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72 | The Candidate 2
"Vincent for Mayor!" the crowd shouted over and over.
The closer to the gates of Brother Thompson Stadium, the shouts grew louder and louder. The stadium streets were full of people walking in one direction. Luckily, there were several police officers and several civilians who helped control the traffic. I could hear music coming from inside the stadium. There must be a concert in it.
"I didn't expect it to be this busy?" said Amelia.
"Your eldest brother is popular among the people, Mel?" I answered.
Amelia then directed me to enter a particular route for guests. After showing the guest card, we were invited by the officers to a specific area behind the stadium. Here, the atmosphere was no less crowded.
As Amelia and I got out of the car, the sound of the music changed to human voices. The Master of Ceremony began to give speeches. As we walked towards the back of the stage, there was the roar of a louder crowd.
It seems that the main agend
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In the Name of the Sacred Tree 73 | The Candidate 3
"Hi, everyone," I said, "this is Amelia, Vincent's sister.""Oh, nice to meet you, miss," said Malique, Darmann, and Jack."Hi!" greeted Amelia.While meeting Malique, I suddenly remembered my promise to Aisha to find information about who had kidnapped and held Zidan, her brother. But, I had to postpone that intention first because I was still with Amelia."We Saltyville residents support Vincent as a candidate for mayor of Surabaya," said Malique to Amelia, "isn't that so, Mr. Darmann, Jack?""Yes," said Mr. Darmann, “of course.""Moreover, Vincent supports youth movements," said Jack.Then I realized that most of the people who attended Vincent Limantoro's Mayor of Surabaya declaration came from Saltyville."Oh, yes," said Malique as if he remembered something. “Where are Ryg's other members? Big K, Cole and Santos?""I don't know," I replied, "maybe they're working."Then, we heard Vincent make a s
In the Name of the Sacred Tree 74 | Golden Riverbank
ALL the way back to Wigan, Amelia said nothing. From the side, I could see her eyes were teary. It seemed like she's enduring a tight feeling in her chest. Usually, I would play music to comfort a woman who was sad or angry. But not this time. Looked like this is serious."Tell me, what's wrong?" I asked."After that night, I thought we had a special relationship," Amelia cried. "Apparently, it's just my dream.""We do have a special relationship, Mel," I said, comforting her.I thought I really want to tell the truth to Amelia. But I couldn't tell her because I was in a difficult situation too. And Amelia was one of the reasons why. Listening to the speech about the role of youth and Vincent's insinuation earlier made me feel excited."I'm working on my goals, Mel," I added. "And that's important to me. I hope you can understand.""And what is it?" asked Amelia."Do you still remember when we were in elementary or junior high school?
In the Name of the Sacred Tree 75 | Golden Riverbank 2
PAPADOPOULOS continued, since the chaos in Slatyville, the plan to evict Key Phu Thich was never realized. It's just that life was getting more difficult because the status of residents who live on the outskirts of the Golden River was not recognized as residents of Surabaya.To work in offices, they were rejected because they didn't have identity cards. Even being a beggar, they were arrested by City Guard personnel. Even if they intended to do business, they didn't have the capital. Most of the residents worked as scavengers, including Papadopoulos and Aretha."We really felt the discrimination. We only eat one meal a day,” said Papadopoulos, staring at Amelia."Then there's this little boy," said Papadopoulos, still staring at Amelia. "Periodically, he came to visit this slum area with a basket full of groceries."Amelia seemed so fixated on Papadopoulos's story that she didn't even blink. I could feel the sadness turning into warmth from Amelia.
