Seventeen Years and Four Months Old

By Ratna Indraswari Ibrahim

Mother repeated it for good measure. "Remember from this time on, you have to get money in that area. I will stay at home for a while with your sister, until she comes of age and can be brought along to beg. Tell Situn to act disabled so those rich bitches will hand over the money."

Sinik, the 14-year-old studying at a night school for street children, had lately asked the same question over and over to Miss Rini. "Miss Rini, will I ever become a policewoman?"

Miss Rini always gave the same answer. "Yes, hopefully your will to study will always be strong. Once you finish elementary school, we will look for foster parents, so that you can study in peace once you get to junior high school."

As usual, Sinik brought along her four-year-old sister Situn to beg outside the plaza, continually haranguing her to look crippled. She noticed that this time there seemed to be a lot of women doing their monthly shopping at the supermarket. The rich bitches not only smelled good, they brought their kids along with them. She noticed they were not as good-looking as her siblings.

Her mother was right; once the bitches got rich, they forgot about the poor. They had to find new ways to get their small change from them.

Seeing her sister fidget, Sinik muttered, "Sit tight, there is a woman who wants to give us money. Look sickly!"

The sweet-faced lady said,"Is your sister sick? Or disabled? Here's a thousand. Looks like the both of you haven't had breakfast."

Sinik nodded her head quickly, at once shocked at the kind behavior of the lady who asked about her. She was taken aback because most people never said anything to beggars.

She only got a couple of thousand rupiah, and she spent three hundred of that on a popsicle.

Her mother grumbled. "You must have not looked weak. That is why they gave so little. Don't forget there is only you left to bring in the money for us. You know your useless father is only good for making you! Since you brought home only two thousand rupiahs, you will only get the sayur lodeh that I got from Mbok Nah's stall. The rest will go for your sister's banana, plus sugar for the coffee of your drunk of a father!"

Sinik quickly nodded her head. After bathing her small sister, she longed to watch Maria Mercedes, a TV serial about a poor girl who gets rich after meeting a wealthy, kind man. She always watched the serial at the home of Mbak Tun.

Seeing Mbak Tun daubing her lips with lipstick, Sinik asked, "Mbak, is Maria Mercedes already playing? Wow, Mbak Tun , how come you look so pretty today, are you going to a movie with your boyfriend?"

Sinik heard Samad guffawing. Samad was the rich man whose house was next door to Mbak Tun's. "'Nik, you are grown up, don't be so stupid!," he said. "Tun is a prostitute. The only date she has this evening is with her john. You should follow her lead and do the same, because beggars don't make much nowadays, especially with begging banned in markets or the plazas."

"When I'm big I want to be a policewoman, Sir. My schoolteacher, Miss Rini, says she will help me find money for my school tuition fees."

Mbak Tun hugged her. "Who knows, your luck may be different. But first please buy me medicine for my 'flu. I am feeling feverish. Later you can watch the serial with my mother. I am going out with a customer."

Samad pinched Sinik's hand suggestively and laughed out loud. "You do have some ambition. But looks like you are good enough to be a prostitute. The flirt that you are, wearing lipstick and all."

Sinik squealed in glee. Pak Samad was the richest man in these parts. And he did not allow his wife and children to work, let alone beg. Not like her father who could only get drunk and have his wife and children beg for him (it was a pity Samad wasn't as good-looking as Santiago, the rich young man who gave money to Maria Mercedes. He wasn't as rich or as young either, but he seemed to have a good heart).

Sinik came home after watching the serial and saw her sisters and her mother eating (she could not eat anymore that day as she brought home just two thousand rupiah). But she didn't care now. Especially after Mbak Tun told her to eat at her place. The only thought in her mind was whether she should bring her parents along to the police officers' homes once she became a policewoman. What was definite was that she would put her sisters through school.

She heard her father ranting. He was drunk and shouting for the food to be served. Sinik just wanted to sit in her corner while her mother gave him dinner.

Every time she brought home three thousand rupiah, mother would give her a side dish of salted fish or chicken feet (her favorite dishes). And if she left for night school, mother would never complain and say, "Why are you throwing money away for school. Your sister, we had her schooled all the way to junior high. Now she is a prostitute somewhere and does not remember us anymore."

