The Musafir

Betraying His Own Disciple

“Don't daydream, Friend!”

FROM up there, Samudradvipa echoed again. There was a lot of worry from his face.

“Pardon me, Friend!” The mantle shouted back while waving his hands up. “Continue! I'll stay away.”

“Take a considerable distance and do not daydream a bit.” Echoes again raised his sword, preparing to slash the ulin log again. “How much longer is the length of wood that I have to cut, friend?”

Mantingan began to estimate how much wood should be needed. The amount must meet the needs of himself and the needs of the Echoes.

“I may only take two fathoms, man. But forgive me, I really don't know how much wood you need right now.” Mantingan then said in accordance with the results of his estimates, that it does not take too much wood to make a Soul Golek with a size of half a fathom. However, he did not dare to estimate how much wood his friend needed.

“Alright! If so, I will be free about three more fathoms,” said Gema, “daku only obey people's orders; two fathoms ulin.”

While starting to slash and drop ulin wood down, Gema told me that she wanted to learn a martial science that required her to fast and buy some magic materials that were quite high price. Gema chose to work odd jobs as long as he did not become a paid swordsman, and on this day he got an order of ulin wood from people in the city.

“Although the results I get are not as much as the results of a mercenary, but let it be. Because I remember a saying that until now I made a role model: ‘a little-a little long to be a mountain’.”

Echoes to shake his sword. A piece of drifting wood fell at a very slow speed when compared to the speed of a swordsman's eyes. Then smell the ground. Thumping, scattering the grains of soil and stone. Before silence, flinching, like no pain even after being slashed and plunged down from a height.

Can it be said that plants are the only creatures that have no pain whatsoever?

But what if plants also have pain like other creatures? Will they grimace, shout loudly, or even get angry to voice their pain?

Although it is not known whether plants have pain or not, it is well known that plants do not have a mouth to voice whatever they are feeling.

Mantingan then remembered how many tree trunks were cut down to build urban or rural areas. Not to mention the number of tree trunks burned due to rapid land clearing. Who would be the substitute mouth to convey their pain? Does it have to wait until nature represents the trees with its plan that is often humankind?

“That's the last!” Echoes break Mantingan's contemplation, it appears that the man began to move down the tree by slumping just like that on a round trunk that was very smooth.

So the mantingan did not wait any longer, immediately moved to collect ulin wood sticks that fell on the ground.

***

“I got a report from Chitra Anggini's submission, Kiai.” Rama put his tea cup on the table quietly and full of passion, so that not a little tea water in the cup swayed. “He has arrived in Suvarnabhumi. Disguised to be a mercenary in disguise again as a wayang woman.”

“Cleaning disguise. Incognito over disguise” Kiai Kedai chimed. “He was actually trained into a black stream swordsman by the kempot.”

Rama coughed softly. “The shop, can we not discuss the old swordsman named Anggini for one day only?”

“I began to regret not getting married as a young man, Rama.” Kiai Kedai took a deep breath, while Rama massaged his head. “Hopefully Mantingan does not follow in my footsteps.”

“Stores, leave aside everything about—”

“About love you mean, heh?” Kiai Kedai cut sharply, making Rama back massaging his head that began to feel dizzy. “You're married, Rama, you even have a child. You will never feel what I feel.”

“You're still not too late to get married, Kedai.” Rama corrected his seat before saying in more earnest, “think about Chitra Anggini, Kedai. I think he needs one of us to help him. You are the teacher of Mantingan, Kedai, then you are the fastest to help Chitra.”

“Stores, helping Chitra Anggini is tantamount to helping Mantingan.”

Kiai Kedai shook his head while closing his eyes. Don't wanna know. “Do not interfere in young-mudi affairs.”

Rama was silent for a moment. How he knew that Kiai Kedai had meant what he said. But how much he felt could not let Mantingan—the best student of White Wind College—in danger without providing support that would be meaningful enough.

But before Rama denied, Kiai Kedai had first opened his voice.

“Isn't life just a matter of taking as many lessons, Rama?”

Rama nodded his head slowly.

“How can young people learn so much if we as elders always spoil them?”

“Mantingan will not be able to learn if he dies, Kedai.”

“Then that's where his life has been plenary.” Kiai Kedai took a deep breath while smiling widely. “That's what now exists in the martial world. A person is obliged to seek as many lessons as he can during life, and his obligations will only be perfect after he dies. But in the martial world, a person will only be perfect after death at the hands of the opponent, because the fight that has reached the brink of death is the real fight, the fight, what is really new will be felt by a swordsman shortly before he died at the hands of the enemy so that it is never destroyed.”

Rama took a deep breath and could only nod slowly. Then he looked to the right side. Facing the surface of the lake that began to turn into a twilight shade. May what Kiai Kedai says be the truth.

“But if Mantingan returns to Javadvipa, then take care of him, Rama.” Kiai Kedai breaks the silence created when no one speaks.

Rama turned to stare at the sepuh face of Kiai Kedai with a frown confused.

“I will be leaving Dwipantara for a while.”

“To which time you will take the streets of your bundle, Kedai?” rama asked shortly after he found out that Kiai Kedai would go wandering. It is too common for Kiai Kedai to leave Javadvipa.

“Ke Champa.” Kiai Kedai widens smile. “I have to ensure the marriage of Bidadari Sungai Utara, in order to maintain the welfare of Javadvipa.”

Rama was silent for a moment because he did not understand very well all that Kiai Kedai said. “Why for the welfare of Javadvipa?”

Kiai Kedai smiled widely as he explained, “Whatever, the girl's love has been and still is stuck in the person of Matingan a. If it's not really taken care of by me, he'll go back to Javadvipa and find Mantingan until he can, and you certainly know that it can re-ignite greater chaos in Tarumanagara even in Suvarnabhumi.”

Rama choked on the goods for a moment. “What you say is true, but ... Shop, you betrayed your own disciples.”

Kiai Kedai laughed. “Instead of Javadvipa back messed up, I was more willing to let my only student break up.”

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