Firefields
Palmistry Stories

SAWITRI agreed when Jauhari's wife asked him to stay the night. Being at home alone, while the people he knew would gather to talk about something important would only make him much more lonely.

Moreover, he felt his presence was needed by the Jauhari family to prepare dishes for guests.

Together with Princess and wife Wijan, Sawitri helped Jauhari's wife cook in the kitchen. He believes, delicious cooking spices can make people more excited. At least in a few moments. Sawitri exerts all her cooking skills.

While the Princess was cleaning the rice, Sawitri gathered all the available kitchen ingredients. Some garlic and white cloves that he had pureed mixed one with orange leaves that he had thrown away his bones, plus galangal, mixed with orange leaves, cloves and red chili then he poured into a skillet that already contains two tablespoons of cooking oil.

The surface of the skillet is slippery and hot when in contact with the remnants of water from the spice compounding Sawitri raises the sound of kitchen spices. The princess watched the way Sawitri cooked.

He could smell the fragrant aroma from inside the pan bursting to fill the entire kitchen room. Little by little the hunger makes the Princess want to finish her work immediately.

"The smell is delicious," praised the Princess with a radiant face.

"A good spice can make people forget the processed ingredients," Sawitri pointed to a plate containing slices of tempe and long beans. The princess knew what Sawitri said.

Although tempeh and long beans, if it has entered the mouth, only spices can make someone swallow it up the toilet or even spit it out.

"The man who will be a mother's husband will definitely be very happy to have a wife who is good at cooking."  The princess immediately lit the stove to cook the rice.

"You're also great at cooking, too" Sawitri put all the tempeh and long beans into a frying pan plus a glass of cold water.

The sound of the kitchen spice's intimacy sounded louder. With sutil in the right hand, Sawitri stirring her cooking to mix well with the seasoning.

"Our village is now increasingly insecure, many people become victims" said Putri while preparing to make sambal to accompany salted fish that he has fried since.

Sawitri thought for a moment. He dipped the surface of his index finger into the pan and then tasted it with his tongue. Sawitri adds a little salt, sugar and pepper. "Sometimes we have to make sacrifices to get the best."

"By the way, will you stay here forever?"

Sawitri has no correct answer. "You still got the rest of the raw salted fish?"

The princess immediately handed over the salted fish. After the Sawitri wash it, the salted fish is then shredded and then mixed into the pan.

"Somehow it will be, hopefully more delicious," Sawitri gave a smile to the curious Princess.

"Is there any plan to go back to Bali?'

"Waiting your parents you mean?

Princesses nodded.

"Don't know yet. Why why?"

"If I may, I'd like to take a vacation there. It must be different from here."

"You serious? Actually, I once had a crazy mind. But it's between you and me, other people can't know."

While listening to Sawitri's story, Putri continued his work making sambal. Sometimes he imagined when Sawitri said that the world is so vast and many other places that can be visited at any time.

It is very pleasant if during life can see and feel how the places really are.

"It turns out the aspiring mother wanted to be an adventurer apparently?" princess Jokes.

"Virtually similar, but not adventurous. I just feel dissatisfied during my life in this place alone, or only in Bali. I'll go briefly visit all the places out there, then come back after running out of money. At that time I'll make some money back to go again."

"The feeling you've been talking about men and husbands ever since. Don't you want to be married already?" balas Sawitri made a red hue covering the face of the Princess.

"I'm still a kid and I'm still in school. I am an adult and deserve to be married!"

"Then why did your face turn red earlier? Who is the man who is considered by Jauhari's children, or maybe they are already dating?" probing Sawitri makes Putri increasingly wrong.

"Tuh, right. So scattering like this," sulk Putri clean some of the sambal that came out of the cobek.

Sawitri laughed broadly at the Princess who continued to refuse to admit that there was a man she was currently appraising. For the Princess, he needed to keep it a secret.

***

Although Sawitri knew the purpose of Jauhari gathering people had something to do with the events of these few days, when Jauhari first invited them to eat, Sawitri thought hard so that the conversation would not happen on the dinner table.

He wanted everyone to eat in a comfortable state with no burdensome thoughts. So many problems these days.

"How's the Princess' cooking, delicious no?" asked Sawitri while glancing at Patra.

"Lies, just fried salted fish, rice and sambal only really," replied the Princess wrong way.

"Thankfully this time no one was bored," Timpal Jauhari tried to help melt the atmosphere.

"Father also once cooked rice until charred," bela Putri.

Suddenly everyone laughed. Jauhari's wife choked on remembering it,

At that time he was sick and Jauhari replaced him in the kitchen cooking. Jauhari nervous not to play knowing the rice he cooked gosong. He forgot to use a napkin to lift the pot and make his fingers overheat. The pot then fell to the floor.

Wijan and his wife smiled at the story. They look at each other. The atmosphere grew liquid as Wijan's wife reprimanded her husband while pointing towards the mustache. There's a grain of rice stuck in there.

“It's common. My mustache is hungry too, ” said Wijan forced Dul Sanif and Mat Yusi who had just silently smiled.

Sawitri then looked at the face of Jauhari's wife. He felt a heavy burden and a lump of sadness stored in the look of his face. It is not easy to lose clove fields that have been the only livelihood so far. Sawitri also told her past.

When I was in Bali, I also had a funny incident about the events in the kitchen but not about the sandbar. I was in 1st grade High School. The lean season makes life in our village feel suffocating. Just when dinner was like this, our family gathered on the dinner table. Mother came with a pot of potatoes. He said, that night we had to eat rice with potato stew only," Sawitri stopped the story. Everyone watched Sawitri without making any sound. 

"One seed of a rather large sized potato is placed the mother on top of the pot. He said the ration that night was just a potato because the rest for the next day. Mother sliced the potato into four equal parts. That night my mother reminded me to always be grateful for the blessings and blessings God has given us.

Until the next day at breakfast, from the kitchen I heard my father talking to my mother. He asked about what other plans my mother would do to us that morning. Mother replied that she still had an egg that had been boiled. From their conversation I knew that last night I boiled only one potato and the remaining two were stones that looked like potatoes. 

That morning, the mother's play on the dinner table I let it stay tidy. He showed me a pot of eggs. There are three eggs in it. But I already knew that the remaining two did not contain. I prepared it before. He purposely looked for eggshells and glued them together with plaster. Mother said that morning we could only eat one egg. The remaining two to accompany lunch and dinner later. 

But there is something different about the way the mother divides the eggs. That morning, I split it into two parts. Half for me and the rest my mother put on my sister's plate. Mom said she and dad weren't hungry and would eat potatoes last night. 

I couldn't help but cry that morning. I hugged my mother with all my might. Kissed her cheeks many times while thanking her for all the kindness she gave us. Dad could only look down when he saw me and mom talking to each other through crying. 

Sawitri did not continue the story. He asked permission to return to the kitchen with tears already melted on his cheeks and shed all his sorrow and longing for his mother and father.

Jauhari's wife caught up with Sawitri in the kitchen. Shortly after, Wijan's wife followed from behind.

"I promise to take care of my family as well as your family Sawitri. I will be stronger than before. Thank you for everything you do." Jauhari's wife spilled all her sadness by tightly hugging Sawitri. The three of them hugged each other in unexplained sobs.