Is It Possible To Fill This Empty Space In Ourselves?
Chapter 5
Uncle Damar dropped them off shortly after passing through the border gate of the district capital which means not far from there. It turned out that Uncle Damar had to send the goods he brought to the house of one of his boss family members in the residential area of the district.
The two thanked him and saw the vehicle move away before walking in a different direction. Ernest followed Arsyana while paying attention to the surrounding environment and found that the arrangement in the district was clearly more regular, the ground was flatter than the village and the building was not seen standing in any place so that the path was not blocked.
Along the way Ernest also saw people passing either in line with them or vice versa. Wholesalers carrying bamboo pickles filled with merchandise, women with woven shopping bags either filled or still empty, and children who followed their mothers or who just ran to play.
“Every how many days once this market is opened?” asked Ernest curiously.
“Every day,” Arsyana slightly tilted her body avoiding a child who had just passed her, the child looked back and threw ‘maaf’ but did not stop her running after the woman who seemed to be her mother. The child's mother reached out to her child's ears and offered an apologetic smile that Arsyana responded with a nod and a friendly smile.
Arsyana turned to Ernest, “roundings in the district faster than the village, therefore the market here is every day while the district is only one or two specific days every week.”
Ernest nodded in understanding and continued to follow the steps of the woman, “by the way how did you get to know Uncle Damar? I thought you were deliberately isolating yourself.”
“Quite often meet on the road when going to the district, but only about two or three months ago Uncle Damar offered a ride, maybe feel sorry because every meet saw me walk away alone.”
“Didn't he ask your family or village's origin?”
Arsyana lightly replied, “told her that the other family members were working and I was living in one of the villages around.”
“He didn't ask further?”
“What can I ask? Uncle Damar clearly knew and understood that I would not talk further, how could a woman tell about herself as a whole to a stranger who just happened to meet on the street?”
Ernest responded with a low buzz of understanding and the two no longer spoke just kept going until finally more hawkers started to be seen signaling they were starting to enter the market area.
Arsyana stops and turns to face Ernest, “I'll go take care of my business.”
“Ah,” Ernest realized he could not keep following the woman, “oke.”
“What's your plan?”
“See-view?”
Arsyana's gaze narrowed with the intention of judging.
Ernest sighed in defeat and explained, “I still don't know what I can do to make money here, so today I'm coming along just meant to take a look first.”
“Before in the sub-district market, what did you do?”
“Actually that day I just arrived and planned to look around and find a place to spend the night, just happened to find some people who needed porters to move things.”
Arsyana nodded in understanding, “how long do you plan on going around?”
“Why?”
“Do you not need to go back? Even if you want to escape your sword is still at home loh.”
Ernest was stunned to hear it, not because of the sneering rhythm on Arsyana's voice but rather the word ‘rumah’ mentioned.
“What? You really want to run away without paying?” asked Ariana whose worry on her sentence was the opposite of the woman's calm tone, “not a problem, your sword seems to be quite valuable.”
“I won't run away,” Ernest rebut sounds weak, “I'm just a little shocked.”
Arsyana did not look at the reason why she was shocked and just looked at her straight, perhaps the woman herself had realized what words had just been said to leave Ernest stunned.
Ernest turned to look at the crowded streets with people passing by and gathered around the piculan stalls, “how long is your business?” tanyanya gently.
“About one and a half hours.”
“Alright, I'll be back here an hour and a half later.”
“I won't wait if you're late.”
“I know.”
Arsyana watched him for a moment before waltzing off to take care of his business. Ernest stared at that distant back for a moment before looking back around, assessing which way he should go.
*
Ernest went around as he said and saw the warm and bustling atmosphere of the market. The merchants sitting behind the piculan offered their merchandise to passers-by, shoppers who stopped looking around, bargains were struck, and people who gather around the food vendors while enjoying what they buy.
He had seen it many times but the more to the South the more he felt the difference to his prosperity. Lutua County is clearly richer than the district he passed before.
