Made Crazy (Not Sane) By My Husband
Episode 1 - Forced to Become a Scavenger
A clear day is overshadowing a village located in the rice field area at the foot of Mount Papandayan named Kampung Cijambu, Karangkulon Village, Cisurup Subdistrict, Garut Regency, West Java Province. Kampung which is located 1 km from the bus terminal as well as the traditional market called Cikapundung market is still beautiful with the vast rice fields surrounding it.
The gurgling sound of rice field irrigation water flowing quite rapidly, sourced from the river upstream which is not far from the village, adding to the atmosphere of rural shahdu in the middle of the rice fields was increasingly felt. A gentle breeze shook the rows of rice plants that spread wide and seemed to have begun yellowing it caused the grains of rice that look already filled solid on each stalk to compete to create sound low rumblings in rhythm with the wind grooves that blow through it.
The sound of the sunda flute faintly heard from a distance created an atmosphere of peace that made the hearts of everyone who listened to it become serene and calm. It was as if everyone who listened to him was carried away late and washed away in peace and coolness of heart that seemed able to hypnotize him to momentarily forget all the burdens of life he had.
From afar, two figures of little brothers named Tegar, a 12-year-old boy, with mature skin, are seen, belo-eyed and straight-haired and Aisyah a jovial little girl who has a sweet smile at 8 years old, has a hobby of reading, tanned, sweet-eyed like the eyes of the brother, like the eyes of the brother, by wearing a red white uniform that has been shabby, they were seen running through the path of the rice fields to a small simple hut in the residential area around the rice field which is not so far from the city center. That day they just came home from school.
Not long after their tiny legs had reached the front yard of a bamboo-owned house the only one in the settlement, because it memenag other houses in the place are seen to have used bricks as cubicles. The building with bamboo cubicles and bamboo floors is more like a hut than a house. Seen some of the buffer pole that is in the front porch of the house has been porous eaten by termites
and age. Similarly, the doors and walls of the bamboo booth that look no longer sturdy.
There were no wall hangings or flower gardens in the front courtyard of the house. Only weeds are seen thriving around the yard. Of the many houses in the residential area, the house is the only house whose condition is so alarming. The house turned out to belong to a 65-year-old grandmother named Aminah grandmother who lived in a more suitable house called the small hut with her two grandchildren namely Tegar and Aisyah.
Tegar and Aisyah are both born and live in a village that is still beautiful but has been touched by the flow of modernization and acculturation. In addition to Sundanese, they have also started using Bahasa Indonesia as a daily language.
The use of two languages at once, namely regional language (Sunda) and Indonesian language is considered a little threatening the existence of Sundanese language itself among young generations of the village. Evidenced by the increasing number of young people in the village who use mixed Indonesian with Sundanese in their daily social activities.
This is due to the influence of the spectacle on television and also by the many villagers who married people from the city. Fortunately Sundanese has become a mandatory curriculum in every school in the village so that the concerns of the alienation of Sundanese in its own area can be slightly overcome. Likewise with Tegar and Aisyah, because their mother was married to the Jakarta people so that the mother unconsciously used to get her children, namely Tegar and Aisyah to speak Indonesian. They are also finally very familiar with the Indonesian language that they have used as their daily language since childhood rather than with the Sundanese language itself.
Once in the hut Tegar and Aisyah immediately opened their shoes and then gave greetings to the grandmother who they thought was in the hut,
“Assalamualaikum,,,.” says Tegar and Aisyah together.
“Assalamualikum nek,,nek.” shouted Aisyah calling her grandmother.
“Waalaikum salam.” replied the grandmother who turned out to be at the back of the house was cleaning
the wreckage is a mineral bottle they collected on the day
preceding.
“Tegar,,,Aisyah, let's change clothes and eat right away. Grandma has prepared lunch for you in the kitchen.” her orders in a slow and weakened voice.
Then Tegar and Aisyah also changed their uniforms with clothes they usually wear when not in school. Then they went to the kitchen for lunch together. Arriving in the kitchen they saw there were 3 pieces of bowls presented with the condition still tightly closed. Because they are very curious about what is in the bowls, then opened one by one the bowls immediately by the brother, namely Tegar. Hardcore, Aisyah and the grandmother usually eat in the kitchen while slimehan and use their hands directly to feed food into their mouths.
When the elder brother was seen taking the initiative to open one of the bowls presented, suddenly Aisyah said,
“What's a sister?” asked Aisyah who saw her brother had first peeked inside one of the bowls.
