|
Kita terus makan dan tetap terasa enak Malam-malam jam setengah sepuluh. Baru pulang rapat. Lapar menyergap. Sambil mengobrol tertawa-tawa kami duduk di warung kakilima pinggir jalan Merdeka. Cukup ramai di situ. Ada tukang sate. Ada tukang soto sulung juga. Jeruk peras segar terasa nikmat di kerongkongan yang parau kebanyakan bicara tadi. Haaa... sate ayam gemuk-gemuk sudah siap...! Mengepul-ngepul asapnya harum menerbitkan liur. Ahhh, lezatnya mengunyah daging ayam empuk gurih... Ya, ya, enak! Enak sekali! Kami bicara-bicara. Hahahahaha... Kami tertawa-tawa... Ya, kami capek, tapi senang dengan pekerjaan kami. ......... Mendadak ada ribut-ribut. Orang-orang bergegas penuh rasa ingin tahu mata melotot berhamburan ke jalan raya. Tukang sate, tukang soto sulung, tukang minuman berlari meninggalkan dagangannya dikejar rasa penasaran. Pembeli mendadak bangkit meninggalkan makanan lezatnya, berlomba-lomba melompat ke keramaian yang segera saja terbentuk di pinggir jalan raya. "Ada orang dilempar ke jalan. Kelojotan dia.", kata mbak-mbak berkerudung yang duduk sederet dengan kami. Dia terdiam sejenak, tangannya dengan sendok penuh soto terkatung di udara. Lalu dia menunduk dan menghirup sotonya dengan nikmat. Dia terus makan diam-diam. Laki-laki di sebelahnya, mungkin pacarnya, telah ikut berkerumun di tengah-tengah keramaian itu. Kami saling pandang. Kami melongokkan kepala dan menjulurkan mata ke arah kerumunan yang semakin ramai. Tak nampak apa-apa kecuali orang-orang yang menyemut menonton ingin tahu. Kami meneruskan makan sate. Kami berhenti tertawa. Kami terus makan. Mengunyah sate ayam gemuk yang empuk dan gurih. Diam-diam. Tetap terasa lezat. Kami meneguk jeruk peras segar. Tetap terasa menyejukkan. "Mungkin ribut, diculik, digebuki dan dibuang ke jalan", kata salah seorang di antara kami memecah sepi. Kami mengangguk-angguk setuju, mulut berkecap-kecap mengunyah daging ayam gemuk empuk yang gurih. Kami mereguk jeruk peras segar. Kami terus makan. Hening. Orang-orang mulai kembali ke tempat masing-masing. Gumam-gumam tak jelas terdengar samar dari mulut mereka. Beberapa dari mereka menggeleng-gelengkan kepala. Beberapa dari mereka tertawa-tawa. Laki-laki yang mungkin pacar mbak-mbak berkerudung yang duduk sederet dengan kami juga sudah duduk di sebelahnya dan menggumamkan sesuatu. Lalu mbak-mbak berkerudung di sebelahnya terbatuk-batuk. Laki-laki itu menghentikan makannya sejenak. Mbak-mbak berkerudung itu terus batuk-batuk. Laki-laki yang mungkin pacarnya itu melanjutkan makannya. Kami juga terus makan... Hening. Hanya suara mulut kami mengunyah daging ayam empuk gurih. "Kenapa jadi diam begini....", ucap salah seorang di antara kami. "Ada orang dilempar ke jalan di sana dan kelojotan dan kita makan enak di sini", ucap salah seorang yang lain di antara kami. "Ya, mungkin orang itu kenalan kita...", ucap salah seorang yang lain lagi di antara kami. "Mungkin teman kita," ucap salah seorang yang lain dari yang tadi di antara kami. Kami mengangguk-angguk setuju. Kami terus makan. Diam-diam. Lie Fhung, Bandung, 13/14 Juni 1997. |
We go on eating and it's still tasty Half to ten p.m. The meeting has just dismissed. Hunger strikes. Laughing and talking nonsense we're sitting down at the food stall by the Merdeka Street. Pretty crowded there. There's satay. Also lambsoup. Freshly squeezed orange juice's soon quenching our hoarse throat, too much talking before. Haaa... juicy chicken satay is ready! The smoke's teasing our appetite. Aaah.., how delicious the juicy chicken meat tasted in the mouth.... Yes, yes, it's so very tasty! Very, very tasty! We're talking nonsense. Hahahahaha..... We're laughing out loud. Yes we are tired, but we're enjoying our work. ......... Suddenly a commotion. People are hurrying up, pumped up by their curiosity, eyes eagerly popping out, swarming down the street. The satay man, the lambsoup man, the softdrink man, all are running leaving their stall behind. Customers are suddenly jumping out neglecting their delicious meals, racing towards the crowd instantly taking shape by the street walk. "A man was thrown out to the street. Quivering now he is!", says a young woman with a kerchief around her head who is sitting next to us. She is silent for a moment, her hand with a spoon full of meaty soup is suspending in the air. Then she lowers her head and takes pleasure gulping down her soup. She is having her meal placidly. The man beside her, probably her lover, has been swallowed in the midst of the curious crowd. We stare at each other. We strain our necks out, we're straining our sight towards the thickening crowd. Nothing to see except for the curious crowd. We continue eating our chicken satay before it gets cold. We have stopped laughing. We go on eating. Munching the tasty juicy chicken satay. In silence. Still tastes good. We drink the fresh orange juice. Still tastes refreshing. "Perhaps there's a fight, he's been kidnapped, beaten and thrown out to the street", says one of us breaking the silence. We're nodding in agreement, mouth busy munching and munching the tasty juicy chicken satay. We drink our fresh orange juice. We go on eating. Silent. People are starting back to their place. Murmuring intelligible words. Some are shaking their heads. Some are laughing. The man who is probably the lover of the young woman with a kerchief around her head who is sitting next to us is coming back, is now sitting beside her and is now saying something indistinctly. The young woman with a kerchief around her head is coughing. The man who is probably her lover is delaying his meal for a second. The young woman with a kerchief around her head is still coughing. The man who is probably her lover is continuing his meal. So are we, continuing our meal. Silently. Only the sound of us munching devouring the tasty juicy chicken satay. "Why this silence...?", asked one of us. "There's a man thrown out to the street and quivering and here we are nicely eating", says yet another one of us. "Yeah, he could have been our acquaintance....", says the other one of us. "Yep, could have been our friend," says yet another one of us. We nod in agreement. We go on eating. In silence. Lie Fhung, Bandung, 13/14 June 1997. |
|
poetry reflection FreeFire  RestlessSoul Idle Dreamscollaborativeplay - selfportraits - illustration&graphic - my favorite things - gifts Original Images & Design Copy Rights by Lie Fhung the FreeFire, 1997, 1998 
  share your thoughts
 ADD ME! submit your page to 34 popular sites for free, using one form! |
