The missing wife<\/p>\n
By Sartono Kusumaningrat<\/p>\n
Feeling utterly exhausted, Karep wheeled his Honda CB
\nmotorcycle into the central room, which also functioned as
\nsitting room, living room, dining room and garage for his motor
\nvehicle. The clock on the wall showed the hour was midnight minus
\na few minutes. In that room he was welcomed not by his wife, but
\nby his mother, whom he called Simbok.<\/p>\n
\"Your wife has not come home, Rep.\"<\/p>\n
\"Oh, where did she go, Mbok?\"<\/p>\n
\"She told me she was going to visit a friend. She said she
\nwanted to borrow a book about sewing, but she has not returned.\"<\/p>\n
\"What time did she leave?\"<\/p>\n
\"She left at about four. Not long after you went to work.\"<\/p>\n
\"Its late now, Mbok. Why is Tentrem not home yet? What is her
\nfriend's name, her address, Mbok?\"<\/p>\n
\"I did not ask her, Rep. I thought she would only be gone for
\na short while. I did not ask her anything.\"<\/p>\n
\"Damn. Her husband works himself to exhaustion to earn a
\nliving and she just leaves home without saying where she's
\ngoing.\"<\/p>\n
\"Go and look for her, Rep. Kenyut, your child, has been crying
\nthe whole time asking for his mother.\"<\/p>\n
Rep heard his child crying and asking for his mother in the
\nbedroom.<\/p>\n
\"She is crazy, Tentrem. If she wanted to leave home why not
\ntake the child with her. He's only three and should not be left
\nalone.\"<\/p>\n
\"Enough, Rep. Go and look for her!\"<\/p>\n
Karep wheeled his motorcycle back outside. Under the 15-watt
\nlamp in the room his face looked shiny, tired and haggard. The
\nmotorcycle engine gave a deafening roar as he revved it up and
\nsped of through the narrow alleys of his neighborhood.<\/p>\n
He asked all he met if they knew of his wife's whereabouts,
\neven the night guard.<\/p>\n
\"I saw her this afternoon, Rep, but I do not know where she
\nwas going. She was wearing shoes and carrying a big bag. She was
\nwell dressed, Rep. I thought she might have been going on a
\npicnic or returning to her village.\"<\/p>\n
\"Damn her. Did she did not tell you anything, Min?\"<\/p>\n
\"No, she only smiled, Rep. She said nothing,\" said Min, who
\nwas on night watch duty.<\/p>\n
Karep mounted his motorcycle again and went up of the high
\nstreet in the direction of the city, leaving the wooden houses of
\nthe densely populated kampong behind. He looked in every corner
\nof the city, but without success. Karep could not find Tentrem.<\/p>\n
\"Any news, Rep?\" his mother asked when she met him on the
\nthreshold of their house.<\/p>\n
\"It's strange. I found no sign of Tentrem, Mbok. I'm worried,
\nMbok. I am afraid Tentrem has left us all!\"<\/p>\n
\"Try to find her in her village. She may have gone to her
\nparents. Did you have a quarrel with her, Rep?\"<\/p>\n
\"I never quarrel with her, Mbok, but she often complains about
\nour worsening economic situation.\"<\/p>\n
\"Don't you get enough money from your motorcycle taxi business
\nand your salary as an errand boy at Bhakti Nusa junior high
\nschool?\"<\/p>\n
\"That's just enough to eat,Mbok. Nothing else.\"<\/p>\n
\"What then?\"<\/p>\n
\"Just nothing. We are lucky to have something to eat.\"<\/p>\n
Tentrem's disappearance, and the responsibility of supporting
\nKenyut and his mother were additional problems for Karep. It was
\npainful to hear Kenyut's crying every day and asking for his
\nmother. Karep wanted to be close to Kenyut to console him, but
\nhad to leave home to work. In the morning he was an office boy,
\nin the evening he drove his motorcycle taxi, and now he had the
\nextra task of finding the wayward Tentrem.<\/p>\n
Karep went to Tentrem's village but still could not find her.<\/p>\n
\"You are Tentrem's husband. Why ask me where she is?\" his
\nmother-in-law said when Karep went to see her, much to the ire of
\nKarep.<\/p>\n
\"If Tentrem is not here, I'll go straight home, Mbok.\"<\/p>\n
\"Take some rest. Have a drink, Rep,\" his mother-in-law said,
\nnow with a devil-may-care attitude.<\/p>\n
Karep did not respond to the offer that was a pure formality.<\/p>\n
Tentrem had been going for two weeks and Karep had not ceased
\nlooking for her. He had even reported the case to the village
\nchief and the police. Karep himself did not particularly care
\nabout Tentrem's absence, but the daily lamentations and crying of
\ntheir son worried and angered him. If only Kenyut had not been
\nborn, Karep would not give a damn about Tentrem's whereabouts. He
\neven thought of looking for another wife. The maid who worked in
\nPak Sodrun's house on the corner often cast him approving looks.
