The Tropical Sun - Belief, Love and Hate

by J. S. Philippe

  ~~~~~

  That afternoon Bandri and Harta paddled two boats to Pantai.

  They lifted Eko into one boat, along with as many household items from their house as could be managed, leaving just enough room for Bandri at the stern. Harta, Raharjo and Listeri squeezed into the other boat with further personal items, plus Asu and Anjing.

  Eko’s family had said goodbye to their old home.

  Most of the village had crowded into Bandri’s house where Eko’s family were being sheltered. The guests quietly grouped together, still rather unsure about speaking out loud in this new situation, Listeri sat on the bed beside her stretched out husband. Meanwhile, Bandri tried to explain once again to everyone why Agung needed to be hidden.

  “Bahoi think he has long hair – from a distance that’s how you can recognise Agung – and they didn’t see his back. Those men didn’t know it was Agung – they’re going to tell all that to Bahoi.. If they see him with short hair here, and there’s no one at Pantai they’ll know that the family has joined us.. Also, they only saw Lyana, and they heard Eko’s voice but didn’t see him.”

  Bandri looked at his older brother who appeared intent on demonstrating his seniority, especially in front of the new family.

  “What about the kathok?!” Praba probed assertively.

  Bandri raised his eyebrows as he glanced at the uncomfortable Agung.

  “He wasn’t wearing a kathok,” said Lyana in Malay, who had evidently been able to understand enough of the dialect to follow the debate.

  Coughs and mutterings started up. Praba had been stunned into temporary silence.

  “He was wearing a kain,” Lyana said frankly. As the mutterings gave way to murmurings, she added: “His kathok needed washing.”

  “But!” said Harta, still baffled. “If they saw him with long hair at Pantai, would we still have to hide him?”

  “We can’t hide Agung!” said Praba fatuously.

  Agung stood beside Bandri who heard him draw in a deep breath.

  “Right now they don’t know about Agung,” Bandri intervened quickly. “And we need to stop them knowing.”

  “How?!” grunted Agung.

  Ayu reached up to run a gentle hand through her brother’s short hair.

  “Agu could wear some hair,” she said lightly. “The women can give him some!”

  “Apa?!” - “What?!” coughed Agung.

  “That’s not a bad idea my friend,” smiled Bandri, trying to introduce the notion gently. “Just for a while around the village - until we think of a better idea.”

  “Lela and I could cut out hair shorter, and Agung could have long hair,” offered Lyana promptly, who was looking at her younger sister for a sign of confirmation. “And then we could wear kathoks and fisherman tops to make us look more like men,” added Lyana airily, smiling broadly at Agung and putting her arm around Lela, before glancing down at her parents who were talking quietly together.

  “Thank you for offering to help,” Praba said, smiling at the sisters. Bandri drew in a breath but said nothing as he noticed the change of tone his older brother used when addressing the girls.

  “Lyana and Lela must stay inside until we have a better plan,” stated Rukma. “Now we need to decide where Eko and his family are going to live.”

  “They live in my house,” said Agung with a determined tone. “And I stay in the shed.”

  In the evening, the men thrashed out their feelings at the gathering under cover of the beach shelter, where a fire burned alongside. Eko however stayed in Agung’s house, and Agung wore a fisherman’s hat.

  “I’m sure that was the same man,” Rukma said again.

  “So it looks like he’s gone to Bitung,” said Praba, shaking his head angrily. “And you say that there are tribes down there that always get women by just taking them like that.”

  “I don’t know if they always do that,” said Bandri attempting to maintain a reasonable discussion. “But people from Bitung say it happens a lot down there – so if his tribe is like that – that’s what they could try and do here.”

  “The girl in Bitung was taken by four men!” Agung told them emotionally. “These people don’t care about anybody else – they’re animals – like pigs!”

  “They behave like dogs!” said Praba in disgust, as if competing with Agung to insult the Javanese tribesmen. “Just because they want sex they do anything they can to have sex with anyone they can take it from – they breed like stray dogs!”

  “They tried to take Lyana!” Agung gushed with anger, flinging off the hat. “If they saw Lela they would have taken her.. He was arrogant - ignorant! – a pig! – Worse!” The other men had never seen the big man quite like this before. As he stood Agung pulled out the machete, the gleam of which they could see in the yellow glow from the fire. Agung made ferocious sweeping actions in the air as he spoke. “I can see his face now.. If they had gone at me - what I would do! – Worse than pigs!”

