The Staircase
Thank You

Said the father of friends at school looking for me, but it's been two days since I alpa, they did not come to see me at uncle's house. Budi and Randi who are usually always curious about the answers to the tasks given by Mr. Mad, lately as if they do not need me. I was pensive in the doorway, staring at the tiny specks of rain falling on my uncle's pond. The hot rain locked me in my house. Though I had intended to play onthel bike, it happened that uncle was not at home, looking for maculata again in the forest. This week uncle was busy looking for maculata fish. Even though my mother was banned because of the rainy season, uncle still insisted like a father. At dawn, I went to the market. Uncle offered dad his onthel bike. But he refused, saying the walk was more comfortable.

"Quick in. Stay there." Urge mother. The wind roared loudly. After closing the door, I went into the house to approach my mother.

"Mom, when can I go to school?" Mom was silent for a long time. Think hard.

"Propsy. If you have a uniform, you can go to school. If you want without a school uniform is okay, use home clothes and flip flops. Mad sir must have understood." As if she had been taught Mad sir, mother confidently declared what would happen if I followed her advice.

"But, mom. I don't have a book, a pencil. I was also embarrassed to see my friends who looked foreign to themselves at school. After all, schools now require students to dress neatly and uniformly. Let me see my clothes." I answered while turning my body.

Mother smiled bitterly after judging the clothes I was wearing. It's not worth going to school. Tired clothes and pants. I wear it for days, even willingly waiting for it to dry after washing. Sometimes I borrow my uncle's holster to cover my body if my clothes and pants aren't dry. Uncle laughed out loud every time I borrowed the scabbard, saying I was like I was just getting circumcised.

"I want to go to school, Mom. Bored at home. Slender. Playing onthel bike alone as if I had no friends. My friends are in school." My tone is clear. My face's grim. I complained, holding back tears. I looked at my mother, her blink of an eye made me stop complaining. "But tomorrow or the day after tomorrow I can go to school again, right?" I was excited again. Mother nodded slowly while smiling widely. I screamed in my heart, hurrah. Even though I only hope.

The drizzle has subsided, the wind is stable again. I opened the door of the house, wiping the wet floor. I went down the stairs of the house that was not too high, but it was enough to make me tiptoe when I wanted to enter the house, because the distance between one ladder and the other as much as three stairs was as high as my bones.

Not forgetting that I glanced at our former home, my father and mother never forgot to glance at it. We miss the memories in that house. Last night I was whining, punching a wall, kicking the wind while screaming for help. Mom quickly woke up dad, bad dad just said he didn't know anything after waking up.

"Don't go far." Mother's message.

"No, ma. I'm just around here." I walked by the pool uncle made. Frog eggs, newly hatched tadpoles, eel holes, water foliage, are in the pond. The tadpoles swam here and there, I was about to grab them with both palms but the tadpoles swam very fast, away.

This afternoon usually Budi and Randi eat porridge in the school cafeteria. The aroma of porridge appeared in my memory, coupled with the chicken sauce, mixed with sweet soy sauce, a little lime, a spoonful of chili-soaked sauce. Unfortunately, I was just hallucinating. I'm the same as Aga. Not school. Though I scold Aga quit school, even I was worried about dropping out of school.

Uncle once said that school is nothing more than learning, report cards or diplomas are just evidence that we have successfully completed learning. Even the uncle compared himself who finished High School with a Tibetan man who did not finish Elementary School. Uncle said the Tibetan sir was more successful and wealthy than him, and no more stupid than the uncle who was unemployed and had failed in the household, which relied only on muscles and the results of nature. Hearing uncle's ravings, I had thought of wanting to be like a Tibetan sir. But dad said that it's the hokinya Tibetan sir. Not that we should follow in his footsteps. Dad said school would make me miss those days, and now I miss him. I don't know what about Aga. If he misses school, after all, Aga's school uniform is still intact he keeps it in his house.

