicken satay, sweetheart, you like chicken
\ndon't you?\"<\/p>\n
Rika shook her head.<\/p>\n
\"No, thank you. Just because I like barbecued chicken it
\ndoesn't mean that I like chicken in any dish. Russ, tell me, who
\ndisagreed with you?\"<\/p>\n
Russel raised his head and looked at Rika, just when she was
\nopening her mouth. He was put out because she kept asking about
\nthe directors' meeting. It was, after all, a closed meeting.
\nMaybe, because of his misgivings, the girl looked momentarily
\nplain. Her eyes were not entirely symmetrical, her nose looked
\ntoo wide for the slim face, and her mouth was too thin.<\/p>\n
\"I'd rather you didn't persist with those questions, Rika. It
\nwas a closed meeting.\"<\/p>\n
Rika looked shocked. She stopped chewing. Her eyes moistened.
\nRussel instantaneously regretted what he'd said. He shouldn't
\nhave talked to her in that tone.<\/p>\n
He reached for Rika's hand and apologized.<\/p>\n
\"I want to talk about personal things with you, darling. I'm
\nat home now, not at work.\"<\/p>\n
Rika squeezed Russel's hand in response.<\/p>\n
Now it was her turn to be reluctant in answering his
\nquestions.<\/p>\n
\"I was born in Sukabumi, and went to school there until Year
\n9, then I came to Jakarta with my mother. Why do you suddenly
\nwant to know, Russ?\"<\/p>\n
\"I want to know you better,\" replied Russel. \"So, when you
\ncame to Jakarta, where did you live?\"<\/p>\n
\"In Jatinegara,\" replied Rika curtly.<\/p>\n
The evening didn't quite come off. Something had driven a
\nwedge between them. The following day, Russel attended another
\ndirectors' meeting. When they'd finished they went to the
\nrestaurant across the road for lunch. Hamid, who held center
\nstage at the meeting, maintained his star status at the
\nrestaurant. He was gregarious and always ready with jokes.<\/p>\n
\"No, sweetheart,\" he said to the young waitress who brought
\nhim a plate of satay, \"I don't eat satays. They don't agree with
\nmy susuk.\" He then winked to the others.<\/p>\n
Everybody laughed, except Russel. The waitress became
\nflirtatious and asked, \"What's the susuk for, Uncle?\"<\/p>\n
\"Oouuch! She called me Uncle! My susuk doesn't work!\"<\/p>\n
Everyone continued laughing.<\/p>\n
Russel flushed, but tried to pretend he was busy having a
\ndrink.<\/p>\n
\"Hey, Mid! Which dukun gave you the susuk? The one from
\nAncol?\" asked Surya, the Managing Director of PT Plasmak.<\/p>\n
\"Arh, of course not!\" Hamid answered with a grin, \"Mine is a
\nhigh caliber dukun, from the South Coast, near Sukabumi!\"<\/p>\n
Hearing Sukabumi mentioned, Russel nearly choked. He quickly
\nraised his glass.<\/p>\n
On the way home from work that evening, he intentionally took
\nthe front seat, beside the company driver.<\/p>\n
He began engaging Mahmud in small talk, about custom and
\ntradition in Jakarta. Then, with studied nonchalance, he asked,
\n\"Is it true, Mahmud, that a lot of people in Jakarta use susuks?\"<\/p>\n
Though taken aback, Mahmud answered calmly, \"Yes, a lot, Sir.\"<\/p>\n
\"How many?\" asked Russel.<\/p>\n
\"Wah, hard to give an exact number, Sir, because they usually
\nkeep it a secret.\"<\/p>\n
\"If they keep it a secret, how do other people know?\"<\/p>\n
\"Ooh Sir,\" Mahmud smiled meaningfully, \"People know. These
\nthings show after a while.\"<\/p>\n
\"What do you mean, show?\"<\/p>\n
\"Hard to explain Sir, but people here usually can tell.\"<\/p>\n
Russel stopped. He didn't want Mahmud to become suspicious.<\/p>\n
When they arrived at his house, Udin opened the gate and
\nRussel walked in. He wanted to stop, to chastise his gardener for
\nthe way he had looked at Rika last night, but quickly changed his
\nmind. He was doubting if he had really seen Udin look
\nlasciviously at Rika. I'm getting touchy about Rika, he thought.<\/p>\n
On Saturday night, Russel and Rika were invited for dinner by
\nAnn and Peter Wood, Russel's friends from Sydney who worked at
\nthe Prambanan Hotel. The Woods had also invited Malik, a diplomat
\nfrom Egypt.<\/p>\n
All evening, Malik's eyes were focussed on Rika, who openly
\nenjoyed the attention. If at first Russel was flattered that his
\npartner was the center of attention, the novelty soon wore thin.
