Swordsman Behind the Scenes

CHAPTER IV - THE FARTHEST STEP

When he arrived inside the secret underground chamber. Waseso paused for a moment to give his eyes some time to get used to the darkness.  The room although narrow and moist but has been arranged in such a way by both parents, so it is actually still fairly relieved to be used as a hiding place even three adults though. He has also memorized the location of cots, food storage racks and emergency drinks as well as the position of a small table, including the position of the lamp where he currently wants to immediately ignite it. Once he found what was meant, he immediately turned it on and did not forget to pull a piece of rope hanging on the corner of the wall to open the ventilation window on the top hole that penetrated to the roof of his house. Waseso then sat on the edge of the couch and tried to sharpen his hearing but he did not hear a single sound out there. A moment later he took the position of sitting cross-legged as his father taught and not how long he was dissolved in his meditation. It seemed like he had been meditating for quite some time until he was vaguely distracted to hear some heavy footsteps that seemed to be entering their house. The sound is getting louder which indicates those above have entered the dining room. It was not clear what they were talking about but he concluded that it was neither the voice of his father nor the voice of the male neighbors. Up until here, the shadow of worry began to enter his mind. Various questions that haunted his brain immediately raged. When he will rise from his position to immediately scatter up the stairs and out of his hiding place to find out what happened to his two parents, suddenly he remembered his mother's last message and immediately he paled his intention earlier. However, his heartbeat faster beating, especially when the above sound is replaced with several times the sound of slamming glasses and plates and hard objects hit the walls of his house accompanied by two simple gestures. His instincts as a child also appeared, when worry and fear were very strongly attacking him, tears were one of the natural ways to channel the stifling pressure on his chest. However, the sound of crying was not as small as he let out. The voice above him was no longer there, but he faintly heard the boisterous sound of the laughter of a group of people. A few moments later it was silent and heard again. He wiped away the tears with the back of his hand and tried to continue his meditation. After adjusting his breath in such a way as to let out a sense of tightness that filled his chest cavity, he slowly began to be able to calm his heartbeat and began to dissolve with the silence of his mind. Long after that, his hearing was disturbed by the buzzing sound of mosquitoes flying near his ears and continued with a voice like a simple cry but this sound was very soft as in the distance. Instantly his calm mind began to fade, especially when he tried to get up from his seat he also heard the sound of crying was getting louder even like there was the sound of crying children. Without a second thought he immediately moved up the stairs, pulled the lever and climbed up. As soon as he arrived above and stood on the floor of his family's dining room, he saw all the drinking utensils and poranda porcelain table furniture messy.  His breathing was immediately chaotic, the dark shadow that had been haunting him increasingly hit his brain in a row. The sound of crying howls that had been faintly heard, the more real it was mixed with the sound of the cries of the small children. Regardless of the situation in his house any further, he immediately went out and headed for the crying center. One horrible sight that should not be well seen by a child his age was immediately presented before his eyes. How not, the elderly, mothers and their children are each gathered in front of the corpses that are scattered in the middle of the village road. When he saw the two corpses lying at the very front end, instantly all the power in the boy's body evaporated somewhere. With a somber step while occasionally wiping his two eyes soaking wet from tears mixed with the drizzling residual water, he approached and then rested in front of the bodies of his parents. He noticed the face of his father who, despite being pale and his eyes closed, looked like he was sleeping. Likewise his mother's face lying on his father's stomach, while his right hand tightly grasped his father's left palm, also with the condition of the eyes that closed like sleeping soundly, sleep, but on his lips revealed a thin smile line. So long the boy who had just held the status of an orphan was in a position of calm, silent like a statue until he was unaware that the day had begun to darken, even all the other bodies that were scattered had also been buried all, only the remains of a pair of warriors were left. Now the remaining citizens have gathered and stood still behind the boy and in question also did not show a single wave not to let go, either the sound of crying as you pleased was not heard, only one of the oldest among them and the only one who did not carry a lighting lantern crouched down beside the boy's right, did he make a soft sound beside his ear; and ;

"grandson, can we bury the bodies of your parents now?, would it pity them if we let them rest in such conditions"

As stung by scorpions, Waseso immediately rose up and saw the surrounding conditions that although only illuminated by lanterns but he no longer saw the victims that were lying on the road. As the old man continued to hold his hand as if giving a code to him, he weakly nodded his head.

