The House 1937's
2. Someone Was Born, He Laughs

This story is based on my grandmother's personal experience which my father later told me. My father was born in that house around 1960. On the night of his birth, heavy rain flushed the earth so heavily punctuated by the sound of lightning lightning lightning is quite loud. Lightning shines over the dark night sky as if to frighten anyone who is still awake and has not entered their own dreamland. The lightning flash is clearly visible from inside the window of the house because at that time the source of lighting only relies on traditional oil lamps or clink lights, or petromak lights that are hung in the middle of the house sky. The atmosphere of the house was already very quiet because it had gone into the middle of the night, only the sound of rain and lightning bolts were heard that night. My grandfather was not at home because he had not yet returned, probably because the rain was so heavy a little barrier for him to get home quickly. Understandably, that year in the area where the house can be said still tend to be quiet, the road has not been on asphalt at all, the power source has not been installed, the power source has not been installed, there are still rare buildings or other buildings, and there are still many vacant land overgrown by trees and wild plants. Therefore, when the afternoon before nightfall, the location around the house is very quiet tends to be gripping with a makeshift source of lighting.

My grandmother was adjusting her breathing which was seen going up and down and gasping. Sweat sweat had filled his face and body and occasionally on a cloth wipe by one of the grandmother's daughters as well as one of the papa sisters who was watching beside the grandmother who was about to give birth and wait a child shaman who seems to be still on the way to this house to help the delivery of grandmothers. A few hours ago, grandma had indeed experienced some mild contractions of her stomach and concluded that it seemed like she was going to give birth and called one of her daughters to come to the house of a child shaman who was known by the grandmother often helped the process delivery in the area. In that year calling a child shaman to come home to help the delivery process is common. My aunt came swiftly to the daughter shaman's house and told me that it seemed like grandma was going to give birth. The shaman will also prepare some of his needs that he will bring later to come home when it turns out the grandmother is really going to give birth. My aunt still looks hopefully anxious while fanning grandma with a traditional fan made of bamboo. He really hoped that the shaman would arrive soon because he was really worried to see the composition of the grandmother who felt the intense contraction of her stomach that the pain was many times greater than the contraction a few hours ago.

("Kok hasn't come yet neng?" still a long time huh?"), My grandmother asked with a breath that was tired of enduring the pain.

("In a moment, well, there's a boom that's knocking at the door from earlier, maybe because the test so long until it arrives.."), answered my aunt, my father and sister are a little unique when calling their parents, not father and mother or mama and papa, but calling my grandmother 'Enah' and 'Babah' to call my grandfather. When I asked them why they called their grandparents that name, my dad just said it was their habit from childhood to call them that. I also called them 'Emak' and 'Engkong' to my grandmother and grandfather. Well, old generation people sometimes have their own language to say or say something.

The sound of knocking on the door was quite loud from outside the house, my aunt immediately stepped quickly and half ran towards the door and peeked from the window curtains. He breathed a sigh of relief because of the child shaman he called 'Emak' it finally came with a large enough bundle that he carried and two banana leaves lying on the front floor of the house in a drenched state. It looks like the mother who is also a little wet because the banana leaves she uses as an umbrella are not enough to protect her from heavy rain tonight.

"Emak.., let's sneak up.", Tanteku opened the door and called the Shaman in a panicked tone.

"Yes neng ayo.., really big rain Mom so long to arrive".

My aunt immediately locked the door again as soon as the child shaman had stepped into the house with a bundle of cloth containing some of her maternity equipment. The shaman was preparing his equipment which he brought and my aunt helped prepare the basin and warm water . The child shaman has taken a position to help the delivery process and began to give instructions to the grandmother to take a breath, hold the head of the bed and start the delivery process. The sound of screaming and gasping breaths from my grandmother filled the room, complementing the sound of the rain out there still pouring down and the thunderbolt still burning in contrast to the pitch of the night.

After a long time finally my grandmother managed to give birth to the baby, which is my papa in a healthy and normal condition without lacking one thing. The sound of crying baby was broken and seen his tiny legs and hands moving stiff motion.

"Well, is there any hope for his ari?", asked the shaman to my aunt, my aunt thought for a moment and immediately understood what the shaman meant was the equipment that would be used for the burial process of her newborn sister's ari-ari.

"Oh tomorrow Mak at most, tomorrow we are prepared.", replied my aunt who was watching the child shaman cut off the baby's ari-ari and clean the baby's body with warm water that has been prepared.

However, it was not finished the shaman cleaned the baby's body, suddenly the child shaman was silent, like feeling something. And the three of them were shocked when they heard something beyond their expectations. It was not the sound of rain or lightning, but rather the sound of a shrill laughter that was so loud it sounded exactly on the roof of the house. The sound of laughter continued to be heard and echoed along with the sound of rain still falling rapidly. The loudness of the laughter made my aunt immediately hug my grandmother who also looked frightened, the shaman immediately completed his task of cleaning the baby's body and wrapped it with a clean cloth and handed it carefully to the grandmother.

"Sir, who's laughing?", my grandmother hugged my papa carefully.

"Stt.., diem neng.", the child shaman said slowly while wrapping the baby's ari-ari with banana leaves that he had prepared.

"I was afraid mak.", my aunt who at that time was just a teenager like to hold back her cries, because the sound of laughter did sound loud and very scary, let alone heard in the middle of the night like this.

"Don't be afraid neng, his voice is deket, means far away", replied the shaman.

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