Miss Rini was Sinik's only hope, and she always cheered Sinik up. Fortunately the head of the neighborhood association, Pak RT, often told the mothers of the neighborhood, "Let your children finish their elementary education, so that they won't face difficulties in arranging papers for flying abroad or to become female workers abroad."

Once Sinik was done with her exams, Miss Rini said, "Sinik, tell your parents that my sister is in need of a babysitter. She and her husband are willing to give you the chance to study until you can become a policewoman. I am so happy that your dreams of becoming a policewoman can now come true. But whatever the case, you have to finish senior high school first."

Sinik was elated and told her mother about what Miss Rini had said. Her mother was enraged. "So with that, you actually have the heart to leave me and your sisters without food? You are telling me you want to accept that job! If you do that, I will never take you as my daughter again. I'll curse you!"

Sinik sobbed quietly.

She met the sweet woman who liked giving her a thousand rupiah once again. "Today is my child's birthday. Here, take ten thousand. You said you are still in school and that you are going to take your elementary exams. So, this is for the examination fee."

"But, I have to give three thousand rupiah to my mother everyday, Mam. If I don't, I am not given food and a bed to sleep in."

The woman looked as if she was holding back her disbelief. She had never seen in the eyes of this little girl such depth, like a beautiful lake, with swans swimming in it. "If that is the case, give this extra three thousand to your mother. Keep the ten thousand for your school fees. And, please pray that my child should turn into a good human being."

Sinik nodded gladly, telling Situn, "Sister, let's change our clothes first at home. Then we will go get ourselves fried chicken and Coca-Cola. Once in a while we should be rich kids instead."

While Sinik ate the fried chicken with Situn, she wanted to burst out laughing. The waitress did not seem to notice that they were the beggar children who loitered in front of the plaza, the same ones she sometimes gave money to. The waitress treated them like rich people's children

Sinik only realized all of her money was gone when she got home! Her wallet was empty. She was frantic. And mother kept on hounding her, "Today you are not going to get food. First you pay me your debt of three thousand rupiah. Your sister says that you brought her along to eat at a restaurant! You are not a rich man's kid, you idiot." Sinik felt like a sinner.

Today she prayed she would receive six thousand rupiah to buy food and pay the debt at the food stall. She really dreamed she met a lion last night. According to elders, if you met a lion in your dreams, good fortune would heap on you.

But, the day was really unlucky for her. A whole day spent in the sun with her sister got her a measly thousand. Sinik did not dare go home. She found Pak Samad. The man listened to her patiently. "Fine, I will lend you six thousand rupiahs. But the interest is a hundred rupiahs a day," said Pak Samad, pinching her cheeks.

Mother never asked her where the money came from. As the days inched by, she seemed to be getting less money everyday, and her debt to Pak Samad simultaneously increased. All of sudden, Pak Samad said, "Your debt has increased to seventy-two thousand rupiah. And if you do not pay, I will complain to your mother about it."

"I promise you sir, I will look for the money to pay you back. Please give me just a few more days," Sinik says, her voice choking with tears.

The man winked "Don't cry," he said."Here, take another three thousand for your mother. Tomorrow if you'd like, both of us could go for a movie and dinner together. You don't have to pay me back. You are still a virgin, right? My wife and kids are leaving for the village tomorrow night."

Sinik shivered. The truth was she only wanted to marry her boyfriend, and not Pak Samad. Since this was the case, she looked for the sweet-faced woman who used to give her a thousand, with great difficulty. Finally, Sinik finds her. With a reason unknown to Sinik herself, facing the kind woman, she opened up about all the past events.

When the story was over, Bu Agung, the kind woman, spoke. "I will clear your debt with Pak Samad. And here is extra money for the next three days, to be given right away to your mother. In those three days, I'll take you to a foster home where kids like you are taken care of. You and your sister may live there. I and my husband will be the legal guardians until you finish your senior high school, and become a policewoman. From today onwards you don't have to return to your parent's place. Don't be frightened. I don't think your parents or any hired person will come and kidnap you, or be violent towards you. Our program is supported by the governor himself. For that, however, you are not allowed to meet your parents, so that we will help you start fresh with your new life. We will guide you through your new lifestyle."