\nMalik seemed to only talk to Rika, and after every joke he told,
\nhe winked at Rika, responding coquettishly.<\/p>\n
Russel couldn't stop drinking. His vision was increasingly
\nblurred. Sometimes he saw Rika's face as plain and unattractive,
\nyet when he blinked, the face became radiant once again, with a
\nvery seductive smile. His stomach tightened as he saw the smile
\nwasn't directed at him.<\/p>\n
\"Rika, Malik is married with several children,\" Russel said
\ncoolly as soon as they'd left the Woods' house.<\/p>\n
\"So?\" asked Rika, \"Why are you telling me this?\"<\/p>\n
\"Huh,\" Russel retorted crossly, \"You two behaved as if you
\nwere thg only people alive!\"<\/p>\n
Rika turned angrily at Russel. \"I was only making up for your
\nrudeness. You were sullen, ignoring his stories and his jokes.
\nThen you sat in the corner drinking yourself silly, your face
\ndark and sour. So you wanted me to join you there sulking. What
\nwould Ann and Peter have said?\"<\/p>\n
\"I already know what they're saying about you!\" he shouted.<\/p>\n
Rika left the car in front of her house, slamming the car
\ndoor, and Russel planted his foot on the accelerator, roaring
\noff.<\/p>\n
They hadn't spoken for two days, and Russel hadn't been very
\nchatty with anyone else, either. Finally, Hamid, who along with
\ntheir other colleagues had been watching him, came to see him.<\/p>\n
\"What's going on between you and Rika, Russ?\"<\/p>\n
Russel looked up from his desk, then answered, \"Nothing.\"<\/p>\n
\"Let's go across the road for a drink, Russ.\"<\/p>\n
Russel accepted gratefully. He had been dying for a drink, but
\nhad been reluctant to ask anyone, and he never liked drinking
\nalone.<\/p>\n
As soon as they entered the bar, Russel felt better. He saw
\nother Caucasians inside.<\/p>\n
Hamid tried to catch a waitress' attention, in vain.<\/p>\n
\"Stand-offish little floosy!\" Hamid whispered, annoyed.<\/p>\n
Russel laughed. \"The power of your susuk is waning, eh?\"<\/p>\n
Hamid turned to him. \"Maybe you're right.\"<\/p>\n
Russel finally ordered drinks for them, and when they were
\nmore relaxed, Russel broached the subject again. \"You're not
\nserious about your susuk, are you Hamid?\"<\/p>\n
Hamid laughed. \"If I didn't have a susuk, how could I be so
\nsuccessful in business?\"<\/p>\n
\"Hey, I'm serious. What is this thing susuk, in fact?\"<\/p>\n
\"Why do you want to know?\" asked Hamid, sounding serious.<\/p>\n
\"Just curious. I'm always interested in things that are
\nregarded as weird in the West.\"<\/p>\n
\"Susuk is actually a piece of jewel, which a particular dukun
\nimplants in your body.\"<\/p>\n
\"Whereabouts in your body?\"<\/p>\n
\"Depends on what you want from the susuk. If a man wants his
\narm to be strong and powerful for instance, he might have one
\nimplanted in his elbow. Whatever he does with that arm will
\nalways bring him success.\"<\/p>\n
\"What about women?\"<\/p>\n
\"A woman usually has a susuk implanted in her face, for
\ninstance the cheek, the chin, the forehead, in order to appear
\nattractive and be able to influence powerful people. I imagine
\nthere are women with susuks in their breasts, or other places,
\nwho knows?\"<\/p>\n
Russel looked at him, disbelieving. \"If this thing is so hot,
\nHamid, why doesn't everyone have one?\"<\/p>\n
\"First, not all susuks have the desired power. Depends on the
