The Musafir

The Arrival of Dara

Lightning snatched, many times and everywhere. The wind suddenly blew strong. Dry leaves and weakly held leaves fall from the tree, fall and will rot on the ground. The mantingan again pitched into the sky, truly terrifying this scene. If he had seen it three years ago, he would have run away in a mess of fear.

The bonfire danced almost irregularly, grabbing the air, until finally Mantingan decided to put out the bonfire, so as not to snatch one of the buildings or even his tent.

Then Mantingan went into his tent, closing the curtains tightly.

In his tent, Mantingan lit a small lantern. It felt so warm and comfortable in that little tent.

In the tent there are books of penjilatan and books about Kembangmas. To fill his free time, Mantingan read the books. Even though he had read it before.

But Kiai Guru Kedai said, that to really get an understanding of a reading, it needs at least six re-readings.

While the new Mantingan read the books once. And after reading the book, Mantingan will try to rewrite the story of his adventure. For three years he had not written the story of his journey, because in addition to his teacher forbidding him to do so, Mantingan also did not want the attention to his practice divided by his writing.

As the Mantingan read the books shone small lanterns, the rain grew more and more crazed. A strong wind shook Mantingan's tent. Until the lanterns also swayed, until Mantingan could not calmly read the book. Especially if it is like this, Mantingan must cover the roof of the planting room. Or if not, the wind can and water can enter and can damage the soil even the plants themselves.

Mantingan put on his caping, then darted at a speed exceeding the wind towards the planting room. The way Mantingan views raindrops this time is really different when Mantingan has not become a swordsman first. Now Mantingan can see the slow movement of the raindrops that follow the direction of the wind. The mantle can also feel how it hits every raindrop. The speed of movement is much faster than the rate of raindrops.

To Mantingan, this was an incredible sight. For the first time in his life.

With the speed exceeding the speed of the storm, Mantingan could quickly reach the planting room. True as expected, Purple Sari Flower was swaying in the wind, the ground was also a lot of holes due to rain drops. Mantingan quickly closed the roof of the top of the room, then tied it tightly before darting back into his tent.

Now Mantingan's body is half wet with rainwater. He let out a long sigh, choosing to turn off the lantern fire and start samadhi.

***

When the morning came, Mantingan opened his eyes. The new rain completely stopped, the sky was still dark covered in clouds. Mantingan slept in the samadhi position last night, although it is actually difficult if it is said to be in a sleeping condition.

Mantingan opened the curtain of the tent that was originally tightly closed. The scenery is quite surprising can be seen from the Mantingan campground. It was everywhere, as if the ground was mud. The campfire was drenched, and the ashes of the campfire were scattered following the flow of rainwater. The roofs of the building around the tent look moist, some of the roof looks broken.

Mantingan took his breath back, reluctant to complain and ready to work again. Look how the rain is actually not detrimental. Mantingan could imagine how the village children cheered happily because the drought had passed.

But what happened during the five-year rule of Punawarman? Can the drought be overcome, until there is no more death from thirst and hunger? Mantingan believed that Punawarman was a good king and a king who cared about the conditions of the people under him.

Three years Mantingan through his training, and it did not hear the news of Taruma State. Mantingan now really wants to go to a store, then hear the latest news from the store customer discussion. A long time ago, the store is famous as the place of the fastest spread of news besides the market.

Mantingan is also still waiting for news about the course of turmoil in Sundapura, and there are small kingdoms that separate from Tarumanagara.

If only this turmoil would be very detrimental to the people, then Mantingan felt he had to move. His teacher always emphasized that the purpose of Mantingan to be a swordsman must remain good, including to always help the weak oppressed people he met.

Just as Mantingan was about to store his hardware back into the storage room, he heard the sound of rustling footsteps of people who came in crowds. The mantingan was initially wary, but a moment later lowered his vigilance. Those people came openly, not infiltrated. After putting all the utensils in place, Mantingan moved to welcome the people who came.

“Manting!”

Not far in front of Mantingan, Dara and his men are trying to break through the bush to where Mantingan is located. Manten waved his hand and smiled. In a quiet forest like this, meeting with humans is a gift for Mantingan.

Until in the end Dara managed to break through the thickets and approached Mantingan, but the young girl's steps stopped because her feet felt an incredible itching. Even so, Dara still tried to show a smile to Mantingan.

“Away, is there something?” Mantingan then saw Dara's men who each carried a lot of goods, then understand Mantingan with the intention of Dara's arrival.

“I have promised you, then I will keep it,” said Dara still with a smile.

“No need like this ...”

“No why, Mantingan, I have a lot of money and you here need it.” Dara looked at Mantingan from top to bottom, then revealed a strange smile. “Still wear tight clothes ...”

The mantle patted his forehead. “I forgot. Wait a minute, let me grab my cape ...”

“No need to bother.” Dara withholding Mantingan. “I've brought clothes suitable for adventurous children like you.”

“Randu, bring it here!” Dara called one of her men.

A person named Randu who Mantingan knew approached him, giving two bundles directly to Mantingan.

“In here are the clothes I mean to you, you can try them out later.”

“Forward, this is very unnecessary.” The mantle refused it subtly.

“Receive only, Mantingan!”

Mantingan finally received the bundle while saying, “Thank you.”

____

note:

The tea time is about 20 to 30 minutes.