  The seething rage in his voice was clear to the others, who all shared his emotion. Bandri was thankful that it was probably too dark now for any observers to see his friend’s haircut. Apart from a rubbing of foreheads and a wringing of hands, nobody moved or said anything for a while. In the background the fire crackled and snapped. Agung finally sat down again and pushed the machete back in its sheath.

  “We all need machetes to scare the dogs away,” Praba said with a venomous scowl as he stared with envy at the machete. It was far more impressive than a long knife.

  Rukma had been listening and watching carefully, as the younger men blew off steam.

  “We need to calm down and think clearly,” he tried to persuade them. “We do not want to start a war with Bahoi. If that happened people in Likupang would suffer. People here would die - even children. They would try to kill all the men and boys – maybe the women too.”

  Rukma’s solemn words had wisedom, and the anger seemed to subside.

  “It’s very bad,” Bandri finally said quietly. “But there are some things that might help.. When I was bringing Eko back in the boat he was telling me more about what happened at Pantai when the men attacked.”

  The others listened.

  “Listeri, Lela and Eko were in the house when they heard Lyana’s screams. Eko couldn’t get up but he could see the men. It was Listeri who was holding the bow.”

  “That was a big bow - and the arrow was pulled far back?” Agung said in surprise.

  “That’s what I mean,” explained Bandri. “Eko told me that when they were younger Listeri used to hunt with him – she’s very good with the bow - and she’s stronger than she looks.. And there’s something else.”

  The others listened more carefully.

  “They’ve needed to look after themselves at Pantai – Eko and Listeri have taught their children to use bows too – he says they’re all good at it.”

  “Lela and Lyana were good at paddling,” added Agung.

  “They’re stronger than they look,” Bandri went on.. “Harta - what were Listeri and Raharjo like at paddling?”

  “Alright – they were good,” admitted Harta, shrugging nonchalantly.

  “They looked very good at it to me,” Bandri said. “They’re not helpless you understand.. When the sisters said they will cut their hair off and wear clothes to make themselves look like boys from a distance – I think they were serious.”

  “How are they going to look like boys!” scoffed Praba. “Look at them? Boys don’t walk like they do! Boys fight on the beach!”

  Bandri knew his brother was right, but somehow there must be a way.

  “They can’t stay inside for ever. They wore fisherman’s tops and fooled Harta.”

  Harta pulled a face as if to object.

  “What about Agung’s hair?” said Praba pointedly.

  “Alright it’s dark now and they can’t see his short hair – but what about tomorrow?.. Do we want them to know what has happened so early?”

  “Bandy’s got a point,”
said Andhika.

  Bandri watched Agung take out the machete again and tried to steer the subject away from his hairstyle, saying instead:

  “It’s difficult to believe that everybody in Bahoi is that bad -”

  “Brother,” declared Praba, cutting in. “Sometimes you think this world is too good a place! You think that tribesmen like that have good sides to them?.. They don’t deserve to be in this world! When they die they don’t deserve to be in the next world!”

  “We’re all angry – but if we war with them we’ll suffer – and so will our families,” Bandri reminded his older brother, while trying to hold on to his own feelings. “I’m just saying that if there were any in the Bahoi tribe that were not like that – we could try and work with them somehow.”

  “But how could we find out?” Andhika groaned, as Praba buried his face in his hands.

  “I was wondering why that third young man didn’t try and get Lyana?” pondered Bandri out loud. Exhausted with the topic, the others let him talk. “If they all saw this girl on her own – maybe they talked about what they were going to do.. But he didn’t join in – maybe he decided not to take the girl.. Maybe he had just been brought into the tribe?”

  “Alright, I’ve heard enough,” said Rukma emphatically. “If they’re bringing in new men, let’s see if the sisters are serious about being boys.”

  8 Trust and Distrust

  The almost silent swish of an arrow - then the slicing thud as it burrowed itself deep in the coconut packing.

  “That’s good!” Praba muttered.

  “That’s Bandy,” Harta said.

  Another arrow flew out from Agung’s covered work shed. The archer was hidden from view. This arrow was much less forceful and clipped the edge of the target.