\nKarep would think of her.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, Kenyut was the apple of his eye and gave him
\nhappiness, and consoled him. He felt a deeper love for him, even
\ngreater than his feelings for Tentrem or himself. His love for
\nKenyut was incomparable to what he felt for Brindil, Pak Sodrun's
\nmaid.<\/p>\n
Karep therefore felt responsible for Kenyut's happiness and
\nneeds, however difficult they were to fulfill, especially in
\nmaterial matters. If only he could do that, how happy he would
\nbe. But wishful thinking in a situation like this served no
\npurpose and Karep often suppressed his dreams as soon as they
\nappeared, like mushrooms in the rainy season. Perhaps only the
\nrich were allowed to have dreams, Karep often thought
\npessimistically and cynically.<\/p>\n
After Tentrem had been missing for almost a month, Karep lost
\nall energy to look for her. Reports from the police, the village
\nhead, neighbors and acquaintances did not throw any light on her
\nwhereabouts and Karep felt inclined to give up on her. Kenyut's
\nwails and cries had become less frequent. Maybe Kenyut too had
\nbegun to forget his mother.<\/p>\n
One evening when he was heading home, Karep took a detour
\nthrough the city. He wanted to see the city and the bustle of its
\nnight life.<\/p>\n
When he stopped at the corner of a darkened alley, a woman in
\na short mini-skirt approached him and his heart missed a few
\nbeats.<\/p>\n
\"Come by, Mas?\" said the heavily made-up woman, walking
\ntowards his motorcycle.<\/p>\n
When she saw his face she started. Karep immediately jumped
\nfrom his bike.<\/p>\n
\"Trem?\"<\/p>\n
\"No! No!!\" the woman ran away, closely pursued by Karep.<\/p>\n
\"Trem! Tentrem! It's me. Don't forget your child, Trem!\" Karep
\nseized the woman's arm, but she wrenched it out of his grip and
\ncried loudly.<\/p>\n
Two men emerged from the dark alley and attacked Karep, giving
\nhim a severe beating. The woman made her escape as Karep lay on
\nthe ground oozing blood.<\/p>\n
\"Do not cause trouble at our place, you rascal!\" one of the
\nmen said.<\/p>\n
\"She's my wife, Mas. Her name is Tentrem. She left our home
\none month ago. Honestly, I do not want to make trouble here, Mas.
\nI want to take my wife home. I pity our son, Mas,\" Karep
\nlamented.<\/p>\n
\"Many men say such things in places like this. Go away. If you
\nmake trouble here again, we'll give you another thrashing!\"<\/p>\n
His body crushed, Karep left the dark alley. In his heart he
\nwas sure that woman was his wife. There was no doubt that the
\nwoman in the mini skirt was Tentrem!<\/p>\n
-- Translated by SH<\/p>\n
Glossary:<\/p>\n
Simbok, mbok: Javanese term for mother<\/p>\n
Pak: term of respect for an older male, in general usage<\/p>\n
Mas: term of respect for an adult male, in general usage<\/p>\n
The author began writing in 1984. His works have appeared in
\nprovincial and national publications. He works at the Foundation
\nfor Cultural Studies in Yogyakarta.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-missing-wife-1447893297",
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