Travel Stories
Kumala Ratri's

That girl is so beautiful. His brownish skin, perfectly wrapped the body as high as he had. Her hair that seemed to expand lightly in the wind, even presenting a deadly charm to every man who happened to see her. With a loose cloth that only covers his body up to the knee, it is very easy to think of it as an international class model who is in the process of taking photos for a collection of beach dresses owned by world-renowned designers. Coupled with a face with ancient eastern soft beauty, really, it is not impossible if you think he is one of the angels of God who is enjoying time in the human world.

The steps are light, leaving barefoot footprints on the soft sand of the beach, in a bright moonlight shower greeting Dreamland beach.

He did not care at all about the waves rolling and hardening towards the beach, where he continued to walk and enjoy himself. Although it seemed, even the sea was reluctant to disturb him when somehow as big as the approaching waves, the fierce water turned as soft as a kitten stroking his bare feet politely, before returning to the middle.

He was not even aware of the four pairs of unsettled eyes, which were ceaselessly watching his every move from a dark corner under the cliff near the entrance to the beach. The beautiful woman continued to step up and enjoy herself in the middle of the beach at night without realizing that every thing she did, not separated from the attention of some figures, until it was too late.

Within seconds, the four figures moved. Embracing and smothering the girl's mouth, restricting her movements with their powerful bodies, then dragging her into the dark...

......................

Kay was pensive as her mind continued to get lost in the labyrinth of guilt, forcing her to continue sighing deeply, trying to calm herself down so that the soul would remain undisturbed by it.

It is not an easy thing to be the cause of the loss of thousands of lives, even if when the incident happened, he was only a few years old, but the fact that many lives were lost because of grandfather?

Kay kept hanging out there alone. Glasses filled with coffee that were still puffing smoke on the table, along with a flashing cell phone, showed that the Typhoon was constantly trying to reach him. Only the cigarette in his hand continued to billow nonstop.

Kay stopped caring about everything.

There will be a crowded inter-provincial road that runs in front of the supermarket where he is currently laying. Or a variety of strange views directed at him, the young man who looks like he lost the tribe. He did not even notice the sturdy figure with a pair of jeans full of tears that took a seat next to him. Kay only realized when the young man turned the brown liquid-filled paper cup onto her.

"Drink, Kay. Only in Bali, a paradise for alcoholic drinkers, where even Red labels are sold in supermarkets" he said, chuckling softly.

"Ah, I don't drink alcohol, Bang." Kay replied when she realized who the figure next to her was. Bang Pangky, who was currently smiling while looking at him deeply, still chuckled and forced Kay to drink the contents of the glass.

"I didn't tell you to drink alcohol either, Kay. Alcohol is used to clean wounds. It's Red label, it's delicious." replied the young man around, while Kay smiled wryly at it. Irrefrangible, he grabbed the glass and spilled its contents into his stomach. Arguing with this guy, completely useless. It would be easier to follow what he said. It's been a while since he last drank an alcoholic drink like this. Kay's face reddened as the drink seemed to turn into flames that moved past her throat arbitrarily.

Seeing Kay who was struggling to breathe due to swallowing the high-alcohol drink too quickly, Pangky even cracked up.

"Nha, so. If live is giving you Lemon, just bite it like a man!" he said in the middle of his laughter.

"Wow, what a word." said a foreign female visitor who apparently also noticed the two of them, who also happened to be enjoying her time on the terrace of the supermarket, with a big smile.

And apparently, that was enough for Pangky.

In her own way, somehow the story goes, the woman, along with her other two friends, immediately joined their seats and before realizing it, their chatter had already grown from end to end. Even Kay, who had been reluctant to even pay attention to anything, had already dissolved into the conversation and laughed without her noticing. The young man seemed to have forgotten whatever had filled his heart some time ago. He did not even notice the gentle smile that appeared on the lips of the young man beside him when Pangky glanced at him. Kay really dissolved in laughter.

......................

"Huh, you know how I didn't drink this, Kay. Forgive me, be shy." grumbled Pangky slowly, although an amused smile never escaped his lips.

"Uuh, I haven't had a drink in a long time, Bang." said Kay while trying to laugh, although the result was more like a cat eating while meowing.

Their exciting chat with overseas country girls was forced to disperse. Kay was unable to hold her stomach in place. Along with the glass after glass that he set, Kay finally vomited all of her entrails in the front gutter of the supermarket with laughter and jokes of her new friends. Together with the promise to meet at another time, they parted ways. And now, now, Kay was sitting half-sloped on the back saddle of the bike when Pangky was still continuing to nag a short length on the way to return to Kay's hotel which was only located about 50 meters away from Pangky's work site.

But it seemed that the cold wind was able to make Kay gather herself. Slowly, the face full of drunken grunts that had previously appeared along with the indistinct chatter from his mouth disappeared slowly. Kay's consciousness re-emerged in the folds of darkness. Heavy breathing came back from him.

Sensing that the drunken and clumsy slashings that had previously nonstop disappeared from the young man he was screwing, Pangky also sighed. Before long, he sidestepped the bike and stopped it on the side of the road. On this late night, the wide asphalt road that divides Pecatu Resort is indeed very quiet. Leisurely, the young man parked the motorbike, got off and sat on the sidewalk.

"I'm ready to listen to your complaint, boy." he said with a chuckle.

"Sorry Bang, I'm confused as to what to say. Like mending me delivered home." said Kay weak.

Pangky laughed out loud. Somehow, it's just that, he even leaned himself into one of the lighting poles lined up neatly along the road.