“Tempe and Tofu fried.” sumringah replied.
“Assyik,, I want to know dong kak.” pinta the sister.
“I also want.” reply Hardcore.
“Kakak temple aja.” persuade the sister.
“Gak mau.” Reply Hardcore firmly.
“Yah....!” exclaimed Aisyah while sounding a long sigh
it seems like he's disappointed.
“Don't dituk dong, you also want to eat Tofu. Besides this there will be 2 pieces of Tofu and 2 pieces of Tempe so we each one Know and one Tempe to be fair.” said Tegar gave an offer to his sister.
“Ya, it's okay.” says Aisyah.
Then they opened the remaining 2 bowls again,
“This is what yak!” exclaim Aisyah curiously while opening her own lid of the bowl.
“Oh,,, fish teri.” saysthen.
“If that is what kak content?” ask her to the brother while pointing 1 more bowl that has not been opened, is close to the seat of the brother.
Then opened the last bowl, and it turns out the contents are rempeyek anchovies in the form of fried wheat flour mixed with anchovies and then fried.
“Rempeyek Dek.” said to his brother while then starting to get ready to eat. After that they also ate a dish that they think is quite luxurious because rarely they can eat Tofu and Tempe as well as that day.
After finishing lunch they then came out of the hut and approached the grandmother who was behind the hut and the grandmother rebuked them.
“Have eaten nak?” asked the grandmother to her two grandchildren who seemed to be walking towards her.
“Already nek.” answer them compact.
“If you've come...Hardcore same Aisyah take each sack one. We leave to scavenge again now.” invite the grandmother.
“Good nek.” answer them back compact.
Taken empty sacks that they usually use as a container for junk containers results around the village everyday stored in one corner of the place. Then they rushed together to go in search of the wreckage as they had always done in the previous days.
It was indeed very different what Tegar and Aisyah had to experience when compared to her classmates or even small children her age.
When their peers are busy relaxing and chatting at home with their families, after returning from the school Tegar and Aisyah still have to work to help the grandmother collect junk items that can still be resold to get money to connect their daily lives. This routine has been done for about 6 years.
It is very risky indeed for someone who is already old as the grandmother of Aminah to keep working. But how else, there is no choice for the grandmother of Aminah other than she must still force herself to work for a living to support the daily needs of herself and her two grandchildren by scavenging junk. Although his physical condition is getting weaker by the day.
The junkyards that they managed to collect every day first they would collect in the warehouse that was at the back of the hut where they lived. They can not directly sell the junk to the collectors before the wreckage is cleaned and tidied up first.
After the wreckage was tidy then they could sell it to the besiegers whose location was not far from where they lived and harvest the results of the hard work.
One kilogram of mineral water bottle type junk is appreciated by the junk dealer at a price of Rp. 2,000, while for one kilogram of used cardboard Rp. 1,000, and for used nails Rp. 7,000. They usually collect these junk items and store them first for less
over 3 days to clean and tidy, after 3 days they sold it to the besiegers.
That means they are only once every 3 days can only get income from scavenging. Usually the waste collected within 3 days it reaches 20 kilograms, depending on physical conditions and their range every day.
Money from the sale of junk goods that are not how much it is used to meet their daily needs such as buying rice, buying cooking oil, buying simple side dishes and paying electricity bills.
In addition to the results of scavenging they also sometimes earn from the mercy of people who feel compassion for them. Sometimes there are people who give money to them for free even if they did not ask before. And indeed the grandmother of Aminah never taught her two favorite grandchildren to beg others.
He applied the principle of life “Hand above is better than the hand below” to his two grandchildren. He always insisted on not being a beggar.
How hard it is to live as a scavenger would be far more honorable than to be a beggar who lives out of the mercy of others by begging. But if there are people who want to give help and share their sustenance, the grandmother of Aminah advised not to hesitate to accept it because it is not good also to refuse sustenance. That was how Aminah's grandmother educated her two grandchildren whom she loved dearly.
Malang was the fate of Aminah's grandmother, at his old age he still had to fight hard to support himself and his two young grandchildren by scavenging junk items so that they could survive.
His body that is getting weaker in his old age should he use to work hard to find bone
living every day. His vision that had begun to blur and his health that had begun to be often disrupted due to age, was the biggest ordeal for him. But he remained steadfast in living the life and winding life path that he had to follow.