In the Name of the Sacred Tree 76 | Golden Riverbank 3
Throughout the trip, Amelia couldn't stop smiling. It was as if she had just discovered something extraordinary. In fact, her white teeth were showing because she couldn't help it. But I didn't know what Amelia was really thinking.Meanwhile, I was still processing new information from Papadopoulos and Aretha earlier. They said that Key Phu Thich was actually going to be evicted by the Surabaya City Government for a long time, but it has not been realized. In contrast to Guysville, which had been evicted by the Newton Regency Government. On the other hand, Saltyville was likely to have the same fate.I suspected it was because in Key Phu Thich there was no sinful activity going on over it, such as drug trafficking and drinking, gambling, and prostitution."Why are you so gloomy?" asked Amelia."Oh, I'm all right," I replied. "I just thought why the Surabaya City Government insisted on evicting Saltyville but not Key Phu Thich."Amelia just nodded a
In the Name of the Sacred Tree 77 | The Phone Call
I was grateful Amelia didn't ask any further questions about me. I thought she already understands why it is difficult for me to find a lover. Now, in my room, my mind returned to Saltyville.Vincent Limantoro has made it clear that he is on the side of the villagers. Meanwhile, he was supported by Malique with his Saltyouth. Before this, Aisha said, from Zidan's confession, her younger brother was kidnapped and held by the group with a coastal accent.Malique and his Saltyouth group come from Saltyville where was located on the north coast of Surabaya City. As I recalled, Sisters Ursula and Zoey said that the Saltyouth non-governmental organization was often asked by certain parties for dirty work such as collecting debts.But I felt weird about it. The problem was, if it is true that Malique and his friends were involved, it would be detrimental to them. Hendryx the Boumerank was the owner of the Saltycraft and Resources trading business. It helped to keeps Sa
In the Name of the Sacred Tree 79 | The Phone Call 2
JULIA came home with her face down. I did not know what makes her that way. On my happy day, she should be cheerful too. Earlier, Julia congratulated me and claimed to be joyful. But I did not see and feel it that way.Light drizzle finally got heavier. I only saw Julia's back until she disappeared behind the door of her house. While I was still standing under the cherry tree. My feelings were mixed between happiness and sadness. I sensed that Julia had something to hide from me on purpose.I then returned home to notify my friends. The first one I used to call when I was happy is Julia. But, she already knew firsthand from me beforehand. So, I thought I would connect with Big K, Cole, and Santos. They had the right to know in advance."Hello," said Big K, "What's up, Bro!""Hey," I replied, "do you have time? I have something to say.""Yes, I'm at Inferno. Don't tell me you want to quit Ryg's and join Boumerank?” called Big K and laughed.
In the Name of the Sacred Tree 79 | The Phone all 3
Still, in the room, I left the last two special people to contact. Both of them had two different personality backgrounds. One was religious, and the other was mysterious. Yes, they were Aisha and Kacey. I was wondering who to contact first.Alright, I would contact Aisha first. You see, I had a promise with her to help her find information about Zidan's kidnapping and imprisonment. Said Aisha, the kidnappers had an accent on the north coast of the Surabaya.Before this, I met Malique, Darmann, and Jack at the announcement of Vincent Limantoro's advance as a candidate for mayor of Surabaya from the Indonesian People's Democracy Party. The three of them were people from Saltyville who have a distinctive north coast accent.Especially Malique. He was the leader of the non-governmental organization Saltyouth. According to Ursula and Zoey, Saltyouth used to work to collect debts and incite the public to join in demonstrations. Because of that, I thought Malique was
In the Name of the Sacred Tree 80 | The New Member
TODAY was a special day. I would be introduced as a replacement for Hendryx Boumerank at the Grand Wahid Hotel - where he was arrested for alleged drug involvement. The venue for new members of the Boumerank introduction was in the same ballroom as the anti-drug seminar held by the Indonesian National Narcotics Agency some time ago.I still remember that day. At that time, I first met Zoey, who was participating in the government's anti-eviction demonstration. And now, I was with Brother Quinn and Brother Eric - hotel manager - once again.From behind the ballroom curtain stage backdrop, I could see many reporters and invited guests who attended. Some of which I could recognize. Flashes of camera light were visible from where I was standing. It looked like the reporters were taking pictures of a beautiful female master of ceremonies."Are you ready?" asked Brother Quinn."Ready is my middle name," I said and laughed."Confidence is a good thing for
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- In the Name of the Sacred Tree 283 | The End
- In the Name of the Sacred Tree 282 | The Black Mask Movement
- In the Name of the Sacred Tree 281 | The Bastard
- In the Name of the Sacred Tree 280 | Saltyroth Rhapsody
- In the Name of the Sacred Tree 279 | Investigation
- In the Name of the Sacred Tree 278 | Bradley's Diary
- In the Name of the Sacred Tree 277 | Burning Revenge
- In the Name of the Sacred Tree 276 | Climax
- In the Name of the Sacred Tree 275 | Dangerous Teror
