Showing posts with label Short Story. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Short Story. Show all posts

26/03/2010

Folklore from Bengkulu-Sumatra: White Lady Sedaro

Retold by: Syerif Nurhakim

Once in a remote village there lived seven brothers. Their fate has been orphaned since the youngest was born. Seven brothers consist of six men and a woman. The youngest was the only woman. So the sixth daughter was very fond of his sister, White Lady Sedaro. Their lives are in harmony and peace.

One night at the White Lady Sedaro get a very strange dream. In his dream he was visited an old man and said, “White Sedaro Daughter, you are actually the grandmother of the sixth brother. Know death is near, because it prepared you to face”. The princess replied, “Really? I’m going to die?” The man replied, correct, and the vortex grave later a tree will grow like never before. These trees will provide many benefits for mankind!”

Since then White Lady Sedaro be afraid and sad, but also curious. So the strange dream was made her uneasy. She was confused what to do. Every day is always imagined to death. 

More and more White Lady Sedaro always imagined shadow of death. She became forget to eat and drink. Her body was pale and thin. Until finally her eldest brother asked her, what caused Princess White Sedaro so. Lady was finally told about his dream to his eldest brother, still sobbing.

White Lady Sedaro said to his eldest brother, “If only the story of the dream is true, that my body will grow a tree that brings happiness to people, I’m willing to sacrifice for it.” To which his brother replied, “No, my sister, do not you leave so soon us. We will live together until we are all adults, married, and have offspring.”


Thanks to the help of his eldest brother is a lot of entertaining, even the White Lady Sedaro can finally forget about the dream. Now what daughter Sedaro looks like the original. He returned to the cheerful girl. White Lady Sedaro now prefers to work in fields until past one season.

On one night, suddenly, without pain or anything, White Lady Sedaro died. Her brothers were torn into uproar. They mourn the death of his beloved younger sister. They really are losing younger sister was the only one.


On the next day the sixth brother even the White Sedaro bury their beloved brother not far from their residence. Soon as the dream Sedaro White Lady, the vortex grows a tree graveyard. The tree is getting big. Six brothers were caring and maintaining the tree well. They named the tree Sedaro White Tree. The trees flourish and bear fruit in abundance. Not far from the tree to grow white sedaro Kapau trees. The distance is rather close together from serving as shade trees. When the wind Kapau tree fruit stalks often hit sedaro resulting bruises.

On a day seems a squirrel lick droplets from the bruised stalks. Accidental event is known by a pilgrim who was resting under the tree. Curious pilgrims joined the feeling drops out of the fruit stalk sedaro. The pilgrims were told it was to the people. Since then people started to tap the liquid and made a sweet drink and refreshing. Intercepts are not liquid drunk and people even cook it until becomes thick. From there people started to recognize the red sugar. Water coming out of the fruit stalk is called the sap, while the White Sedaro tree now known as palm trees. The tree is now giving many benefits to humans. (SNH)

23/02/2010

THE ANTS NEST IN MY HELMET

Story by: Syerif Nurhakim

I need five minutes to get to the office. When I’m done wearing clothes and prepare all the logistics to the office, I prepared to take the helmet of salvation. And suddenly I saw a mound against my helmet. Mound was found a house ant. Do not know why but yesterday at the helm was not nothing. Fast that the ants build their nests. They are a group of tiny ants that are forced to destroy its nest to me. The house is not stuck in place. Or maybe it was my fault that fails to clean the helmet. And of course take a few minutes to clean the helmet until the ants were not left behind in my helmet. I do not want my ears being bitten by it.

I get to work when the sun not too high. However, the heat was very oppressive. Sunlight in February is usually not this hot. Could this be the impact of global warming? Even the ants, too, felt the heat and cover behind my helmet? When I was in the heat of office space still felt. Though the room was equipped with air conditioning. And the light from behind the glass window is very blinding. I have to close it with a veil.