indonesian editor | bandung mawardi
cover design | hikozza
ilustration | bukukatta
translated | Rini Nurul Badariah & Nita Candra
limited edition! Rp, 50.000 (free delivery in Indonesia/bebas ongkos kirim di Indonesia)
Down there, some people wanted to seek your spring. Probably water in the lower course wasn’t satisfying, or they wanted the clearest pure water. After few days, they found our dry land easily.
That moment, you were sitting near the lake, shocked to see them. The leader of those people stepped forward, yelled, “So you are here, slut!” The other man saw the tears dripping to the lake and whispered, “Look. The river we seek is coming from her tears!”
Those people looked at each other, angrily.
“What? So along this time we have drank this slut’s tears?” he spat. Hurriedly, they all surrounded the woman. “We should have killed you that day!” said one man.
You stepped back, frightened. “I didn’t do anything wrong!” You cried and fell down.
They spat again.
“I loved him!” you said, crawling back. “And you… you killed him!”
“He deserved to die! He disgraced our Kumari!”
There was sound of laughter, and in a second a lance had stabbed in your throat!
*****
This short story compilation presented authors’ faith to play along and breathe the tales, again in ‘esthetical transaction’ with readers. It is not only words combination on papers. Spring of Kumari Tears challenged locality imaginative pilgrimage and human internal search through various events. Fluency in geographical setting was evidence of author’s traveling among cultures. Author’s faith guided readers to live in his stories.
- Bandung Mawardi
