~~~~~
The full moon hung overhead, beaming brightly in the black night sky like a celestial pearl. Moonlight illuminated the sheltered coral beach at Pantai. The flowers let out a night-time fragrance and flushed opalescent as their petals reflected the aura of the luminescent moon above.
Raharjo and his sisters played a simple family game they often played. The boy started by running round and round his sisters as they held hands - then they tried to ‘catch’ him – by getting close enough to touch him. The rules were more complicated but that seemed the essence. Agung was initiated into the game as the rules were randomly changed; they could touch him anywhere or each other anywhere, but he, being a full grown man, could only touch them on the middle of their backs.
Such innocent fun had no sense of time. Laughter mixed with the night-time sounds of crickets, the quiet lapping of the waves and the occasional nocturnal calls of wildlife from the forests, while the wise gaze of the moon looked down upon it all. This night he felt secure in his feelings for the two girls, yet almost unbelieving that their feelings could possibly be the same for him. Anyway, how could he possibly go to Likupang in the company of these two beautiful creatures? What would everybody else think?
It was first light in the beautiful morning.
Resistance had been futile. The persuasive powers of Lyana and Lela were overwhelming. They were going to give him a haircut.
They sat him on a chair from the porch, and instructed him to stay still.
As always, he wore his kathok.
First his hair had to be washed. Hair and body were doused in fresh pond water, and then Lyana took the lead: lathering and washing. After rinsing, drying and combing came the cutting.
The adroit manipulation of sharpened seashells lopped off long locks of black hair, while Agung patiently watched the circling felicitous hairdressers. He watched them from close quarters at multiple angles, sometimes through nearly closed eyelids as they trimmed his hair from over his face. He smiled back at their reassuring smiles, marvelling at the quickness and certainty of their movement. They touched him but he did not touch them. He breathed in and absorbed their scent and their closeness. With final touches to the soft stubble of his beard they pronounced the grooming complete.
“There’s one more thing,” said Lyana with a mischievous grin, and then gave him a bundle of cloth.
The Tropical Sun - Belief, Love and Hate Page 21
