When
the sun shone brightly replacing the moon on the sky and the air felt fresh to
inhale, Ki Anom had just done playing puppet in his village. His son, Gundono,
always accompany him every show. Ki Anom played about Pandawa and Kurawa’s
story. He played since 1 a.m. until 5 a.m. Gundono always be patient to wait
his father, he was accustomed with puppet stories which his father played. But
he did not interested to be a puppeteer like his father, it was boring to tell
the same story from one place to another place almost everyday. When he was
tidying his father’s tools, one of his friends came to him, “Gun, do you know what
I think now?”
Gundono
smiled and said, “Of course I don’t know. I’m not a mind-reader”
“I
don’t know why your father still faith with this old puppet. Do you know, we
live in 21th century, a modern era, what is the benefit of this puppet? The
story is always same all the time, it was boring” said his friend named Setyo. Gundono
was umbrageous to hear that. His father’s dignity was trampled by his friend.
“Shut up your mouth!” said Gundono. Then, Gundono left his friend alone, his
friend was smirk to see Gundono left.
Ki Anom was sitting on his room when
the sun started to hide itself making a beautiful red scratch on the sky. He
was getting older, his body was not strong anymore. He thought about his job.
He was a descendant from Ki Suroto Hastinapura, the great puppeteer since 15th
century. “Who will continue this hereditary skill? Who will be the next
generation?”, thought him. He only
had one son, so he wanted to ask him to be the next generation of this
puppeteer. “What’s up, dad?” said Gundono when he came closer to his father.
His father asked him to sit in front of his chair. “I want to say something
important. Please listen..” said Ki Anom. Gundono paid attention to his father.
“I am getting older, my son. I am not strong anymore. But, I haven’t find yet
someone to continue my job. If it’s not you, so who will?” said Ki Anom.
Gundono felt cornered, he didn’t like to be a puppeteer. What will his friends
say if he become a puppeteer? He will mock and mock everyday by his friends.
“No, Daddy. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be a puppeteer.” Ki Anom tried to
persuade him, “Why not? What do you want to be?” Gundono felt confused, “Mm.. I
don’t know.. But really, I don’t like to be a puppeteer, it’s boring.” Ki Anom
tried to be patient. He tried to speak slowly to his son. “This puppet is a
heritage from our ancestor. It always inherited from generation to generation.
You are the only son I have..”
“Nooo,
Daddy.. That’s boring and useless!” mocked Gundono.
Ki
Anom was annoyed, “What did you say? Useless?”
“Of
course it’s useless. It’s too old, Dad. Everyone around us needs something
modern. What will we get from this old puppet? Do we get some benefits?” said
Gundono, he held the puppet on his hand.
“We
can learn many things from puppet. It teaches us about life and moral
education”, explained Ki Anom.
“But
we can get it from school! In this modern era, we can learn about it in any
media. Puppet is too old, nowadays everyone play robot. It’s more fun than a
puppet, we can ask something to do to a robot, but nothing to puppet!” said him
with high notes.
Ki
Anom was very angry. He could not believe that his son will think like the
others, he mocked his own heritage. “What an impolite son! You don’t respect
your own heritage!”
“I
don’t want to be a puppeteer!” said him firmly.
“I
don’t care if you don’t want and you don’t like puppet, I’m your father, you
must accept my decision. You must be the next puppeteer!” said Ki Anom angrily.
Then he left his son alone in his room.
On the next day, when the moon arose
on the sky opening the night curtain, Gundono came to Setyo’s house. They were
enjoying their talk until Setyo said, “Gun, is it true that you will continue
your father job?”
“Who
says?” asked Gundono
“Your
father”, answered Setyo.
Gundono
shocked. “How could?”
“Your
father said it after playing puppet in the other village this morning.”
Gundono
was very surprised. Oh God! He could be mocked by his friends in the other
village.
“Haha
keep calm, Gun. That’s your fate, just accept it. Be patient with your dark
future. You will die while hug a puppet. Hahaha so funny”
Gundono
was inflame, he went home with a heavy heart full of angry, his emotion was
high as a mountain.
When
he arrived at home, he quickly came to his father’s room, he messed all of
tools there. However, he was not satisfied to vent his emotion, he went to a
warehouse and took a bottle of kerosene and brought it to his father’s room. He
pours it on each corner then striking a light. All of puppet tools was burnt,
he ran away quickly from the room.
Inhaling stertorous air, Ki Anom and
his wife woke up from their sleep. Ki Anom walked around his surrounding and
tried to look for the source of the stertorous air. He was afraid of a wildfire
or something else. When he stood up in front of his puppet room, his prediction
was true. Fire vine on each corner, he ran to his wife then speak loudly,
“There is fire! Come on leave this house quickly!” They were very panic, they
went out from their house and ask for a help from their neighbors. Everyone
came to their house, they brought many buckets of water and they called fireman
quickly. The fireman came 15 minutes later, they worked very fast to extinguish
fire. After the fire extinct, everyone stopped to take a rest. Ki Anom gazed at
his house sadly, his puppet’s room was broke, nothing left there. But luckily,
the fire did not vine to the other room. Several minutes later, he remembered
about his son, “Where is Gundono?” asked him. He got panic, he was afraid that
Gundono trapped on fire, but the fireman said no one trapped on fire.
On the next day, when the sun arose
on the sky, Gundono went home alone. He was regret to see his house broken. He
felt very sad, but he was too afraid to ask apology to his parents. His feet
was rigid to come closer to the door. His hand could not knock the door. But
suddenly, his father opened the door, his father wanted to go to their
neighbor’s house but he found his son stood up in front of the door. “Oh my
lovely son! Where have you been? Our house was burnt yesterday night” said he
sadly. Gundono cried a lot and knelt in front of his father, “I’m so sorry, Dad.
I burnt your lovely room” Ki Anom was very surprised, he did not expect that
the one who burnt his room was his son. “No, you must be kidding” said he.
“No,
Dad. I’m serious. I’m so sorry, I can’t stand with so much ridicules from my
friends..”
Ki
anom kept silent for a while, he was speechless. But then, he said, “I know
your feeling, I’m so sorry. I don’t want to force you anymore. But remember my
son, if you don’t want to be the next generation, who will? If you let our
culture gone and let foreign culture come to our country, it means that you
will this country follow the foreign country. You let your country under their influences
and their power. We will never be respected in international world if we can’t
respect our own culture. Do you want it?”
Gundono
was realized, “No, Daddy, I don’t want it happen to us. I will be the next
generation”, said he willingly.
Ki
Anom was very surprised and happy, his tears dropped on his face. He hug his
son and said, “Keep your culture, fight for your culture, respect and love your
culture more than you respect others.”
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Kamila Sedah Kirana_20130510_SMA
IT AL IRSYAD PURWOKERTO (The Winner of Short Story Writing Competition_EVAG 2014)
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