Grandma Aminah has been around 6 years caring for and raising Tegar and Aisyah alone. Her husband, Pak Sumarno, died 10 years ago. The husband died at the age of 57 due to acute Lung TB disease.
The picture of the figure of the husband who he loved so much can only be remembered through the memories of his brain which has now begun to be threatened lost by senility. There was not a single photograph of the husband's face that he could look back on when longing was brewing in his chest.
The only thing that became a memory of him with his beloved husband is a 2 gram gold wedding ring that he deliberately kept well so as not to be lost, he said, in a small safe with important papers such as land letters, birth certificates, marriage certificates etc. The safe he placed under his bed in his bedroom.
Already several times she intends to sell the wedding ring because it is pressed by economic needs but because of her love and longing for her late husband is so big, so desperate, he then repeatedly abandoned his intentions. He always tried to find other ways to get money besides having to sell the wedding ring.
Meanwhile, the only child of his puppet who is the birth mother of Tegar and Aisyah named Nurhayati (35 years), since the last time he told her to go to the city of Jakarta looking for the husband named Joni (42 years) who suddenly disappeared from nowhere, until now there has been no news about his fate in the city of Jakarta.
Before saying goodbye to go to Jakarta, Nurhayati, the only child of Aminah's grandmother had left Tegar and Aisyah who was then very small to be treated well during her departure to Jakarta.
She promised to return home soon after getting reassurance from her husband who suddenly disappeared without any news at all for more than 2 years since the birth of her second child, namely Aisha.
But what happened, bak swallowed the earth news about Nurhayati who went to Jakarta to find her husband was not accepted.
It does not feel that now 6 years have passed since his departure to Jakarta, until now Nurhayati never once gave news about the condition and its existence in Jakarta. Already repeatedly Aminah's grandmother tried to ask the help of her neighbor who happened to work in Jakarta as a college building named Asep to look for the existence of Nurhayati but the results were always nil. He also had asked for help to the village head to find the existence of Nurhayati in Jakarta but the effort also did not produce significant results, Nurhayati still difficult to trace its presence.
Moreover, they do not know the full address of the place to be addressed by Nurhayati in Jakarta. Aminah's grandmother was only told by her son that she would go to Jakarta to seek her husband for clarity on the status of the marriage to her husband without explaining the full address of her destination in Jakarta.
Now Aminah's grandmother has resigned to what happened to the daughter who is the only child whether she is still alive or has died she does not know for sure. However, he kept the belief that Nurhayati was still alive.
He was still convinced that Nurhayati would return to her hometown and take care of her children as before, even without the help of the husband who is not responsible for abandoning himself and his two children just like that. For the safety of the princess, Aminah's grandmother never alpha slip a message to the creator in each of her prayers after performing the five-time Prayer and her evening Prayer.
An inch after another path in the middle of the rice fields towards the opposite village they had passed through. Their footsteps kept swinging and walking down every corner of the village in search of junk items that could be resold.
The scorching rays of the afternoon sun did not dampen their spirits to collect one after another of the junk they encountered were scattered in the streets.
They keep their hearts steady going hand in hand along the road to an uncertain destination. Occasionally, it seems that villagers who witnessed their existence stared focused at them as if feeling pity to the point of stroking the chest.
But there are also some of them who choose not to care and completely ignore their existence.
“Grandmother sack of his Aisyah is full, Aisyah so heavy carry.” complained Aisyah to the grandmother.
“Huuuuu,, cement, the time of such a small sack is called heavy. Nih see have big sack sister.” exciting
Tegar mocked his sister.
“Yeah, sister is already big while Aisyah is still small yes grandma!” yell Aisyah to the grandmother
hope to get a defense.
“Have not fought continuously. Aisyah here, the contents of her sack Aisyah half can be moved to
in the sack have a grandmother so you are not too heavy carry it.” said the
grannies.
“Thanks nek.” sahut Aisyah girang.
The grandmother then moved half the contents of the wreckage in the sack carried by Aisyah into her sack.
Then they continued their journey that day in search of junk.
It didn't feel like the day had changed into the evening. The pile of wreckage had already been collected on the sacks carried by them.
It seemed that day was a lucky day for them as it managed to collect a relatively larger amount of junk compared to the previous days. After all the sacks they each carried were filled with junk, they began to rush back to the hut.
Arriving at the hut, they immediately put the results of scavenging them that day in the warehouse behind the hut. After that they both went into the hut to rest tired after almost a day wandering through the village. After almost a full day of hard work, now is the time for them to rest in the small hut that has been a palace for them all this time.
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