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10 | The Defenders
AT the Faculty of Letters, Clofus, I hurried to the food court. There, I rushed again to Brother Eugene's coffee stall--the only smoking area. Enjoying coffee alone while imagining a beautiful woman in the pickup car earlier seemed to be fun. Her blown kiss made my heart tremble. It was as if we were connected.
After ordering a glass of my favorite coarse coffee, I opened my cellphone, looking for news of the Saltyville eviction refusal rally.
Apparently, the anti-eviction demonstrators almost clashed with the Indonesian Muslim Defender (IMD) crowd on Great Certajava Street. It meant that the near clash incident occurred sometime after I left the Grand Wahid Hotel earlier.
In the news, the IMD crowd was suspected of deliberately blocking the rally. There was taunting and throwing each other happened. Fortunately, the police managed to control the situation by a barricade.
Then, I rushed to send Mr. P and Big K a message, asking if they and the other prote
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In the Name of the Sacred Tree 11 | The Charge
"WE only act firmly against immorality," replied Shahryr."The same!" exclaimed Eugene."What about the Guysville incident?" asked Aaliyah.Aaliyah said, four years ago, in 2016, there was a raid on the Guysville prostitution complex in Newton Regency. The perpetrators were all wearing thawb and turban attire.The perpetrators claimed that their actions as a jihad against immorality. Three local residents died in that brutal raid. The Guysville incident had attracted national attention."Should that firmness cause casualties?" asked Aaliyah."It's a shame," replied Imam Shahryr."You were there then?" asked Aaliyah sarcastically."No," replied Imam Shahryr.“There is video evidence that clearly shows people wearing turbans and the leader wearing guthrah," Solomon interrupted. "The question is, what group that when destroying other people's property, its members wear turbans and guthrah.""It's not me," said
In the Name of the Sacred Tree 12 | The Sacred Tree
"LANG!" there was Mr. P's voice called out to me while waving.Apparently, he had returned from a march against the eviction of Saltyville and Saltyroth-Dolly. He returned in one piece, unscathed after the clash with the IMD crowd earlier."Yo man," I replied, Jamaican style. "Still being alive, huh?""Damn you," replied Mr. P.Mr. P then gave me a cigarette, while Matt seemed happy to live the action creating circles of cigarette smoke exhaled through his mouth. Mr. P, Rooney, Muck, and Flatty then asked if there was any need for Kacey to look for me."Kacey urged me to take responsibility for —”"Fuck you!" they burst out, could not accept my unfinished explanation.I asked my friends, what is the next schedule. In fact, I did not write it on the first day of the lecture yesterday."Semiotics," Mr. P tried to answer."It's psycholinguistics," said Rooney.While my other friends did not seem to care.
In the Name of the Sacred Tree 13 | Comrade in Arms
AT night, I just laid down in my room. I was fiddling with my cellphone by scrolling through my colleague's Facebook. I kept scrolling because there was very little that interests me. As usual, my Facebook homepage was filled with selfies, minor complaints, to expletives.
In the Name of the Sacred Tree 14 | Jealousy
THE next day, I happened to wake up early. It was not something I had planned. Maybe because I slept soundly after exchanging messages with Kacey last night. It felt like a new spirit has infiltrated my inner space. I immediately cleaned up myself and got ready to go to Clofus.When heating the motorbike, my eyes twitched. Apparently, Julia was passing in front of my house. I greeted her on behalf of Shri, the Javanese Goddess of Fertility.By her sign language, Julia quipped me. She told me that it was a miracle to see me wake up early. For the sake of witnessing an angel, of course, I had to be willing to sacrifice. As usual, she just grinned.I cleared my throat, then asked Julia to go to Clofus together. She agreed. The sensation of piggybacking Julia was always new. I never got tired of it--essential fragrance without artificial scents. Julia sat quietly. So, the morning was indeed beautiful.Arriving at the school gate, I stopped to drop Julia off b
In the Name of the Sacred Tree 15 | Lovefool
I could hear the crowd. But, I was still reluctant to move from where I sat. I felt like I was falling into a bottomless abyss and floating in an ocean of confusion. I was in a daze. But then, I remembered a video showing several junkies in a drug rehab center, last time.Then there was the scent of the smelly armpits being exposed freely in the air, followed by palms tapping my shoulder heavily. There was only one person who could release such poisonous gas. And there was only one person who had excess power for a trivial job. I turned around."Skipping class?" offered Mr. P."Agree!" said Matt.I nodded in agreement. However, I was wondering when they had been next to me? Anyway, right now I had to get rid of my passion for learning first. At least, l could leave campus with Mr. P and Matt to fi
In the Name of the Sacred Tree 16 | The Scielhort's
ALL the way home, Julia and I did not talk to each other. Aisha and Ahmed overshadowed me. They seemed to be laughing at me. Meanwhile, with Julia, I did not know what landed on her mind. Maybe, she was still disappointed with my attitude at the campus that never changes.When I arrived at Julia's house, she then got out of the vehicle, then faced me. Julia's face was still red. I could see Julia holding back her disappointment. I was waiting for Julia to say something. But she said nothing. A gentle breeze then blew, creating dust that fluttered like in the wild wild west."I'm sorry," I said softly.Julia was still silent. She sighed again. I could see her chest puffed out, then deflated. It seemed like Julia felt something that she was previously held back had burst out of her body, but it was not a fart. I could feel the same relief."I gotta work," said Julia in motion."Need a ride?" I volunteered by my sign."No, thanks. I’ll go
In the Name of the Sacred Tree 17 | Kacey Loves Monday
KACEY and I then passed a large swimming pool, which I thought shaped was like a mango leaf. The water was so clear, so it reflected the blue sky, like Kacey's eyes. All around the pool, palm trees were waving by the wind. I could also see several helpers were busy at the back of this giant luxury house.Farther back, there was a building the size of a mini-market franchise that appeared to have been recently built. I could smell the new paint. Up close, I could hear the low sound of the musical instruments inside. I believed this building was a private music studio.When Kacey opened the double doors of the building, there was a booming sound of musical instruments. Knowing people were coming, the sounds suddenly stopped. Inside, there were already three young people who were ready in their respective positions. Kacey introduced me to them.They were Carson the drummer, Andy the guitarist, and Fanny as the keyboardist."Hi," I cupped my palms.The
In the Name of the Sacred Tree 18 | Sincerity
I cleaned up after I got back from Kacey's house earlier. There was still one hour before the recitation program at Aisha's house started. I thought I would have coffee first at Brother Laymisch's stall.When I came out of my room, I saw my mother was seriously watching television in her shop. I thought she was watching her favorite soap opera or something. Just about to say goodbye, I watched the television was broadcasting a news program.I was being curious. I listened to the news about what caught my mother's attention. Apparently, there was news about an underage girl raped to death by eight adult men.Son of a bitch! Coward! I cursed them.Then, I looked at my mother. Her face was flat, and her gaze was blank. Was she really listening to the news or daydreaming? A moment later, she woke up from her emptiness after I turned off the television. She asked where I was going? I told her that I would go to Haji Abdul Rasheed's house for recitation.
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