\ndukun. Secondly, the cost is extremely high.\"<\/p>\n
\"What do you mean?\"<\/p>\n
\"To be honest with you, I'm not very well versed about the
\nconsequences of susuks. What I know is this. People with susuks
\nin their bodies would have difficulty dying, no matter how sick
\nor injured they are. The susuks have to be extracted first, and I
\nhear only the dukuns who implanted them can extract them.\"<\/p>\n
Russel was fascinated by Hamid's explanation. After taking
\nanother sip from his drink, he asked, \"What do you mean, when you
\nsaid you don't eat satays because of your susuk?\"<\/p>\n
\"Oh, that!\" Hamid laughed, \"People with susuks have to stick
\nto certain conditions. These depend on the type of their susuks
\nand dukuns. Generally they must abstain from satays.\"<\/p>\n
\"And from alcohol?\"<\/p>\n
\"Well, yes. Some from alcohol I'm sure. Maybe other things as
\nwell.\"<\/p>\n
\"Is it true that people here can tell someone with a susuk?\"<\/p>\n
Hamid thought for a while, then nodded slowly. \"Yes, generally
\nwe can, though we can never be a hundred percent sure. Because
\nusually, these people are successful, or charismatic, or simply
\ndownright attractive.\"<\/p>\n
Russel looked ponderously at Hamid's face, then said
\nteasingly. \"Well, who knows, you maybe have a susuk!\"<\/p>\n
\"Of course I do. Haven't I always told you so?\"<\/p>\n
They were still laughing when they stepped into the office,
\nturning heads in their wake.<\/p>\n
Around three o'clock, Ratna came to see Russel with their
\nmodified designs. As one of the company lawyers, Ratna was
\ninvolved in the legal side of all company designs.<\/p>\n
They discussed the designs at length, until Russel was
\nsatisfied no aspect of the quality was compromised. Before she
\nleft, Ratna wanted to say something, but hesitated. She studied
\nRussel's face, sighed, then turned to leave.<\/p>\n
Russel waited until she had disappeared behind the door, then
\npicked up the phone to ask his secretary to bring in a cool
\ndrink. When his secretary walked in with the drink, he was pacing
\nup and down.<\/p>\n
Russel gulped down his drink, then walked out, heading for
\nRika's desk. He cleared his throat and Rika raised her head.
\nAfter a momentary silence, she smiled a little. Russel longed to
\ngrab her hand, but quickly controlled himself. I don't care, he
\nthought. To me, she's beautiful.<\/p>\n
\"Are you..., are you busy tonight?\" he asked, his heart beat
\nracing.<\/p>\n
Rika looked down for a second, then raised her head. \"No. I'm
\nnot.\"<\/p>\n
Dewi Anggraeni was born in Jakarta. She lives in
\nMelbourne with her husband and two children. She was the
\nAustralian correspondent for Tempo, and now writes for The
\nJakarta Post, Forum Keadilan, and other publications in
\nIndonesia and Australia. Combining her skills as a journalist and
\nnovelist, her works have been published in both languages, in
\nAustralia and Indonesia. She has three books published in
\nAustralia: two novels, The Root of All Evil (1987) and Parallel
\nForces (1988), and the third, a trilogy of novellas, Stories of
\nIndian Pacific (1993). She has also contributed articles and
\nshort stories to several anthologies.<\/p>\n
Note:
\n dukun = soothsayer\/sorcerer<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/susuk-1447899208",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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