"My children, at the time your father took home the golden banana that I desired when I contained you. I chewed it completely, the fruit and its skin. I didn’t taste whether the fruit was sweet or the skin was bitter. I just felt I had to swallow both the sweet and the bitter and enjoy it in my life," said Dewi Sokawati.
Sukrosono suddenly hugged his mother and buried himself in her chest. "Mother, thank you. You didn't throw out the bitter banana skin. If you had thrown it away, I would never be in this world. Despite the caustic and bitter life that I have borne and suffered in, I remained happy, because I could live in the world until I could accompany my older brother to this waiting place," Sukrosono said, sobbing on his mother's chest.
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The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (154)
"Son, from this waiting place I’ve always seen your suffering. How sad my heart was to see you living alone in the Jatirasa forest after I had to cast you out. Thankfully, the gods allow me to descend for a moment from this place to visit and comfort you. I know that after the Jatirasa forest, suffering still followed you. So I always begged that gods to end your suffering. I felt, in this place, that my wait was very long. I really miss you, son. Thankfully, I finished my waiting, and now I can meet you," said Dewi Sokawati while wiping away her tears of relief.
She kissed Sukrosono and saw on his chest the campaka flower necklace she had arranged before she left him at the edge of the Jatirasa forest. She touched the necklace, remembering the sadness she had felt when she had to leave her innocent child all alone in the darkness of a very quiet night.
Its sweetness made me embarrassed to accept him as my younger brother. In fact, he always helped and saved my life, until I could meet you again, in this waiting place.
Witnessing all this, Sumantri suddenly screamed, "Mother, forgive me!" And while screaming, he kissed his mother's foot, then hugged her tightly. "Mother, forgive me. I am a useless banana. Its sweetness tricked me into neglecting Sukrosono, my younger brother. Its sweetness made me embarrassed to accept him as my younger brother. In fact, he always helped and saved my life, until I could meet you again, in this waiting place."
The sobbing of Sumantri was so hard that Mega Malang itself, which only contained clouds of silence, also moaned in regret.
"Never mind, son. Everything has ended. This is the life of our lives. And we've done it. We have passed death. In this place, we meet again at this waiting place. We will not separate again," said Dewi Sokawati hugging her two children lovingly.
At that time, the clouds opened a memory window. The wind blew slowly, playing songs from a distance about the missing days. Dewi Sokawati closed her eyes again. She was carried away by flying to the past, when she made love with Begawan Swandagni in the kenanga flower court under the moonlight. Together with her pleasure at the beginning of the romance, she saw a beam of light similar to a pair of golek kencana (golden dolls) into her womb. She sighed joyfully and felt immeasurable happiness. It seemed she would get twins, who were both handsome. Now, in this waiting place, when she hugged Sumantri and Sukrosono, the pair of twin golek kencana came back. The moon seemed to be uncovered by the clouds, and Mega Malang was filled with stars like on Bukit Taranggana Sekar.
They reflected on each other and couldn't distinguish themselves anymore.
She saw a star similar to a pair of golden bananas. She remembered when she had chewed the banana, both the fruit and its skin. There was all the sweetness and bitterness of the life she had lived. And how surprised she was when she opened her eyes that it turned out she was hugging two very handsome human figures. Both were no longer distinguished. There was no longer an ugly child in her arms. The demon Sukrosono turned out to have changed his form, becoming a handsome figure, as handsome as Sumantri, his older brother. Sumantri and Sukrosono were equally surprised. They reflected on each other and couldn't distinguish themselves anymore.
"Mother, where am I? Is this really me?" asked Sukrosono, who did not believe, because he felt that he was no longer a demon.
"You have perfected your journey, my son. Now you can return to the sincerity of my love, when with my love I gave birth to you. At that time, I felt there was a pair of golek kencana entering my body, and I was sure my love would produce a pair of handsome children like the golek kencana. It turns out that now my image has come true, now that you have finished all your experiments and suffering. You are really handsome, my sons, like my image when you were in my womb," said Dewi Sokawati with happiness. Begawan Swandagni, who had been silent, was also astonished by this event.
He also said he did not understand. "Sokawati, why did all this just happen, after we passed death?"
"Begawan, death just perfected what has been carried out in the life of Sukrosono. That Sukrosono became handsome after death shows that what he did in his life was not futile. His good looks are the crown of glory that was promised when he was born. And the promise was only fulfilled when he resolved his long life with love, patience and sacrifice," said Dewi Sokawati.
Dewi Sokawati, the happy mother, then turned to Sumantri and Sukrosono. "All of our waiting should be complete when we are welcome to leave this Mega Malang. Now it is open for all of us, and we may not step into our eternal place separately after we die. That is why, before going there, we must await each other in this waiting place. To that eternal place, we have to walk together, my children."
After the words of Dewi Sokawati, Mega Malang seemed to be lost. The four of them stood on the edge of the only cloud left behind. They felt the cloud was firm because it was supported by poles of the suffering, sacrifice and death. It was impossible for them to fall because it was impossible for death to restore them to life. The death would only deliver them across. On the other side they saw a beautiful place, not artificial. The place was completely new. But they felt they had seen that place before.
(This piece was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo)