I stared at the road leading to school. Peeky, wet. The road seemed to be a bush for two days I was at school. The road I used to walk, now I refuse to go there again, shy kids my age school, while I don't. So often at home makes my skin reddish black to black brown skin. It turns out that the skin that I think is permanently colored can change color, slowly.

"Why are you so pensive." Ask mother. I'm still struggling in front of uncle's pond. Seeing the fun of tadpoles meeting their age, I daydreamed.

"It's okay, ma'am. I'm just hungry." Blushed shame.

"Oh. If you are hungry, do not daydream. Here help mom."

I set foot, slowly towards uncle's house. Mother was apparently cleaning the yam leaves for our vegetables this afternoon. I almost slipped on the stairs.

"Be careful. That's slippery. So don't keep daydreaming." Mother reminded.

I sat in the doorway after lunch. My eyes are not out of the school building. Target studying in a new building still looms over me. Between the wood and the leaves, I saw a little boy as I was walking towards my uncle's house. Not far from behind him, there were trailing one by one. Wood and leaves blocked my view, making me even more curious - standing and on my tiptoes.

I remember a pair of white clothes on the same street a few years ago that made me shut up. This time I shut up, eyes flashing slowly, hands holding the doorposts, feet standing as hard as I could.

"Aki." Call him, yelling very loudly after all. I really did not forget that scream. In the school yard line, on the tap screen, at Mad sir's house, the screams remained the same. Even the same voice when asking for a cheat was there, I remember that voice. Dozens. They are like a cluster of war that helps his herd who is confronted by the enemy. The leader of that war.

Aga's hand held tightly to a large black plastic bag. Others do the same. They were carrying plastic bags. Budi and Randi walk in the middle order, they both carry gunny sacks. Walking staggered while wiping the sweat.

I jumped from the doorway to the ground. Even the stairs might be astonished to see me so excited that I did not step on it. Mother was also hesitating in astonishment, then looked up at the doorway.

"Related." I'm yelling. Running fast to get to Aga and his flock. I took off the plastic bag. We hugged like pictures of teletubbies in my scorched notebook on fire. Like playing rugby, they swarmed me, as if fighting over a rugby ball, alternately hugging and greeting me.

"How do you know our house is here?" I asked while wiping my eyes.

"Not that your uncle will soon be our neighbor." Reply Aga laughed softly.

"How are you, Ki?" Randi approaching. His school clothes were soaked in sweat. They came here still in school uniforms, except for Aga.

"Good news, Ran. How are you guys?"

I smiled sweetly. Blissfully. Their arrival made me forget the disaster two days ago. They answered, Good news. It calms my heart. We looked happily and longingly, still standing in front of the uncle's house which was about fifteen meters away.

"Ouch. Weight. Help bring it, Ki." Budi tore his gunny sack, swinging it at me.

"What is this, Bud?" Many wonder. Down, look at the gunny sack that was deliberately closed Budi tightly, keep it secret.

"There, deh. Curious, huh? Yuk, help us drive him to your uncle's house." Said Budi making fun of me.

Mom came out of the house, helped us who were trying to lift the gunny sack. "Here, let me take him." Lifting burlap sacks on shoulders. My mother's energy was incredible, powerful. Bring the gunny sack home.

" What is this, Ga?" I asked who was curious. I was about to open the plastic bag, but Aga held my hand.

"Nantay isn't it. Wait till the house." Said Aga.

We entered a house that was forced to fit for dozens of people. Small body is not wasteful place. But Budi tried to shrink his body. The more movement, the more squeezed, Budi gave up, he sat in the doorway.

We sat around their various luggage. From black, red plastic bags, to almost torn bags. The burlap sack, and the bag in black in front of us. None of them came empty-handed.

"Mom, this is from my parents and Randi. Sorry can't be more than this." Said Budi pointing to his gonorrhea sack.

"It's from me, ma'am. Hope it's useful." Tell the others.