That night all the citizens were five grandfathers, six grandmothers, and,  nine mothers and ten children who were smaller than Waseso lived while in the home of the late pair of warriors who were indeed the condition of the house is the most extensive than other residents. The food provided by his neighbor was not touched at all. Drowsiness that is usually always diligent approach him if the night before this time is not a little see him. He just sat quietly in a corner of the living room, while the other little children had fallen asleep sleeping in the same room. Already several times one of the adults who were also gathered there alternately to persuade himself to want to eat or even tell him to sleep, but they finally understood the heavy condition of the inner blow that was being experienced by the boy and allowed himself to dissolve in his own mind. On the occasion of the parents' conversation, the majority of the families stated that they would travel to leave the village tomorrow, in order to evacuate to the homes of relatives and relatives to other villages. And only a pair of grandparents and one daughter who had one child who tried to stay in the village for a few days saw the next development. They promised others to keep and keep Waseso. All that night Waseso always remembered the faces of his deceased parents, like a living portrait that always stuck in his head until dawn broke the next day. The first thing he did that morning was to immediately disappear from the house and walk towards the graves of his parents. He just sat quietly in front of the mound of land that was still red. There was not even a single tear that came out, which was back in his mind at that moment was the last portrait of the faces of his parents. He also ignored the farewell greetings from almost all residents who packed and left after leaving the village. The enticement to eat again was ignored by the boy, until the afternoon later the grandfather and his daughter who still live in the village followed him to the cemetery and forced himself to return home. They also force it a little and lift the body of the boy. When it repeated again he was like he still did not care about the enticement for dinner. The grandfather said softly in his ear;

"cu, if you do not want to eat and then fall ill, will not your mother be sad to see you?"

A sentence that sounded very simple as an inducement to a small child turned out to be very effective because at once he also remembered the last message and his promise to his mother's father to try to stay alive. Soon she took a shower, changed clothes and went back and sat down to eat. The grandfather, grandmother and daughter just look at each other to find the drastic changes made by the boy. Finished eating, without saying a word, he went into his own room and lay down on his bed. When morning came, he walked back to the tomb sitting there quietly, returning home when the sun was sinking. Thus he did repeatedly until on the fourth day when he was sitting quietly in front of the tomb vaguely he heard the roar of the cavalry leading to his village. Soon he ran home to tell the grandfather's family about it, but when he saw the house was empty with a condition where on the dining table there were still three dishes complete with rice and vegetables that were still quite full, which was quite full, so he felt grateful because he concluded that the grandfather's family had also heard the same voice he had heard so that they could still immediately save themselves. Soon he opened the secret door behind the cupboard and brought with him all the food that had been on the table and he hid until the next day. After two days the grandfather and his family no longer returned to the village, he realized that now he was completely alone. But not a single bit of fear lingered in his heart. Every day he did was to find and collect all the staple food that was left in every house that is now empty residents left by the owner, he said, even including all the fields planted with yams and cassava he also harvested and collected and stored it in a secret room. So the days passed so quickly that he finally realized that all the logistics he saved had been exhausted in consumption and most of them were wasted due to rot. In the morning of the next day, after he finished bathing, as usual he immediately headed to the grave of his parents. Standing upright, gazing at the mound of earth in front of him, he let out the sound he had first made since the day of the curse;

Truly some sentences that are not too long but have such a deep meaning and this can only be removed from the heart of a boy who is forced by circumstances to have a great soul. His small body that now looks so thin finally fell in front of the tomb and attached his eel three times to the ground like a person who begged for blessing. After that he returned to his home which he could now realize fully looked like an uninhabited home. He examined the contents of the cloth bag he had prepared, two sets of clothes, one bottle of foam powder (the previous time there was no soap), a lighter stone, a small bag of kitchen salt, and a small, then tied up his cloth bag and did not forget he wrapped a thick kitchen knife and slipped it on his waist close to a bag of sheepskin shaped in such a way and commonly used by travelers to carry drinking water. When he arrived outside his house he was silent for a while and looked to the right, then he looked to the left like a person who was making a decision on which direction of the road he would take.

"both to the right and to the left are roads I have never taken at all. Let my heart decide"

So he muttered to himself remembering at all throughout his life he had never stepped his feet out of his village. Finally he set his footsteps to the left and when he arrived at the end of the village entrance, he paused for a moment and satisfied his gaze around the village which was now completely like a dead village. Along the road he passed earlier even all the plots of land in all the houses had been filled with weeds and reeds. The plank walls of some houses even look broken down and covered in thick cobwebs. It is as if the village is dead. He took a deep breath and assured his heart once again that this decision he had taken was right. After that he turned his body and made the first step and so on into the furthest step from the house where he was born.

SERIATE.