"But who will feed my parents and baby sister ... a lot of people say foster homes are like jails. And will Miss Rini and Mbak Tun be allowed to come and visit me?"

"It is not allowed! And until you are adapted well to your new lifestyle, they cannot meet you. Now both you and your sister, go to the back, take your baths, and wear these clothes," said Bu Agung firmly.

Sinik was dumbfounded. She wanted to murder this wretched bitch. She stormed out of the woman's house. She felt she and her sister were going to be sent off to jail. She had known foster children who never got out of the building. As if in jail, they were only allowed out for school!

Sinik herself loved going for walks and enjoyed watching the blink of neon street lights, especially when she was in depressed or in trouble.

She recounted the entire episode to Pak Samad and told him she could not pay off the debt she owed him. In the beginning he was furious with her, but he offered to take her for noodles and a movie when she cried. Later, they slept together.

Sinik went back to begging. Sometimes she would come across Bu Agung, who dutifully gave her the thousand rupiah. But Sinik did not want to see her face. Whenever she saw her face, she felt she could slap the woman who made her so desperate and broken- spirited that she slept with Pak Samad. In her heart, Sinik cursed the bitch and wished that her husband would divorce her.

As time went by, she felt she could no longer beg. The money was never enough. Especially since Pak Samad refused to give her more money (he now had a younger and better looking girlfriend).

Sinik is no longer a beggar, but a prostitute who makes her rounds in town. One night, by coincidence, she saw and heard the sweet woman who used to help her with a thousand rupiah speaking to her husband about her.

"Ayah, I think I saw yesterday the little girl whom we were to help into a foster home long ago, prostituting herself in this place. If she had only listened to us she could have been in senior high school today, and become the policewoman she wanted to be."

"Well, it is quite difficult to handle such kids," replied her husband. "Once they are adapted to the life on the street, they begin to think in the same line as well. Very little can change their luck. You should know this. You take care of a whole foundation of kids like her."

"If only she had listened, she wouldn't have turned to prostitution."

Sinik, who had had no customer since the day before, was seized by sudden urge to wrench the mouth of this woman, who had no idea whatsoever how difficult it was to find a spoonful of food everyday. After doing what she did, she was taken away by the police. Since she was only seventeen, she was placed in a social rehabilitation center where the woman whose mouth she wanted to rip open took an active part in running the center itself.

Three months after learning how to sew in order to earn a decent and a modest livelihood, Sinik was called in by the woman. "Sinik, tomorrow you will be released. We have considered you fitting enough to be let out into society once again. Utilize your skill, and do not return to your old profession. You must have heard of the AIDS epidemic. You are lucky not to have caught it yet. By the way, where is your sister? I would still like to be her guardian. Don't let her beg, or else she might turn out to share your fate."

Sinik tightened her lips, and wiped her tears off quickly. Inside she was seething. She felt that this woman would never stop trying to run her life, and behaved as if she knew everything.

Now she is back on the streets, waiting for a man willing to pay for her.

She is still the girl with beautiful eyes, just seventeen years and four months old.

Translated by YLT

Glossary:

Sayur lodeh: vegetable soup

Mbok : Mother, used for elder women (rural Java)

Mbak : Sister

Pak : Sir, shortened from Bapak (father)

Ayah : Father

Ibu, Bu : Mother, Madame, used for elder women

Ratna Indraswari Ibrahim was born in Malang, East Java, in 1949. She has written 300 short stories which have been printed in local, national and international media. Some of them are included in the short story collections of Kompas. She has also written a novel and several articles. Her short story Tujuh Belas Tahun Lebih Empat Bulan (Seventeen Years and Four Months Old) appears in Anjing-anjing Menyerbu Kuburan: Cerpen Pilihan Kompas 1997 (The Dogs Storm the Grave). It is printed here courtesy of Kompas.