The Refugees
Retold by Satoto Kusasi
Chapter 1
Princess cried, dropped her tears and said, “I came to you to support your struggle, our struggle and even I want to be your soldier.”
“If so then I want you to discuss our struggle with me. Many think that I want to ask you. However, I knew that you are tired; so let us get rest.
Guard, prepare a new tent for our Princess!”
Princess ate cook rice and deer meat and then slept in a tent.
Ki Manjangan faced Akuwu, “Master, I saw our people came out from their hiding; they gathered, made line and moved to eastern. They want to look for food since they did not have any food. They did not afraid of enemy threatening. The line became bigger and bigger since people at every village join the line. They have a Charismatic Leader, named Brahma Jaya Rendra.
Brahma spoke, “Common joins us! If you did not want to die because of starvation then you would have to join us as refugees to Bali Island.
Goddess guided us, saved us until we would have come to our destination, Bali Island.
Bali Island was home of Goddess. The place will give us happiness.”
Akuwu Wengker gave comment, “Every war was always make famine because any body wants to work at rice field since them afraid. They have their right to be refugees to Bali.
How Wulansari soldiers act to see the refugees?”
“They disagreed, forced them to go back home; even some of refugees die killed by them.”
“How cruel Wulansari soldiers, I hated them. We must protect our person who wants to go to Bali Island.
Therefore, we would have meeting to night with our topic of discussion was to protect the refugees.
Do not forget ask Princess to come to our meeting.”
That night, entire soldiers and military staffs attended the meeting, sat on grass field under banyan tree. They have spent three months in the forest, so they were boring.
Therefore, they would prefer to fight than to stay in the forest.
Akuwu spoke, “To night we met again to discuss our struggle. I knew that you were boring to stay in the forest. Now I command you to guide our people to go to Bali Island.
Why did they go to Bali? I knew you would ask me. Because now they were suffering famine, therefore they had to look for food at Bali.
But we have problem that the enemy soldiers forbid them to go; the enemy had blocked the way.”
Jaran Edan asked, “Shall we fight the enemy?”
“Yes we should fight them if they had forced us. However, we would ask permit first politely. If they had refused to give permit then we would have to fight them.
We would like not weary our military dress but we wearied common dress; hide your weapon under your dress. We would join them as if we are refugees too.”
Jaran Edan asked, “When we go out Master?”
“We would do our task as soon as possible.
Now I want to ask our Princess for speaking; she had come yesterday to our Camp.
Welcome Princess Sekarpandanwangi.!
Would you speak Princess to support our struggle?”
“Thank you very much Akuwu. I am very happy could be among of you in deep of forest. Now I would join into your Medang Legion, to fight against Wulansari Kingdom.
Our enemy was cruel, not just our soldiers became their victims but also the innocent people.
They had killed my mother as well as Akuwu’s mother. I had buried both of dead bodies.
Therefore, I want to ask their King, what was purpose of you? I knew that you want to collect money from us as tribute; and you want to make us slave of yours.
Do you want to be slave of the greedy King?
“NO WE DO NOT WANT!” The soldiers shouted together.
“Therefore, I absolutely agreed with our people to go to Bali Island since we do not want to be slave of the greedy King. Even I command to all of you, let us go to Bali.
The greedy King would find any body at Medang city, so he could not collect money as tribute. Therefore, the war that he had launched was a useless war since he would find an empty land of Medang Kingdom.
Now I want to ask the people of Wulansari Kingdom; do you agree with your King’s idea of war? I am sure the answer would be NO. However, they could not be able to reveal their willing because their King has absolute ruler. That has meant the King could not hear his people say NO to him. People must say yes to every order of his.
Included my lover, Prince Sora Mahisa who had killed our King……I knew him as Prince of…….
Princess stopped her speaking; she could not be able to continue because she was hit mental depression by talking her ex-lover. She was really sadness to think her lover. Many tears dropped from her eyes.
Akuwu approached his sister, guided her into her tent.
Akuwu continued his spoke, “Gentlemen, night was goes on and we would be better going to sleep.
However, do not forget to prepare our duty to guide people to Bali.
Even we must to go to Bali because our Princess had commanded us to be refugees too.
Good night.”
Chapter 2
Akuwu and his sister had meeting to discuss war strategy. Any body attended the meeting.
“Sister, I want to ask you; did you still love your lover? I believed the Jaran’s investigation; that the killer of our father was Sora Mahisa.”
“No, I did not love him, no more love to him but hate.”
“If so then I relief now; therefore, we could fight hand in hand in this war.
I surprised hearing Sora was a Prince. I assumed that he was the leader of Army to attack us. So what was your plan to win this war?”
“I want to kill my lover with keris that had ever used to kill our father.”
“That would be good planning of yours. I along with our Army was hopeless.
Because we could not be able to win since we have just fewer amount of soldiers compare than that enemy’s does.
Would you explain to me concerning your planning?”