Of course the reason is because the more to the South the closer the capital of the country. Government access in reaching the surrounding area is easier and the condition of the people in it is also improved because of it. Of course the cost of living becomes more expensive but it is in line with the income they can achieve.
Government regulation in ensuring security provides stability in the hearts of the people so that they can calmly live their daily lives so that the concern they have is only whether they get money to eat tomorrow and not be aware of the massacre this may happen while they sleep.
Unfortunately, the people of the North have not been able to enjoy this. Ernest wondered when the central government would reach the area in its entirety and make it as stable as the South. It had been almost two years that the army of Baruun had been driven out of there but Ernest still had not heard of the government's efforts in dealing with the North other than letting the army of the country remain on guard there.
Here, Ernest could occasionally meet people traveling by pedaling his bike compared to the North where sometimes seeing a cow cart alone was a luxury.
Keep walking to watch the market crowd, Ernest also found a variety of commodities traded. Starting from basic necessities to small knickknacks that he thinks are useless except for those who are rich. During the time Ernest also saw some flank coolies going back and forth with weights on his back, he wanted to know whether the porters here should be introduced specifically or not to his master. If so, it would be troublesome for him.
Looking to the left-right without realizing he was carried to a more quiet but orderly area, here the merchant did not peddle his goods with a shoulder but a stall building. Ernest could see simple wooden stalls standing in rows on each side of the street, but what caught his attention was a brick-walled building located apart from the other stalls.
Ernest looked up and saw the inscription printed on the wall of the building, “Kolfan.”
“Can you read?”
Ernest turned to the source of the voice that had just asked the question, he saw an old man—45 or 50 years old sitting behind his stall peddling iron-based everyday equipment like a frying pan and others. Unknowingly he had been standing for quite a long time in front of the person's wares while staring at the building that caught his attention.
“Sorry sir,” instinctively apologized, Ernest wanted to go from there but the old man repeated his question again.
“Can you read?”
“Ah, yes less more.”
The old man took something from beside him and Ernest realized that it was a newspaper.
“Can you read this to me?”
Ernest looked at the new newspaper that the old man had proffered, wondering why buy it if he could not read. He knew that newspapers could cost 1 kg of staple food even the comparison could be more expensive if the staple food purchased was not rice but a kind of cheaper sweet potato.
“I'll give you 30 Flo (1 gilden \= 100 Flo).”
Ernest walked over to touch the wooden pole of the kiosk, picked up the newspaper and asked, “which part do you want to hear?” No kidding! The money offered was the same as the price of the newspaper itself and he did not need the energy to do so.
“Is there something about North?”
“What's your name, nak?”
“Ernest,” replied, “how about you Sir?”
“People here call me Mr. Private,” the old man looked at Ernest with a judging gaze, “new here?”
“Ah, it could be said that,” Ernest found the writing that mentioned North, he traced the writing inside and could not help but surprise after reading it.
“What's up?”
Perhaps the look on his face had turned too obvious to make the old man curious, Ernest cleared his throat and began to read aloud the newly traced writing.
It turns out that the central government will start sending representatives to the North. In addition, Paxa (the name for the state leader) will provide some funds to Zakh (the designation for provincial leaders) sent to stabilize the economy there and develop the North.
“Finally!”
Ernest looked up, precisely at the face of the Hasta Sir who was beaming with happy laughter. Looking back at the rows of words in the newspaper, for some reason his feelings were a little complicated knowing this news. Of course he was glad the government had not forgotten the North, but after years of surviving on its own without much central government interference except for the defense army it felt a bit strange to suddenly be noticed.
As he had told Arshana before, Ernest had only felt that the central government simply did not want to let other powers re-establish the North as its stronghold so they continued to send soldiers to secure the territory, but to actually send a representative from the center with the purpose of development took him by surprise.
“What's there again?” ask Pak Hasta excited.
Ernest went back through the newspaper in his hands, finding nothing special about the North, but he saw some reports of robber attacks on some villages on the border of the province.
“That bastard!”
Ernest heard Pak Hasta gasp and swore after he read the news.