  Several more arrows followed, with a wide variety of results. Two were almost as accurate as the first, although less powerful. Two others just went the distance but were off target. One smaller arrow hit the target dead centre, another nearly centre, while another small arrow didn’t make it very far and was way off target.

  The target was strung up on a pole at the top of the beach. It was about chest height and thirty paces from the shed. Praba and Harta were watching safely from the beach shelter off to one side.

  Bandri walked out of the shed and across to the beach shelter. As he did so more arrows flew out, some less accurate than others. He smiled at his two brothers.

  “What do you think?”

  “Who shot the first one?” asked Praba.

  “Listeri.”

  Bandri grinned as another arrow plunged forcefully into the centre of the target.

  “Stay there!” he told them, jogging back into the work shed. A short while later he returned to the beach shelter followed by Ayu, Melati and Sukma.

  “Ready!”

  In rapid succession two large arrows and two smaller arrows were launched; all of them hit the target. Two were dead centre and the others fairly close, one of the big arrows again with considerable force.

  They all looked at each other, grinning in wonderment.

  “Listeri has offered to tutor the women - if that helps?” said Ayu. She smiled sweetly at Praba. “The men could have more time to work on the boat and go fishing if the women can help look after the village.”

  “We want to learn too!” gushed Sukma. “Can Lyana and Lela teach us?”

  Bandri looked at Praba and raised his eyebrows as if asking a question.

 

  “It’s just for a while,” said Bandri. “Until we have a better plan?”

  He sat quietly, unconvinced. The idea of having wearing a wig everytime he was outside was difficult to stomach. Apart from the annoyance, everyone else would think he was stupid.

  Just then Ayu, Melati, Sukma, Lyana and Lela came giggling into the room from their target practise in the adjoining work shed.

  “It’s a great idea, Agu,” Ayu enthused as she stroked the back of his head. “It will be fun – like dressing up when we were kids.”

  “Melati and me are going to help Ayu,” chirped Sukma, excitedly dancing around her big brother, while Melati chuckled.

  Lyana grinned as she lifted up her sister’s luxuriant hair showing him there was plenty for a wig. Lela smiled her smile at him. His world had become rich with love and attention. They all wanted him to wear a wig.

  “You wanted to take my hair off,” he complained with a wry smile, struggling to retain his dignity as he felt his heart melting away. “And now you want to put it back on!”

  “And they can be boys!” Ayu told him, adding “What do you think?” as she rolled up Lyana’s hair.

  The three of them posed in front of him.

  “What can I think?” he replied, willing to do whatever they wanted.

  Melati had enjoyed her bow practise with the Javanese sisters and felt more confident in their presence. Lyana was fun, although scarily forthright and evidently keen on Agung. Melati felt she had more in common with Lela who was quieter.

  Ayu, Sukma and Melati nimbly took each long strand of Lyana’s black shiny hair and sewed one end into a fabric cap which was made to fit Agung’s head. There were frequent visitors to Bandri and Ayu’s porch where the wig gradually took shape.

  “It’s going to look too neat,” Harta grumbled. “They’ll think he’s a woman!”

  “Don’t let Agung hear you say that!” advised Andhika.

  “It has to be neat when we’re making it Hatty!” Sukma said, goading Harta, offering him the tiny needle made from a fish rib and what appeared to be a strand of hair held between her forefinger and thumb. “You couldn’t do it?!”

  Harta took the needle and tried to take the strand of hair, grasping hopelessly at thin air.

  “Huh!?” uttered the baffled youth who had fallen into the trap.

  Sukma sniggered “Silly Hatty” and then Andhika burst into laughter, slapping Harta hard on the back.

  For the first time since the new girls had arrived, Melati smiled and then chuckled.

  One side of the work shed had no wall; the large covered area had served Agung as a multi-purpose smelting and carpenter’s space, porch, kitchen and now even a bedroom. Agung’s house had two sizable rooms and the attached work shed, from which was the entrance door to the first room. Each room had a door into the tandas or ‘privacy’ room at the back. Between the two living rooms he had never bothered installing a door into the doorframe. This arrangement had been fine for him, but it was less than ideal now.

  Eko and Listeri had been hosted in the room furthest away from the entrance, while Lyana and Lela were to live in the first room. Agung had taken up residence in the work shed, where Raharjo also had a bunk bed. So far neither Agung nor the girls had left the house in daylight, in case they were seen by any of the Bahoi tribesmen.

