Before the review of Maespati, there was a hidden story. This story can only be told by those who are dead. But that is impossible because the dead are no longer in this world. Yet because the dead always yearn for the living, the dead sometimes pop out and want to tell their stories. This is what happened when Dewi Sokawati went to visit her son, Sukrosono in the lonely forest of Jatirasa, or when Sukrosono appeared in Mega Malang (the Malang Cloud) and told him about his longing for Sumantri. So, the dead are able to tell their story, even if the story is a cover for the story they have lived throughout their lives. It is this that is told in their deaths before reaching their final stop.
After dying at the hands of his own older brother, Sumantri, who was making love with Dewi Citrawati in Sriwedari Garden, Sukrosono stopped in Mega Malang. Mega Malang is part of the nature of pangrantunan (a place after death). There, nature is sunya (empty). Indeed, this nature is sunyajati, where what exists is only emptiness. And the emptiness floats like the light crisscrossing cloud. Sometimes sunya clouds forms a valley like a garba (womb), giving the impression that the emptiness is the womb, from which everything is born.
In this realm of Pangrantunan, time is available only to wait. Time is neither long nor short. There, the duration of long or short is the same, because time is only filled with waiting. Even caused by waiting, the short time seems long and very long. It is in this place that Sukrosono awaits Sumantri. But not only Sukrosono, his father and mother, Begawan Swandagni and Dewi Sokawati, are also waiting for him. They should be the ones in waiting. But in the realm of Pangrantunan, they are separated by waiting. Sukrosono feels that his mother and father are in the same realm, but he can't even get close to them, let alone speak with them. Likewise, his mother and father cannot hug Sukrosono, even though Sukrosono is near. It is no longer a matter of waiting to see if they can meet. Waiting makes them unable to greet each other, no matter how close they are to each other.
Also read:
> The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (152)
> The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (151)
> The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (150)
So, waiting is a time where they have to clean themselves, until they are truly honest and sincere with what makes them wait, namely their love for whom they are waiting for. So, the realm of Pangrantunan is sunya, which requires them to clean themselves, until they become sacred enough to love. They are asked to pass the time by purifying themselves, until their love is truly pure. When their love is pure, that is when they would be reunited with Sumantri. But when that time will come, this is something cannot determine. Sumantri's own death will decide that. So in the realm of Pangrantunan they still have to suffer hardship because of love. They feel even pure love cannot help them meet Sumantri, if it is not time for the death to come. Therefore, they have to wait patiently.
No matter how hard it is, they have to make the wait. This is where they experience when waiting turns out to be harder than doing. In doing, they can do what they want. While waiting, they just stay silent, become sunya, surrender until death brings them together with those they love. Gradually they know, sunya really is not a mere emptiness. Sunya is waiting for love. No wonder, they often feel, sunya is silence with sound. Its sounds is like a crying zither, and it is impossible to stop it. Sometimes its sound is like the wind, blowing without form. It is this sound that accompanied Sukrosono in his loneliness in Mega Malang, during his period of waiting.
Finally, the wait was over when death picked up Sumantri on the battlefield at the Gangga river estuary. Through Rahwana's fangs, Sukrosono ushered in his death with a bite of love on his neck. Following the death of Sumantri, a beautiful event was witnessed. A rain of flowers fell on the battlefield. And a pair of lights soared high, rising into the sky. The pair of lights were Sukrosono and Sumantri who returned to their immortality.
The two of them arrived at Mega Malang. As soon as they touched the clouds, the silence broke into song. No more silence, the waiting period was over. What was previously muted and silent now shouts to each other. Farewells are united, what was once far is now brought closer.
"Sukrosono, finally you and I meet again here," said Sumantri. He looked at his younger brother lovingly.
"Yes, my older brother, we can meet again after we die," replied Sukrosono. He hugged his brother tighter, as if he didn't want to let him go again.
"Forgive me, my younger brother. If I had not rejected your love in my life, there would be no need for you to wait until I died so that we can meet again." Sumantri wiped his tears.
“My older brother, no matter what you have done to me, I will always love you. My love for you never dies, even if I die. That's why I've been waiting for you in this waiting place for so long. I thank death, because death means we can never separate again," said Sukrosono comforting his older brother.
Also read:
> The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (149)
> The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (148)
"Sukrosono, how noble your heart is. Without your love that missed me, it would have been impossible for me to arrive at this waiting place." Sumantri was touched. He remembered the events of his death. At that time he was not at all afraid of death. And when death destroyed him through Ravana's fangs, he felt as if he was picked up by love. It turned out that the love was the love of his younger brother who patiently awaited him in this waiting realm.
Begawan Swandagni wept when he heard the conversation between his two children. He couldn't help but say, "Sukrosono, forgive me too, son. I have thrown you away, because I considered you were born of lust, after I saw your ugly appearance."
"Father, it is not Sukrosono but I who you deserve to say was born of lust," lamented Sumantri while hugging his father's feet. The realm of waiting was filled with emotion. The clouds opened like the petals of roses. All closed their eyes. The words echoed in silence. Their lust was extinguished.
This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.