"If you don't want a story, you listen to my story, Kay." he said, taking a cigarette out of his pocket and lighting it up quickly.

"I was born 24 years ago, Kay. Growing up in an area with the highest crime rate on the island of Java, my childhood was full of adventures involving copets, palm-smiths, and, scalpers and his friends are in the most unhealthy form for the growth of a boy's character. Plus a super liberal family, I was getting out of control, which finally, at 12 years old, a big fight at the terminal got me kicked out of the house with a knife full of blood and my victim lying around waiting to die. Ow, yes, my house is indeed behind the terminal, Kay." he added giggling.

Although he did not understand what he meant, Kay remained silent. He did not even make a sound when he saw the young man open the motorcycle seat and took out a bottle containing other alcoholic beverages and began to chug it himself before continuing the story.

Somehow, hearing the young man tell a story, as if Kay was invited to see a rebellious boy who was angry at the situation at that time. Which is inflamed and opposes everything.

"Still again, it turns out that I inherited the curse from my ancestral bloodline, which, due to the demands of the circumstances of that time, pushed itself over the line. Accosting in various haunted places, fighting with many natural rulers gain to befriend one of them is only a little among the achievements of my ancestors, Kay. And best of all, all of his adventures left a stamp in his blood. Although sometimes it doesn't appear in a generation, damn, it appears to me!"

????!

*Why is the story so similar?

We're not brothers, are we*?

Inevitably, Kay shuddered a little to hear the story of Pangky. Too many similarities come from the stories he tells.

"And grandfather? He is the greatest man I have ever known. Rather than me progressing in an obscure direction, the old man chose to guide and galvanize me until I truly mastered it. It's just that his knowledge is too simple for my soul." he lamented without being able to withstand the volume of grief that appeared in his voice.

"The religious education I once received, mixed with the fact that I could see ghosts, demons, demits and such was as clear as I saw your face today, made me begin to doubt God. Whether they speak the truth or not, almost all the spirits I meet cannot answer where heaven and hell are."

"Ah, then how's Bang?"

"Not to mention the fact that I saw a lot of ruse done with a blanket of kindness, as if scattered without shame, increasingly makes me out of control" he continued without poking Kay's question at all.

"I began to be an opportunist of God. I wandered wherever my feet could go, visited every so-called smart person and invited them to a duel. And my main target is those who use religious knowledge, Kay."

"Although now I know much better, at the time, unfortunately not. I wandered even to the palace of the ruler of the south sea, where the origin of the goods that inhabit this space in my chest. And in the midst of all this growing arrogance, my Papa died, and Grandpa followed 3 months later. Can you imagine it's beautiful?"

Unknowingly Kay nodded. Basically he can understand the heart of Bang Pangky. It's just...

"If that is not enough, my mother is very sick, as if she had already dipped half her foot into the well of death. 4 teenage boys, with no income, and it is hoped that we can survive without dying of hunger." he continued with a small laugh.

But somehow, even though it seemed to be nagging, Bang Pangky did not show the slightest feeling of regret or sadness or anger. It was as if the entire series of stories he told did not present any discomfort to him.

While continuing to sip the bottle in his hand, his gaze was stupefied as even a small smile appeared on his lips from time to time.

"And when I met your father, a little bit of his words hit my mind hard."

"Ah, you know my father?" kay was quick without being able to hide the spirit in his voice, while the young man beside him was laughing loosely.

"Your father taught me how to live, Kay. From him, I can make peace with myself. Though, he himself struggled to make peace with himself at that time." Pangky burst out laughing out loud.

"I mean Brother?"

"He told me that man has the right to choose, the single most glorious thing God has given us. Freedom to choose. You may choose not to believe in anything, just bear the consequences yourself. That's the advice your father gave me, without further explanation. Sableng is indeed he." continued again with a tone full of unseen admiration.

"I don't understand Bang?" reply Kay while scratching her head in confusion.

"No matter what, you just have to choose, Kay. I used to be depraved, corrupted and immoral, but then I chose not to be that way anymore. And you're the same. You can choose to live a life of guilt, gloomy and infuriating without the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of life, or you will choose to make mistakes and the past a mirror so that you become a better figure, he said, that's really your right."

"Ah, that means it seems... But what if we're forced to choose the path because of someone else's fault, Bang? And because of that, we're forced to choose a path we don't want?" sahut Kay fast.

"Just as you count the fault of Eve's mother who was tempted by snakes to eat the good and bad fruits, so that humans must be driven from Heaven?" reply Pangky with a small smile.

"If it's that far, it's hard to talk, Bang..."

"We can't change the past, Kay. Denied as anything, it is true that Indonesia was colonized by other nations because of ignorance. What can be changed is our future and our choices that can change it. Will you, Cyclone, Andin, and the beautiful ghost who always follow everywhere will study hard to educate Indonesia so as not to be colonized again? Or are you just going to hug and cry bombay on the steps of the helipad terrace every day?" he answered without trying to hide the laughter full of ridicule in the eyes of the ignorant who began to be affected by the alcoholic drink.

"Damn you, Bang!" kay grumbled softly as laughter returned from the young man.

Well, the way to talk and teach people is really a sableng, but none of what he talks about is light, Kay's mind slowly when he sees a strapping young man who tries to stand in the middle of his drunkenness.

It seems that I still need to learn a lot from this person, Kay's inner sizzle as slowly, as Pangky's laughter and slanted jokes, the burden that was squeezing her slowly, slowly dawned, the light of the moon shines through the dark corner of the road to Dreamland beach