"I will never forget the pleasure I enjoyed. Even now, I am always longing for that pleasure to come to me again. My son, you are born from my pleasure. How could I not have the heart to accept you, even though you are an ugly demon baby?”
Dewi Sokawati then kisses her child to her heart's content. The baby understands the affection, and cries loudly. His cry is a happy cry that awakens the engkuk (barbets) from their slumber of sorrow. The moonlight penetrates the thin clouds, and the light that falls is like the beautiful leaves of the kumuda water lily.
"My son, you have drunk your mother's milk. I believe you will survive, even though you have drunk only once. Yes you will live, my child, because what I gave you is not milk, but my own life.” Dewi Sokawati continues to caress her child with great affection.
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> The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (23)
> The Bajang Child Swings on the Moon (22)
She moves from the rock where she sat for a moment. She then walks through the night, lit by moonlight. She cannot understand how she can be so sure that her child will live, even though he has tasted the milk from her breasts just once.
“Life is life, however meaningless it may be, similar to how my life is. Maybe because of that, I am sure that my son will live, because what I gave him is my own life," Dewi Sokawati said in her heart.
It is not just human begins that need that life, but also the moon. So when life is given, the moon will also feed from her. "My son, together with you, the moon also likes to suckle. This is a sign that the light of life will be with you, even though the darkness of death may threaten you."
The moonlight suddenly disappears as Dewi Sokawati gets up from the stone ornamented with lotus flowers. Slowly, she makes her way through the darkness and back into the night. She no longer knows where she should go. However, she feels certain that she does not want to return. Even in the darkest night, she still believes that she is carrying a life and the moon, which cannot be extinguished. Why should she hope for light, when in her arms she holds the moon?
She continues making her way through the night. She hears the bamboo trees creaking. The sound is similar to a cry that wants to join the sadness.
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> The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (18)
> The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (17)
Dewi Sokawati realizes that she is now in a great sorrow. She is sad because she will have to part with the baby she loves. She looks at her baby. It is fast asleep in her arms. "My son, you seem to know how to cast away my sadness. In your deep sleep, it is impossible for you to cry when I must leave you. But is it possible that the absence of your cry will soothe mine? I do not see your sadness, but can it take away mine?"
Dewi Sokawati cries out into the night. The night gives no reply, except to sink her deeper into the night. The night wind blows, the rustle of leaves produces a painful whisper. The cry of the cataka (cuckoo), which no longer have any hope for the freshness of the rainy season, surrounds her. Why, on such a night, do the cikru (lesser coucal), whose voices are so touching, take flight? Without realizing, Dewi Sokawati's feet have arrived at the edge of Jatisrana Forest. As she steps there, she feels her feet stumbling in the night of all nights. She is completely gripped by darkness.
"My son, I can no longer delay my farewell to you. Forgive your mother, who cannot take care of you," Dewi Sokawati said as she lays her child on the floor of Jatisrana Forest. As soon as he is laid on the ground, everything suddenly brightens. Dewi Sokawati is surprised. The child in front of her turns into a handsome baby. His face reminds her of the face of the golden doll that descended from the sky and entered her body as she made love with her husband.
"My son, so it turns out that you are such a handsome human baby? Why must you be thrown out?” In her surprise, Dewi Sokawati makes an immediate decision to take the child back home. Her husband will certainly not refuse such a handsome child.
Son, do not cry. Your crying will only add to my sadness. I am your mother. Ugly or handsome, you are my son. It is impossible for me not to love you.
"Has my husband and I been wrong all this time, my son? Why, in front of my eyes, you are an ugly demon baby? Why only now, when you are about to be thrown out, do you reveal your handsomeness?” Dewi Sokawati quickly picks up her child. However, as she touches him, her handsome baby again turns into an ugly demon child. Dewi Sokawati is disappointed, and her son cries loudly, as if crying over his mother's disappointment. All turns black again, and the child's cries grow louder and louder.
"Son, do not cry. Your crying will only add to my sadness. I am your mother. Ugly or handsome, you are my son. It is impossible for me not to love you." Dewi Sokawati hugs her child tightly, and then gives her breasts again. The child suckles quietly while enjoying the caresses of his mother's hand as she strokes his head. Now the boy is truly fast asleep.
In the dark of that night, Dewi Sokawati sees a champak tree in front of her. Its leaves are falling. She collects the leaves to make a bed for her son to sleep upon. She then lays her son there. The child sleeps on a bed of leaves from the champak tree. She looks at her son, her gaze full of emotion and sorrow.
This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.