“I want to join refugees group. I hope no body would know me since I would wear common dress for in disguising appearance. When the refugees passed Kalisosok, the HQ’s enemy, I would pretend lose. I would go into their HQ. They would catch me; and I hope I would meet Sora Mahisa as their Commandant.
Hoping Sora still loved me. Therefore, they did not kill me. Hoping Sora would ask me to sleep with him. In this moment of opportunity, I would kill him with this weapon, the same way as he had killed our father.”
“That was a good planning of you; but you say many words of hoping on your sentence. That has meant you would be in jeopardy that enemy could killed you.”
“I would donate my soul for the shake of our Kingdom.”
“Therefore, I want to involve in your mission, want to guide you until their HQ.”
“No, I disagreed with you. Just God wants to follow me and I believed God would protect me. Hoping Sora still loved me and I would pretend to love him. I knew I would be in jeopardy if Sora did not love me any more.
I would hang my fate on the rope of love.”
“Wow, it was a wonderful mission of you. Oh Goddess, protect my sister.”
The brother and sister hugged to each other; no more aversion but cooperation.
Chapter 3
The refugees walked toward eastern. Their leader was Brahma Jaya Rendra; he was a Hindu Priest. They did not afraid of Wulansari soldiers since they believed Goddess were attended between among of them to guide them until their destination.
Women and children included in the line; they were hungry but they were joining, singing and smiling; because they believed, they would have come at a place of Goddess home, the happy land.
In that land, every body was brother; they would appreciate and love to each other.
Ki Manjangan and his soldiers busy to manage the line. Now they had a problem and so he had to meet Brahma otherwise the line would meet Wulansari soldiers. He wants to ask Brahma to command the line turn into forest since the line would go near Kalisosok, the military HQ of Wulansari.
Afterward Ki Manjangan met Brahma, “Hi holly man, will you give command the line to turn left otherwise we would meet enemy.”
“You knew this line was not military soldiers and the dusk almost come then they worry walking cross the forest.”
Now he realized that the line could not avoid meeting with enemy.
Princess was among the refugees; no body took care of her because she wearied common dirty dress and she has un-order hair. She knew that refugees would pass the HQ of enemy at Kalisosok; she was glad since it would match with her scenario.
Not so long, Wulansari soldiers stopped the line of refugees. Sora Mahisa himself led the soldiers.
Sora Mahisa spoke to the mob, “Brother and sister, we forbid you to go; so please go home now; you have your freedom, you can work as usual.”
A man gave comment, “We did not have a house because of you had burnt it.”
A child said, “I have no parents because of you had killed them.”
A woman shouted, “We have no more food; therefore we want to go to look for food at Bali Island.”
The refugees shouted together, “Release us to go because we have our freedom.”
Sora Mahisa became angry; he gave command by signing his hand to archer group; that has meant shoot. Many arrows flied to its target. A grandma, a man and a child fell down altogether to death at sudden.
The field became quiet, any one talking or shouting. The archer groups were ready to shoot the next arrow. Every body frightened, turned down and even lie down on the ground. Many children and women cried sadly.
Suddenly, an ugly woman came out from the line, run approaching Sora Mahisa and knelt in front Sora’s horse. “Hi, the winner King, please release us to go, I beg you please.
I am the leader of these refugees. I knew that you win and we are lost, you could kill and torture on us because you are the winner.”
“Hi you! Who are you?”
“I am the lost Queen of Medang Kingdom; I am Sekarpandanwangi. You could detain on me to replace our people.”
The field became noisy by talking and whispering, “Is that our Princess? I cannot believe her.”
No body could believe that the woman was Princess Putri Sekarpandanwangi because she was ugly, dirty, tore dress and un-order hair.
Sora Mahisa came down from his horse approached her and knelt down in front of her. “Are you really Princess Putri Sekarpandanwangi?”
“Yes I am”
“Oh darling, I am happy to find you. I though you had already die, but not. Oh, God thank you for your blessing. You have your permit for me to meet my lover.”
“Will you agree with me?
“Of course yes.
Hi people of Medang Kingdom, you could go to everywhere you want to go, because you have your freedom. But your leader will stay with me because she was my lover.”
No body would give comment. They moved slowly, left their leader behind and wondered, “Why the leader of enemy said that Princess was his lover? It was strange and suspicion.”
Finally, the refugees went forward without saying but fast their step; they worried about Sora still got his anger and will shoot again.
Princess Sekarpandanwangi guided to HQ; she was a prisoner, not lover of the leader.
It was military rule that every prisoner must to do investigation.
A secret agent investigated her in a room and found a weapon; It was concealed behind her trouser; it was a keris (blade) that actually would be used to kill Sora Mahisa.
The secret agent faced Sora Mahisa, “Master, she had her weapon, a keris. Be careful perhaps she has bad purpose to you Sir.”
Sora Mahisa received the keris, “The keris was mine that I had been used to kill her father. I suppose she came for killing me to revenge; she would use the same weapon”
He thought.
Princess was alone in a room; she really frightened after a soldier found her keris.
“Sora Mahisa realized that I would kill him since he found my weapon; if so then I have been in jeopardy. Now I could not use rope of love for hanging my fate.
