And now, that warmth has returned. He does not want to lose it again, so he suckles like a baby who does not want to be separated from its mother’s breast.
By
SINDHUNATA
·5 minutes read
The moon descended to its lowest point, radiating a dim glow at the edge of darkness. How happy the tiny demon (a type of mystical creature) must be to see the moonlight again after emerging from the darkness, where he had wandered for a long time without a way out. Under the light of the moon, he surveys his surroundings and finds himself standing amidst a field of campaka flowers, lit up by the full moon. The moon becomes fully aglow to break the silence. Suddenly, a beam of light descends from the sky. Upon touching the earth, it turns into a figure that walks towards the tiny demon, who has known no creature other than himself and is surprised to see the creature approaching him.
The creature turns out to be a woman. As if she cannot wait any longer, she tightly embraces the tiny demon. Her tears fall. Illuminated by the moonlight, her tears are like gems radiating sadness in the night. She hugs the tiny demon tighter, and the stars fade into the night sky in compassion.
The tiny demon does not resist and instead surrenders to her embrace. He feels great warmth. How often he longed for an embrace like this, but never felt it. It is only now is that his longing is sated. It is not yet the rainy season, but the tiny demon’s ears hear the cataka birds chirping happily, singing about the rain that suddenly falls like the unexpected arrival of a lover. There is no rain that night, only the tears that roll down the cheeks of the tiny demon, tears that are like bright spots that satisfy his longing.
Like the moon that slips through the dark clouds and sweeps away the darkness with light, so with his gripping loneliness, which seems to be swept away in the instant he buries his head in the woman’s chest. The tiny demon is very happy. Such happiness existed, but he had never possessed it and yet, he could still feel its loss. Now he has rediscovered what was lost to him, though he had never possessed it. He does not want to lose it again. So he stretches out his arms and embraces the woman as tightly as he can. Feeling the intimacy of his embrace, the woman’s tears flow anew. She can say nothing, only kiss the tiny demon \'s cheek with greater affection.
The tiny demon wants to express his feelings, but he cannot. He cannot talk. He does not even have a language. If he had one, it would be the language of the animals, the trees, the flowers. The tiny demon wants to greet the woman like he does in greeting elephants, tigers, rhinoceros, and monkeys, or when greeting the angsana, campaka, and ashoka flowers, or in greeting gadung (poisonous tuber), beringin (banyan), and kanaka trees. However, he has no words. He only feels the growing sensation of surrendering into the woman’s embrace.
In her arms, the tiny demon feels the warmth he had so often longed for when he watched young animals suckling on their mother’s breast. He often imagined how pleased it would feel if he could suckle like they did. But with whom could he feel the pleasure of breastfeeding like them? Tonight, as he is allowed to embrace the woman, how he wants to satisfy his longing to suckle like them. He feels that this is the time to satisfy his longing.
"Can I suckle your breast?" the tiny demon asks without shame. He doubts she understands what he is saying. But she senses his desire and understands what he wants. He opens the cloth that covers her chest and her breasts appear like a pair of beautiful ivory coconuts. The moon watches him, shining brightly, and the breasts gleam in the moon’s glow.
"Just breastfeed from me, my son, and you will know I am your mother," says the woman. The tiny demon buries his face into her breasts and suckles to his heart’s desire. Without knowing what “mother” means, the tiny demon immediately feels and experiences what it is to have a mother. The deeper he drowns in the breasts, the more he feels that he once tasted breast milk. He cannot remember when that could be. He has always been alone. How could there have been a creature that gave him such warm milk? But he is confident that he once drowned in milk. Suckling revives his memory of the warmth he once felt. And now, that warmth has returned. He does not want to lose it again, so he suckles like a baby who does not want to be separated from its mother’s breast.
KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO
Sindhunata
The moon grows even fuller. The light seems to want to make love with the night. Just like the moon that wants to ever linger with the night, so the tiny demon wants to linger in the warmth of the woman\'s breasts. But the dawn suddenly arrives and the tiny demon awakes.
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