“Not that there is only one county from the provincial boundary with this Lutua County?” asked Ernest to recall the journey he had traveled.
Mr. Hasta frowned for a moment, seemingly thinking about something, “what else is there?”
“Zakh Bukhu Province has sent soldiers there but how the result is still unknown, it looks like the sent soldiers will join the district army there for the search.”
“Mayers like them are sneaky, they will split up and hide after slaughtering the village!” said Pak Hasta with a hateful tone, “with the number of district soldiers it will be difficult to trace it, but if not immediately eradicated they will attack other villages again, especially villages far from the district center itself.”
Ernest gives a agreed hum, the difficulty of taking care of robbers as they are is finding his trail as usually news just gets to the district leader after the robbers themselves split. Actually, if faced directly with the ability of the state army is more than enough to conquer them, but to put many officers together was a challenge for the country because Ernest could estimate what the consequences would be for officers after a major war that only stopped 10 years ago.
They won, but the price paid was also great. Not to mention 5 years later the remains of the soldiers of the hiding State of Baruun returned to action by slaughtering the villages in the North and making it their fortress. War broke out because of it. Just over 1 year ago they were defeated again.
“Hei son.”
Ernest lifted his face from the newspaper and looked at Pak Hasta who had just called him, “what else would you like to read?”
“No, enough,” Pak Hasta took the promised money from inside the shirt bag and handed it over.
Ernest took it in doubt, a little guilty of feeling like he didn't do anything, “are you sure? I can read the others too.”
“Well, I'll read it later at home.”
Ernest's movement of folding newspapers for return came to a halt and saw the father in surprise.
A small laugh was heard from Pak Hasta, “I can not read, but I have a child who can do it.”
“Then why pay me to read it?” ernest asked involuntarily sounding a little annoyed, thinking about the possibility of being played around just because he needed money. But he also could not blame Mr. Hasta because it was his choice to accept the offer.
“My son is at work and I happen to see you paying attention and seem to read the writing on the building,” Pak Hasta pointed to the building that Ernest was concerned about at the beginning, “actually tested you a little.”
“Why?”
“Do you know what building you saw that?”
“No.”
“It was a bookstore.”
“Ah,” Ernest nodded in understanding, the reason he did not recognize him was because there was no bookstore in the North, newspapers alone were very hard to come by let alone books.
“The store has only opened a few months since more than a year ago the central government started building public schools in many regions outside the capital of the country including our district.”
“That's great.”
“Ya,” Pak Hasta agrees happily, “my son works there and since last week he keeps grumbling because he has not found the new workers needed so that makes them quite hassles.”
Ernest frowned looking back at the building in question, “what is the store so big that it requires a lot of workers?”
“Well, that's because they not only sell books there, but also printing including the newspaper you just read it.”
“Does your son mention what job they need?” Ernest handed back the paper he had folded to Pak Hasta.
“Sort of send newspapers.”
“What does that job require someone who can read?”
Mr. Hasta put his shoulder to it, “I don't know, the boy just briefly said that it would be better for people who could read to sign up, he said, but if until the end of this week has not been found they will hire anyone even though they can not read.”
Ernest responded with a slow mutter, his eyes staring back at the building in question, several people were seen entering there.
“Why don't you try it?” persuade Pak Hasta, “you seem to need money.”
“What community here few can read Sir?”
“Before government-built public schools more than a year ago, the district has only one private school built with rich family connections and the fees charged are too heavy for most ordinary families to be spent for the sake of their child's school.”
“But you chose to send your child to study there?” there was a sincere smile on Ernest's rhetorical question tone.
“You how else? Knowledge is important!”
“You are very enlightened Mr.”
Mr. Hasta laughed at Ernest's praise, “you have that ability why not try it and use it to make a living, the income is definitely not bad!”
“Thank you Mr. Hasta, I'll try it.”
Although not too sure, Ernest still stepped there to try his luck. Even if it wasn't accepted, it wouldn't hurt to look around the first bookstore he came across.
***