My mom listened to them full of haru. My mother's eyes twinkled. His lips were shaking slowly.

"Ki, you deserve it. Don't be like me." Aga looked at me seriously. His eyes are not playing games. This look really made me feel indebted.

I'm speechless. Down very deep. Wiping away my confused tears distinguishes between sad and haru. I was crying so much. They approached, embracing me who was unceasingly wiping away the tears.

"Open, Ki. You're curious, aren't you, it's." Gingsul Aga's teeth looked sweet with her smile.

I hurriedly opened the black plastic. Aga looked relaxed. My mother and the others were tense, curious.

"Thank you, Ga. Thank you." Thank you." I hugged Aga the umpteenth time, thanking her.

"You have to be upbeat, yeah." Aga patted my shoulder. "This is not new. Two years ago Mr. Mad gave it to me. Try wearing it, who knows it suits you." Aga's gaze was convincing.

I wore. The SD writing in his pocket is fascinating. And scout uniforms. This means, all the school uniforms he passed on to me. L like it. Grateful unceasingly to Aga after feeling her school uniform match me.

"But." I'm keeping the mood. "Are you sure you don't want to go to school anymore?"

Aga shook his head steadily. The decision is round. My mother's gaze looked concerned at Aga. Then mom turned to me while nodding, happy.

"Thank you, son. May you be a successful person." My mother's prayer for Aga. "Mom hope you all can boast of your parents." Prayer for everything.

They straightened their bodies and said, amen-simult. One by one, they gave their luggage to me and my mother. There was one of them who donated his used shoes to me. The shoes fit on my feet. Still good. One to two years is still firmly wrapped around my feet and protects them from mud and dirt on the ground.

I didn't expect that they could be this close to carrying such a heavy parcel. Moreover, along the path to our house about eighty percent of the road is muddy. Even those who were sitting waiting for the water to boil while wiping sweat, covered in mud on their legs, pants and splashing mud on their clothes. But even so, none of them saw anything of heavy-heartedness. They smiled sweetly, laughing out loud while joking, making the house of the uncle sway, slowly.

Mother served one hot teapot and twelve plastic cups. They poured hot tea from the teapot into the plastic cup with great caution. Plastic cups are blistering. They blew the hot tea and sipped it, quietly.

"Tomorrow you don't go to school, Ki?" Budi asked as he put his cup on the floor and held his pants, overheating.

"School, Ki. We have a duty from Mad sir. Budi and I yesterday were able to pontenan head without nose, eyes, mouth, hair, and ears without life. You know what I mean?" They laugh. I smiled while nodding softly.

"Yes, I'm going to school tomorrow." Greeted by them. Aga is happy.

"Have you eaten yet?" Ask mom.

"Not yet, bi." He said to my mother, aunt.

"Call me mother." Aga nodded while saying, yes, ma'am. Making me an only child is like having a biological brother. "Then wait a minute. I'm cooking for you." Mother continued. They smile happily.

"Oh, yes. It just so happens that here there are noodles, rice and other kitchen ingredients, ma'am." Budi said, unpacking his gonorrhea sack.

The aroma of my mother's cooking was incomparable to anyone's cooking. This will make those who wait patiently miss my mother's cooking.

"Ki, Nina's been questioning you for a few days." Aga whispering. No. gabe. More precisely tell the others. At once they made fun of me by saying, cieee.

I'm ashamed not to be a bitch. Cut their mockery. Mother who was busy cooking, looked back at our commotion.

"What's wrong?" Ask the mother who made them shut up, not budge.

"We're just kidding, ma'am." Answer Aga.

It was a double meal between noon and afternoon because it was actually late afternoon, but I had not had lunch-served in front of us. They lined up to pick up dishes, rice, noodles, yam leaf vegetables, and a few pieces of salted fish that were divided up to enough for twelve people; first-class alumni. Yes, first-class alumni especially Aga.