True Martial Arts

Kala Piningit, Mountain Boy

The sun has been shining since this morning. Thin, very soothing halimun descends to the foot of the mountain. Until noon today, the trees are still weeding the cold wind from the slopes. Hundreds of spirit animals and plants[1] at the foot of the mountain enjoy the warmth of the sun as well as the coolness of the wind.

This morning the boy was very happy. It was only a moment ago that he got a bag of rice from a kind farmer.

The bag of rice could have been spent in five days if the boy had skimmed, and it was fortunate that he lived only a stick of kara in his hut so there was no need to share the filling grain.

His name is Kala Piningit, a boy with no family who lives alone at the foot of Loro Twin Mountain. Fourteen years old, he lives in a small old hut that is very porous because it has long been eaten by termites, Kala considers the unfortunate hut as a magnificent palace.

Kala is very poor and papa, to eat himself only rely on animals and plants. Almost every day he had to go out and hunt. Sometimes if he does not get hunted animals, he makes arrows or spears to be exchanged for a number of rations in the village which is located quite far from the foot of the Loro Twin Mountains.

Today, Kala actually wants to go find good wood in the forest if the farmer does not come, he plans to make arrows and spears because yesterday he did not get hunted animals. I don't know, the need for war equipment has increased lately, but it has become very good for Kala and a number of other poor people who hang their lives on spears and arrows.

Outwardly, the boy could be said to be quite handsome. Markedly a little more groomed, he can make a lot of pangling women in front of him.

Kala's hair is long and fussy, but it's pretty cool for a mountain kid like him. The skin is colored with sapodilla which is a bit too mature. He's a little taller than a kid his age.

Even though he looked like a boy, his soul was very mature. Kala has been forged with the bitterness of life, making his attitude much more mature compared to his age.

Currently, the rice in the pot is ripe and ready to eat. No side dishes or vegetables accompany. Even with rice it is very rarely enjoyed.

Lately it has been raining a lot and the hunting has been going down. Hunting animals will usually hide if the rain comes, that makes Kala difficult, what else to fight the cold rain. Not to mention, Kala is likely to meet spirit animals that roam when the rain comes.

If only the forest at the foot of Loro Twin Mountain was not filled with very dangerous spirit animals, maybe Kala would not starve, even should his stomach break because it was too full.

Nusantara is a place where food should be abundant and can be obtained for free, but unfortunately Kala lives in a forest filled with strange animals. Really bother him.

The pot is lifted from the furnace which is still under fire. Putting it on the wooden floor of the hut, Kala stared at the pot with great enthusiasm. When he opened the lid of the pot, the smell of rice was bubbling and appetizing.

When scooping a certain amount of rice and dropping on a banana leaf pedestal, the banana leaf was considered a golden plate by him.

The rice he cooked was not too much, the rest he kept. All the rice in the pot went into the table without remaining.

“Wait ...” Kala watched the rice on his spoon.

It was definitely not warm rice! It was hot rice that lunged at Kala's chewy tongue mercilessly. Kala did not think long, stupid because of lust. Even he was lazy to just blow on that hot rice!

Without a second thought, Kala bribed a spoonful of warm rice into her mouth.

As he shouted loudly, the rice in his mouth was like having poured boiling water into his tongue. He screamed freely without a human being hearing it other than his own ears.

The rice was so hot, Kala wanted to throw the rice out of his mouth, but he did not have much more rice to eat!

In a precarious condition like this, Kala decided to just swallow the rice.

Contrast with its approximate shadow. The hot rice instead burned the throat, continuing to flow downward. The pain is so intense now.

When he was upset, he could no longer think clearly! With a quick running step, Kala went to the back of the house to the well.

A well filled with soothing mountain water. He quickly drew water and drank it. The heat was reduced a lot, and at this time he was calm again to continue eating.

Kala walked casually towards the place he was eating. He whistled casually at the sign that he was okay.

Dum!

Whistling stops! There was a sound of an explosion that was frenetic throughout the forest. The sound of this explosion was accompanied by a wind that was blowing quite wildly! Kala's long hair dancing wildly carried away by the wind.

The trees stand firm in the midst of death. The leaves flew and occasionally crashed into the body of Kala's twigs. His old hut creaked, making Kala worry instead of playing. Kala's eyes narrowed due to the roar of dust thrown by the wind.

His arms were used to protect the eyes. The water in the leaves of the former rain tree overnight fell on the ground along with the swaying of the tree.

Dum...!

The explosion was heard again! The wind that had originally started receding back was ferocious, even fiercer! Wet dust flying. The branches will not break and go carried away by the wind.

Kala's shack is creaking. Explosions were heard again and again, no matter how long Kala was able to survive the wind blow as hard as this.

BOOM!!!

A huge explosion and that being the peak of all explosions, it happened! His voice made Kala's ears buzz. His eyes were closed, but he could still feel his body being slammed firmly backwards!

Her body was scratched by the grass. For a few seconds Kala floated in the air before he fell. When it rolled on the ground, it stopped after hitting a rock that was quite large in size.

Eyesight's kinky. Ears buzzing. He forced himself to get up and open his eyes, seeing what was happening.

Fog filled the forest. A clear fog did not exist before that loud noise could be heard!

"What ... happened?" Kala said in stern words, "is the Hyang angry with me?"

Kala walked towards his hut after a moment of daydreaming. Although he was thrown quite far from there, but he was quite familiar with this forest so it was easy for him to find his way home.

Kala's knee was limp for a moment when he saw his hut collapse; a large tree fell on him, coupled with strong winds.

There was nothing left but wood.

“This ... my home ... why can it be destroyed?”

Kala has lived here for many years. His soul was crushed when he saw his shelter all this time broken.

***

A few moments have passed. Maybe like his old tea. Kala started to stand up. However, Kala must strengthen herself. He could not be sad for too long in this place.

If he had to build a small roof out of the rubble, he would. If he has to find a warm place in the forest, then he will.

The night will pick up. The cold will pierce the bones. Kala knows exactly, Mount Loro Kembar is not a friendly mountain.

When he tried to move his legs, Kala fell down. It was as if he was not strong enough to accept all of this.

And in the end, she cried.

He is a man, but that does not mean a man without tears. Just like a human being, he can cry too. Hasn't he at least been manly by getting back up and not protracted in grief?

Kala wiped her tears and got up. Dismantling the debris, looking for anything that could still be saved even though all he got was a sheet of blanket.

The rice that had just ripened was already mixed with dust and was buried at the bottom of his hut, it was very sad, his stomach was still very hungry.

As Kala walked around his hut, he saw a well-sized hole on the west side of the hut.

Kala made sure that the hole had never existed before. Even he made sure the well did not move from the south side of his hut.

With a curious step, Kala went towards the direction the hole was located. When viewed up close, the hole let out cold smoke from inside.

Kala had never felt the cold smoke before, except for the fog. Even the fog was not too cold like this.

After only two more steps from the hole, Kala could see an old man inside, with a cross-legged position and a rombeng shirt.

His eyes were closed and his breathing was weak. Kala could tell that he was unconscious from above.

This hole is not too deep, only about a few feet.

Kala did not know what made a grandfather here, not to mention why there was a hole formed here.

From the man, Kala could see thin smoke flowing out from his body, the smoke then fused with the surrounding fog.

___

Note:

[1]: Spirit animals and plants are animals and plants that have the ability to circulate prana. It usually has above average intelligence, among which it can even speak human language.