  This day, Agung occupied himself with making and fixing a door between the two rooms so that the parents and the daughters had a little more comfort, but also still allowed the daughters to easily help Listeri look after Eko, who was confined to lying on a bed.

  Eko studied the young man hard at work making the new door between the two rooms, until he beckoned Agung to come over and sit beside him on the chair next to his bed.

  “Agung – you are a thoughtful man.. Listeri and I want to thank you and your family for all you are doing for us.”

  “It’s good to have you here with us, sir.”

  “Your father is a good and wise man Agung – we have talked much,” Eko informed him. “He speaks Javanese well and understands much - and your mother is good and thoughtful.”

  “Thank you sir.. It’s good that our families are together.”

  “Listeri tells me you are sleeping in your work shed?”

  “That’s good for me – we can make another house soon.”

  “I hear you are making another sacrifice,” Eko said with a smile. “They are asking you to wear a wig – but I understand why.. It’s a clever idea. Also my daughters can be
safer if the tribesmen from Bitung do not see them as girls.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Lyana’s hair will grow again,” Eko mused as Lyana walked through the new doorway into the room. “What do you think of her hair now?”

  Lyana’s hair was now much shorter – similar to the length and style of Harta’s. It revealed her shapely neck. Eko watched the young man closely.

  Agung looked up at her, meeting her eyes which caused a spontaneous reaction in him. Even with her short hair, he was very aware of her sexuality and how attractive he found her. He could not find the words to answer her father, and for a few moments became a shy man again. Eko had his answer.

  Lela still had her rampant long hair. She came into the room soon after her older sister. Agung automatically looked up at her, and Lela instantly smiled at him. Her smile Agung had discovered was different to that of her older sister. Lela’s feminine smile was more modest, as was she, and in some ways he found her even more lovely. He wanted to keep looking at her but remembered not to. Instead he looked uncomfortably again at her father, who was watching him with amusement.

  Eko spoke to his daughters, allowing Agung to regain his composure.

  “Lyana, I think you need something to hide your neck.”

  “Yes father, we are working on a fisherman’s top to try and give it a higher neck – and Bandri has found a kathok that fits me.”

  The girls seemed to find whatever they had come into the room for, and went back through the doorway into the other room.

  “I have not really thanked you for saving Lyana.” Eko put his hand up to stop Agung’s interruption.. “Yes - Listeri’s bow helped – but without you she would have been taken away, and maybe Lela too.. I can see that you are committed to my daughters.”

  He waited as Agung nodded solemnly, then Eko quietly and deliberately asked:

  “Do you want both my daughters?”

  Eko’s clear specific question took Agung by surprise, and made his mind race. He knew it was the most important question he had ever been asked. He felt his heart beating as he tried hard to give an answer - an answer that was worthy of the question.

  “Sir - I believe they should decide if they want me.”

  “I respect that answer Agung, and you are right - If I live they will decide.” Eko’s statement was worded precisely, especially the last phrase. Then he explained his question.

  “I hope my daughters can decide who they want to marry, but we know that is not the way the world works. I need to know how you feel.. If you cannot tell me yet, I will understand – but I fear that my time in this world is not long, and I want to know if my daughters can be looked after well – if they can marry trustworthy men, who will love them and care for them - good men.” At this point Eko hesitated, and then added “Or a good man – but understand that this is only between you and me.”

  Agung understood. Eko had used the Malay dialect carefully. Now Eko again asked in a calm voice:

  “Can you tell me if you want both my daughters?”

  Agung was trying to imagine a future without either Lyana or Lela, and he could not. He did not want to imagine them apart – he knew them only as part of each other. Admittedly he had kissed Lyana on her forehead for a fleeting moment, and touched them both in the middle of their backs! But he had never seen them without their sarongs or touched them intimately. Both of them he desired physically. But beyond all of this, their natures filled his heart with joy. He knew. He yearned for both of them in every way. He did want both of them, if they would have him, although he realised that this could be much too much to ask!

  “Sir – if they want me.. yes, I want them.”

  For a few moments Eko looked silently at the large muscular young man sitting obediently beside his bed.

  “Thank you for your answer Agung – I just needed to know your feelings.. But this remains between us.”