The man in the rain<\/p>\n
By Teguh Wiharso AS<\/p>\n
The night was pitch dark as the electricity was out. The
\nfloodwater began to surge into the house, forcing Darsi and
\nBinhar to hurriedly climb up into the attic. With their faces
\nstill smeared with grime, they curled up under a dingy, dull-
\nlooking blanket. The two skinny children at times trembled with
\nhunger and cold, oblivious that their books, uniforms, shoes,
\nschoolbags had all been washed away or torn apart by the raging
\ntorrent. They had been trapped there for twenty-four hours after
\nthe water had suddenly surrounded their home.<\/p>\n
The water had nearly reached the ceiling when Darsi and Binhar
\nfell into a deep slumber. Claps of thunder occasionally pierced
\nthe silence of the night, followed by more heavy rain.
\nThe water surging through the house slapped against the walls,
\nslowly creeping up and licking the wooden floor of the attic. The
\nfloorboards creaked and moaned eerily under the strain. The two
\nfell asleep from hunger, oblivious now to the pouring rain,
\ncreaking floorboards or the splashing, slowly rising floodwaters.<\/p>\n
At midnight Darsi woke up moaning, rubbing her belly as her
\nstomach began to rumble. "I'm hungry. Has dad come home yet?"
\nDarsi's hoarse voice was muffled in her throat. Her lips, dry and
\ncracked, trembled. Her eyes blinked trying to see through the
\nnight. Next to her, Binhar was snoring -- the 12-year-old boy was
\nsleeping like a log. Not wanting to wake him up, Darsi pulled the
\nblanket up to cover herself and tried to go to sleep again.<\/p>\n
A few mosquitoes buzzed around her ears and at times dived
\nonto her face. She tried to slap them away but to no avail.<\/p>\n
Binhar woke up with a start, rubbing his eyes. Peering through
\nthe dark, he was able to make out the figure of his sister
\nsitting beside him. He slipped out of the blanket and sat next to
\nher. Scratching his head, he asked. "You're still awake, eh?" The
\npouring rain almost drowned out his mournful voice. Darsi, who
\nwas busy with the mosquitoes, did not answer him immediately.<\/p>\n
"I'm hungry," Darsi said, her face pitiful. "Why hasn't dad
\ncome home?"<\/p>\n
"He'll be back in a minute, go back to sleep." Binhar took a
\ndeep breath, trying to reassure his sister. "Dad will bring some
\nfood for us."<\/p>\n
"Is dad going to swim again like he did when he was leaving
\nhome?"<\/p>\n
Glancing at Darsi he shook his head, smiling. "No, he will
\ncome in a boat to take us out of this house. Unfortunately, our
\nhouse is a bit isolated so the rescue team couldn't reach us."
\nHis face showed a little disappointment while Darsi's looked sad
\nand blank.<\/p>\n
The rain kept pouring down. The heavens seemed to be furious.
\nThe floodwaters that licked her feet made Darsi jump up and
\nscream. However, Binhar was quick to act. With his remaining
\nstrength, he pushed the long table in the corner toward the other
\ntable, making them into a bigger and safer bed to sleep on. He
\ngestured to his sister to climb up on the table. Darsi obeyed.
\nBut her blanket, lying on the floor, was now soaked. Then Binhar
\nfollowed up on to the table.<\/p>\n
The floor was completely covered with dirty, splashing water.
\nHer blanket drifted away. At times, Binhar felt the table move
\nunder him. At other times, he heard strange sounds from the thick
\nbamboo stems clacking against each other in the strong wind.
\nWrapping his sister in his arms, Binhar recorded the sounds in
\nmind.<\/p>\n
"What if the water keeps rising? I'm scared."<\/p>\n
Binhar held his sister tighter. "No, the flood is going to
\nrecede soon," he assured her.<\/p>\n
To his relief, he saw the rain begin to ease off outside.
