SET DUSK

Part 9's

Arriving at the cottage, the atmosphere suddenly boisterous. They want to carry Emi. Emi's presence is like their own entertainment. Looking at the clear-eyed little girl with round cheeks and adorable pursed lips, made them slightly forget that they were in hiding.

"Be careful, his son is still too limp." Amir warns the Zubaedar that took Emi from his sling.

Angku Munir notices a wound on Emi's calf, as Zubaedar lowers from his sling. He carried a small black leather bag in which there were several tools made of stainless. Ida was amazed to see the tools in the bag carried by Munir's body.

"My number Munir is a mantri? " ask Ida amazed.

Rarely did he see any natives holding the tool other than mantri.

"Yes, the mantri is not so," Munir replied.

"How can you?" Ida investigated with serious mimicry.

Seeing Ida ask with a serious face, the haughty Munir finally told his story to Ida.

"Yes, I used to go to STOVIA[1] until when the Japanese came in, I was pulled home. The school is not finished" recalls Munir.

"What a pity, ngku, but if so mantri his life can be good."

"If it were a spell, I would still choose the way to fight like this," replied Munir's question as he continued to pull some grenade fragments in Emi's wound with a tipped brace.

The little girl squealed weakly. Ida and Zubaedar who held the girl in their arms tried to calm her down.

"Hold it for a minute ... Let your wounds heal" said ida

"Well... Now try to find clothes that can be used by this little girl," said Angku Munir after finishing cleaning the pieces of grenades and bandaging Emi's leg wounds.

"Maybe my clothes fit" said Zubaedar.

"Let's hold this girl first" he continued, moving Emi's little body into Ida's lap. Zubaedar is small in stature. At first glance his body almost resembled that of a twelve-year-old.

Ida carefully grabbed Emi into her lap. Once again the little girl grimaced. Ida thrust a coconut shell filled with water onto Emi's lips.

Coinciding with Zubaedar coming with clothes, Saidah's mother also came carrying a bowl of porridge that was still puffing smoke.

"Try to feed this child," said Saidah.

Ida saw there was a tired gurat on the middle-aged woman's face. How not, the trip into the forest yesterday was quite draining. He who is still young enough to feel exhausted, let alone mother Saidah whose age may be as long as his charity.

"Good ma'am, thank you." Ida stretched out her hand to take the noisy coconut shell of the porridge.

That morning the kitchen worker cooked rice porridge mixed with corn. Ida's stomach suddenly rumbling smell the smell of warm corn into a mixture of porridge.

"Next you don't forget to eat either... Your stomach is protesting" saida.

"Good ma'am, thank you."

After replacing Emi's clothes that were already full of dried blood with the clothes that Zubaedar had given her, Ida fed Emi carefully. The boy ate voraciously, he was starving.

That afternoon, a news messenger came carrying a message from a post in Lubuk Begalung. From the message carried by the courier, it was reported that the Netherlands was still busy patrolling. Catching any figure they consider to be the leader of the rebellion. Even the Dutch did not hesitate to open fire indiscriminately.

Mr. Zain and Angku Munir as the group's chairman, agreed to postpone the trip. They decided to wait in the forest until conditions were somewhat conducive.

Ida who had always closed herself, gradually began to blend in with others. Even Ida is famous as a light-handed girl helping the general kitchen attendant. She became a favorite girl of Saidah, because her skill in cooking makes the dishes they cook taste more delicious.

That afternoon, Zain called Ida. Asking his willingness to become a new messenger, because the old courier has begun to be suspected.

Rashid who heard Mr. Zain's request looked riled up.

"Will it not harm you sir? Ida doesn't quite understand how a news delivery courier works." Rashid tried to make Pak Zain undo his intentions.

"There is no other right candidate other than Ida" said Mr. Zain.

"Ida's appearance is not so striking. I think it's more fitting for Ida to be our old courier's replacement" he continued.

"Then can I accompany him?"

"No! You don't have to be so upset, Ida's a smart woman, she can take care of herself." Mr. Zain continued his conversation with Ida regardless of Rashid's anger.

The afternoon after Ashar, Ida and Amir and Rashid came out of the pine forest through a different path from the path they went through when entering the forest. The path they were going through now turned out to be unnecessary through the dark forest like before.

The afternoon sunlight through the forest leaves they passed seemed like a line of light between the dim light of the forest that afternoon. The rustling of the leaves blown by the wind slightly dissipated the silence between the three of them. No one opened their voices, they were immersed in their thoughts.

Rashid silently watched Ida who was walking in front of him. The girl was dressed like a vegetable seller complete with a large vegetable basket, which is currently still in a Rashid sling. Indeed there is nothing striking from Ida's appearance, he looks like a vegetable seller in general, he looks like a vegetable seller in general, but in reality Ida carries an important message from her group that survives in the forest to a fighter post that exists elsewhere.

Ida was given instructions to deliver the message to the coconut seller who was in the market, and she had to make sure that the coconut seller was the next messenger. Ida remembered the instructions given by Mr. Zain so that the message did not fall into the wrong hands.

When it came to the end of the forest, the three of them had to split up, Ida had to continue her own journey towards the village and from there she had to continue the journey using a pedati to get to the intended market.

"Doe voorzichtig"[2] Rashid said as he was about to release Ida.

"Dank je," [3] Ida replied with a smile.

Rashid. For the first time he saw Ida smiling. All this time the girl always showed a look of dislike face even impressed cold to him. He was also amazed, it turns out that the girl with two dimples that adorn her smile also understood Dutch.

In silence, he watched Ida walk further away.

"Have it, do not grieve," comforted Amir when he saw the look on Rashid's face.

"Ah... Hahaha, I'm just worried whether later he can deliver a message to the right person." Rashid tried to cover his heart.

"She's a smart girl, she can, for sure" Amir comforted.

Amir understood exactly what Rashid was feeling. His friend put his heart on the dimpled girl. It's just that Rashid is trying hard to cover up.

After Ida had disappeared from their sight, they rushed back to their hiding place.

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[1] STOVIA\=School tot Opleiding van Indische Artsen (Indian Medical Education School)

[2] Doe voorzichtig \= beware (in Dutch)

[3] Dank je \= thank you.