Oh, God I need your help. If you did not help me then my people would have been suffered, deep suffering.”
Sora Mahisa held the keris and mused, “I should refuse that bad task, to kill King Ribut Sakti. How stupid am I; I should ask my deputy to kill that King.
But I am the leader and so every body will know that I must responsible the murder whatever the killer would be.
The man who was most responsible to the murder was King Girindrawardana, not me.
I blame my father for breaking my relationship with my lover.
Why did he give me a bad task to kill my father in law?
Whatever want to say to my lover, she would say no excuse; she would ask me to do suicide to pay back the dieing of her father.
Yes, to do suicide was the best way of solution to cure my illness; I am suffering mental depression; to do suicide was the best way to make her satisfy.
I would ask her to kill me.”
He walked with a keris in his hand toward Princess’s room. Four guards accompany him.
He opened the door; saw his lover with pale face.
Princess was frightened, “Now the end of my biography. Oh God, will you save me?”
She asked, “Will you kill me?”
He did not answer and even he gave a keris to her and said, “Please kill me with the same keris. I knew, my dieing would make you satisfy.
I just want you to know how I loved you very much.
Please kill me, go on!”
“Hi the winner King, you should kill me, not the opposite. Because of you the winner and I am the loser. We have no more love since you had killed my father. Common, kill me.”
“Darling, I loved you.
I knew that I am a horrible man with blood on my hands. I knew I should not kill your father. That was because of order my father.”
“You could refuse that order. It was just your excuse to escape from your sin.”
“If I had refused his order then he would have killed me.”
“You are a liar! How a father wants to kill his own son, it does not make sense.”
“Yes I knew, therefore, you should kill me now; please go on, kill me now!
Whatever I want to say, you will never believe me; now I am the lost King in front of you and you were the winner.”
“Did you blame your father?
“Yes I did; he was a King who has absolute rule of authority; no one could say no upon his task.”
“Did you hate your father?”
“Yes I did.”
“Shall we fight against your father, King Girindrawardana hand in hand?”
Prince Sora Mahisa kept silent for a moment. He faced a problem now; it was a hard problem, to fight against his own father. Shall he betray his own Country?
Afterward, Princess Putri sekarpandanwangi said, “You do not have to kill your own father, but I will do. It was a sin to kill a father.”
“Thank you very much darling.”
“Hi, will you agree with me to kill King Girindrawardana together?”
“I would rather say no than yes, but my father was a cruel King that he was reasonable to be killed. Father I am sorry to say that since I absolutely disagreed with you, especially your politically reason to do war.
However, darling, you just looked like a chicken that want to kill a python snake. That was you; even I have to hide you since the python was so hungry that it knew the food was there, it was you as a chicken.”
“Nevertheless, the chicken would be helped by a lion, it was you as a lion, because the lion loved chicken and then it would protect you.
“Of course the lion would protect you from python threatening; now the python had known that you were here. I suggest you for hiding.”
“Wow wonderful.” She approached her lover, hugged and kissed him. Now her face was no more pale but red. “Sora, I loved you.”
The room became quiet for a moment since both of lovers mused; they thought about love and correlation with politic. They had their same problem, shall they break their love because of politic and even because of a King, the cruel King.
Sora Mahisa was glad finding his lover came back to his arm but political problem still hit on him that war continued.
“Sora, will you betray your own Country?” She asked afterward.
“No, I loved my Country and I do not want to betray”.
“But you had agreed with me to kill your own King”.
“My purpose was wanted to stop this useless war. This war would continue if my father had been existed. You could help me in this struggle.”
“Who is your enemy now?”
“No body is my enemy now.
Now my step of the right leg was at Wulansari but the left leg was at Medang.
You are the best soldier of Medang Kingdom. Alone you had come to our HQ; and had defeated their Commandant at war at sudden. You just had keris as your weapon
“The weapon of me was not just a Keris but love. If you did not love me any more then you would have killed me at once; actually I hang my fate on the rope of love.”
“Did you still love me?”
“No, I am not really loved you or not much. I will wait what would happen next; might be something exited would have happened that make our love would decrease or increase, because of war.”
“But you hang your fate on the rope of love; in fact the love had been breaking step by step as you said.”
“I knew that the rope of love was worn out; it was a fact that I almost would have fallen down and death. Nevertheless, I will donate my soul for my Country, for the shake of Kingdom, Medang Kingdom.”
“Wow wonderful; honey I loved you so much please do not break my love and your love. Please make the rope of love strength.”
“Now I felt the rope became strength; more strong that that before because of your statement.”
“Again I want to ask you, did you still love me?”
“I will wait what was would have happened in next time.”
Sora Mahisa could not be able to force his lover to say what he wants to hear that she love him as usual.
He could understand because he had killed her father. Now he realized that the happening of she had been waiting was King Girindrawardana dieing because of a murder.
It would be her revenge. She will do that assassination. No mater what she looked like chicken that wants to kill a python snake.
(To be continued)
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