\nBinhar wanted to go back to sleep. But he did not feel sleepy
\nanymore, and now his eyes were wide awake. Feeling worried,
\nBinhar recalled that his dad had been gone since sunset. "Has dad
\nforgotten his way home because the neighborhood is all under
\nwater? Is it too dark for him to see his way?" He remembered his
\nfather swimming away from the house to get some food and find a
\nboat to rescue them as it began to get dark. "It must have been
\nhours ago." Binhar was not able to figure out the time, but he
\nknew it was already very late.<\/p>\n
Worn out, he tried to close his eyes. Cold drafts of wind
\nstarted to blow in, piercing his skin. He fell asleep, curled up
\nwithout a blanket. Beside him Darsi lay fast asleep also, her
\nface deathly pale.<\/p>\n
In the drizzle a man, his face black and blue, bathed in
\nblood, was crawling on the ground. Around him stood dozens of
\nangry people holding clubs and stones staring at him. Some pieces
\nof bread, a few packs of noodles, cigarettes and matches lay
\nscattered and trodden on the street but the passers-by were more
\ninterested in his smeared and swollen face. The blood oozing from
\nhis wounds glistened under the street lights.<\/p>\n
More people began to crowd around, shouting and yelling
\nhysterically at him. They took turns at beating and kicking him,
\nturning the cold night into a hot, tumultuous inferno of hate.<\/p>\n
The commotion woke people up from their sleep. They rushed
\noutside to see what was happening. He moaned in pain, begging for
\nmercy, but muscular hands and arms kept raining blows down on.<\/p>\n
"Don't spare the life of a thief."<\/p>\n
"Cut his hands off."<\/p>\n
"Kill him, hang him up."<\/p>\n
Throught his extreme pain, he vaguely heard the maniacal yells
\nof the enraged mob. It was not death he was afraid of but the
\nfate of the children he had left behind. The fear of losing them
\nflashed through his mind. Suddenly he felt strong as if there was
\nno more pain from the wounds. He stopped crawling. Some of the
\npeople looked astounded but others became even more hysterical.
\nWith an expression of submission, he tried to take all the blows
\nand kicks. From a gas kiosk nearby, a man with tattoos on his
\narms carrying a jerry-can of gasoline came shouting:"Set him
\nalight, burn him alive."<\/p>\n
A woman's yell from amid the crowd suddenly prevented him
\nfrom unscrewing the cap. Panting and pushing her way through the
\nmob, she yelled. "Stop it, stop it! Don't do it!" The crowd
\nlooked at one another in surprise.<\/p>\n
"But he's a thief. He must be killed!"<\/p>\n
"Do not take the law into your own hands, young man!" the
\nwoman said, looking into his eyes. Trembling she said, "I heard
\nhe stole something from my shop. It's no problem for me, but take
\nhim to the police."<\/p>\n
The crowd grew quiet. A police car with its siren wailing
\narrived at the scene and the crowd dispersed, sticks and stones
\nsuddenly hidden.<\/p>\n
In the back seat, the torn and bloodied man sat handcuffed,
\nhis head nodding. The gaping wounds more horrendous, but the man
\ndid not even wince.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
He was happy as the police set him free the next day. Even the
\nowner of the shop, who also went to the police station on the
\nnight he was caught, took pity on him after hearing his story.
\nShe then gave him some food to take home.<\/p>\n
With a bagful of food on his back, the man staggered toward
\nhis home in the drizzle. At times he looked upwards to the skies
\nto check if it was going to rain heavily again.<\/p>\n
The flooded street was deserted. He waded down it against the
\nswift current of the turbid floodwater. Occasionally he tripped
\nand almost fell, but he tried his best to keep the food in his
\nbag dry. To him the food meant much more than his wounds or even
\nhis life.<\/p>\n
On an elevated spot in the street, he stood gazing around at
\nhis flooded village. Smiling a small smile and mustering all his
\nstrength, he swam back toward his house. Despite his efforts, he
\ncould not locate it. Time and again, he rubbed his eyes, now red
\nand smarting from the dirty water. To his shock, he suddenly
\nrealized that his village had turned into a big lake of rippling,
\nbrown-colored water. No house nor roof was visible.<\/p>\n
The bag of food tied on his back broke loose. Along with it,
\nwent his strength and his spirit to survive. He hobbled toward
\nthe bridge. The water under the bridge roared like thunder. With
\ngreat care he climbed up, keeping a tight grip on the steel
\ngirders. He stood there long enough, observing. He was not really
\nlooking for where his house had been, but rather waiting for the
\nright moment to end it all. His body fell through the air for a
\nfew seconds before plunging into the torrent. There was a
\nmomentary swirl and then he was no more. No one saw it happen. No
\none!.<\/p>\n
Translated by Faldy Rasyidie<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-man-in-the-rain-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }