The Lives of Five Hundred Thousand
Mak Ninih's

Mr. RT and Ms. RT took us to the house of Suryanah's mother or Ninih's mother on foot. His home was not too far away and not too close. However, to get there we have to pass through the rice field because of the location of his house in the middle of the rice field.

When we were about to pass through the rice field, Raihan arrived crouching in front of me. I clenched my forehead to see it.

"Darling, get on my back. Let me carry her to her house."

"What the hell Rai, don't make me ashamed."

"I'm afraid you're plunged into the fields let alone the dark path."

"But RT sir brought a flashlight. You can use a cell phone flashlight too."

"Ehem." Sis Bayu who was behind me suddenly cleared his throat. I was quite ashamed of him and then continued my steps to fill past Raihan's body that was still crouching just like that and tailing behind Bu RT. After realizing I had walked first, Raihan called me but I didn't care.

It took five minutes to pass through the vast rice field and finally we arrived in front of a fairly simple house. Although his house is located alone in the middle of the rice field but does not make the house quiet because it has no neighbors. Precisely the house was crowded by the sounds of frogs and crickets that sounded mutually unpretentious.

"Assalamualaikum, Minah, Udin mang!" Mr. RT said greetings but from the inside did not sound authentic.

"Assalamualaikum, Mak Ninih, Mang Udin, Minah!" the second call did not sound valid.

"Are they asleep sir!" said Raihan.

"Lacking the knowledge but.."

"Sir RT, Ms RT. Aya naon wengi-wengi ka bumi Abi? abi karaget nempona tea ( What are the nights to my house?I was surprised to see it)."

We turned around, saw a man who was no longer young holding a flashlight in his right hand and holding a black pocket of crackers in his left hand was standing looking at us.

"Eh, tos timana wae, mang?( Uh, out of nowhere, sir?)" mr. RT asked.

Before the man answered Mr. RT's question, the door opened. We turned our eyes to the door that was half open, it appeared that a woman was no longer young to pop her head with the appearance of wearing a negligent and her hair in a hood that was strayed and rubbed her eyes.

"Minah!" said Ms. RT.

"Bu RT, mr RT. Aya naon's? Get eta mawa saha? meuni geulis sareeung meuni karasep pisan( Bu RT, mr RT, What's wrong? who's that carry? very beautiful and handsome). Said the woman looking surprised while looking at our appearance. I who understand the mother tongue will smile at him. While Raihan and Bayu who do not understand just stupefied.

Then Bu RT explained to the woman named Minah that we from Jakarta intend to meet her mother, Mak Suryanah or known as Mak Ninih in her village.

At first the two couples seemed hesitant to bring us together with him because there used to be two men who wanted to kidnap him before Mak Ninih was not as old as now. But luckily, before the kidnapper took Mak Ninih away from this village, the residents first gang the two men to battered. Therefore, mak Ninih is not allowed to wander alone and if where is always in between by his children.

We sat on the floor with mats that looked worn. Soon after, Bu Minah came while guiding an old woman, Mak Suryanah or mak Ninih. We were dumbfounded looking at the skinny woman, the title kebaya dress and wearing a cloth as her skirt and her head covered in skullcaps.

"Reverse Mak! (sitting, ma'am)" the woman said. He also sat in front of us.

I looked at the old woman with a feeling that was starting to fidget. The woman looked at us one by one. Starting from sister Bayu, Raihan then my last.

"Aranjeun saha? (Who are you?)" ask the woman.

I who understand the Sundanese language subtly give a smile to her but not with Raihan and sister Bayu who are silent and flat.

"Kumaha how are you going to Mak, damang?( how's Mom doing, all right?)" I tried to get her to speak her language even though she was stiff. In my own village actually use Sundanese as well but not Sundanese smooth like Sundanese Sukabumi, cianjur, Ciamis, etc but Sundanese rough mixed Javanese. But not Central Java or East Java but Java which I myself do not understand.

As the times progress, the language of the region or dialect inherited by the ancestors in my village can be said to be a little more will disappear because the population ninety percent already accustomed to using the Indonesian language even children are not ever taught until they grow up only know or can only one language, namely Indonesian.

Mak Ninih did not immediately answer my question but the look of his old eyes looked at me and frowned, which was already wrinkled until it looked even more wrinkled.

"She never nempo maneh, but.Where is nyak? hilaf tos lami ( Seems to have seen you, but.where are ya? I forgot it a long time ago)

I smiled hearing it. At least even though he said senile it turns out there is still a little remember on the shape of my face and I'm sure that he meant the face of Hanum's mother.

"Well, did you ever work as a nurse at Sucipto Hospital in Jakarta?" Impatiently, I immediately asked the point. I mean, I asked him directly, he remembered a little.

"Sucipto?"

I nodded hopefully worried.

Long we waited for her to think but at the ends she shook her head.

Raihan and sister Bayu were frowning while I looked up at the old woman. But soon I remembered my father's bracelet and immediately reached into my bag and showed it to him.

Ms. Ninih took the bracelet from my hand and then in her face fixed and read the name on the bracelet." Nuri Aisha B." Then raised his face slightly upwards and glared. Soon he looked back at the bracelet and said." Sigana urang never nempo bracelet iyeu but teuing where nyak urang hilaf deui.( It seems I've seen this bracelet but where did I forget it again).

"Try ingeut ingeut deui, mak," said RT sir.

Mak Ninih looked at Mr. RT then shook his head.

This time I scratched my forehead. I felt like I had no hope of revealing it all, how I got separated from my family and how I got to the grave where the baby was supposed to be but turned into a doll.