Cerita Anda
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Maut Dan Cinta (Bab 7)
Mochtar Lubis
7 Maret 1922 – 2 Juli 2004
Mochtar Lubis adalah salah satu sastrawan Indonesia yang tersohor di dunia sastra Indonesia. Beliau pun seorang wartawan bertaraf dunia yang sangat teguh memperjuangkan kemerdekaan dan meyakini persamaan hak bagi kemanusiaan, kebenaran, dan keadilan.
Pada tahun 1952 beliau menerbitkan Times of Indonesia, koran berbahasa Inggris pertama di Indonesia. Lubis pernah menjadi penulis berita untuk United Nations selama perang Korea. Beliau juga dikenal sebagai penyunting surat kabar harian Indonesia Raya yang tidak pernah lepas menyuarakan kebenaran yang mengangkat kecurangan dan tindakan buruk yang dilakukan pejabat pemerintah.
Senja di Jakarta, menjadi karya terbaiknya yang dikenal di dunia barat dan diterbitkan di Inggris dengan judul Twilight in Jakarta (Hutchinson & Co. 1963). Karya itu dianggap sebagai novel Indonesia pertama yang diterjemahkan ke dalam Bahasa Inggris. Lubis mengerjakannya selama dalam tahanan rumah pada masa pemerintahan Presiden Soekarno.
Perjuangan keras Lubis sebagai wartawan menghasilkan banyak penghargaan internasional baginya. Beliau adalah penulis Indonesia pertama yang mendapat penghargaan Ramon Magsaysay dari Philipina sebagai wartawan dan sastrawan pada tahun 1958. Pada tahun 2000, International Press Institute menganugerahi beliau dengan memasukkannya ke dalam daftar 50 World Press Freedom Heroes.
*****
Bab 7
Sadeli telah dua hari kembali ke Singapura. Umar Yunus telah kembali dari Sumatera, membawa muatan yang berharga. Kiriman senjata dan alat-alat radio telah sampai dengan selamat. Pelayaran tak diganggu oleh musuh. Tiga kapal gula telah masuk pula.
Sadeli merasa amat gembira. Penerbangan pertama David telah diaturnya dengan saksama. Dia telah melakukan hubungan radio rahasia dengan Kolonel Suroso. AURI telah dihubungi. Dia ingin ikut dengan penerbangan pertama. Tetapi Kolonel Suroso memerintahkannya supaya tetap tinggal di posnya dan menunggu perintah selanjutnya.
Kini dia hanya menunggu hingga penerbangan pertama berlangsung. Garis penerbangan yang telah mereka pilih adalah Bangkok – Singapura – Jambi -Lampung – Yogyakarta – menyusur pantai selatan Pulau Jawa. Dia akan mengirim Ali Nurdin ikut dengan penerbangan ini. Bukan saja untuk membawa laporan untuk Kolonel Suroso, tetapi agar dia dapat menuliskan pengalamannya untuk disiarkan.
Ali Nurdin mengusulkan untuk mengundang beberapa wartawan luar negeri ikut dalam penerbangan ini. Akan banyak manfaatnya bagi propaganda di luar negeri. Ia telah mengirim kawat minta persetujuan Yogyakarta. Muatan obat-obatan yang amat diperlukan di dalam negeri telah tersedia pula untuk diangkut dengan pesawat udara David Wayne. Dokter Banerji telah memberi bantuan obat-obatan. Malahan sebagian merupakan sumbangan dari penduduk India di Singapura.
Ali Nurdin telah bekerja amat baik. Perhatian dari bantuan masyarakat di Singapura dan Tanah Melayu pada revolusi Indonesia tambah meningkat. Warna Merah Putih amat populer.
Tinggal sebuah masalah yang belum diselesaikannya. Tindakan apa yang mesti diambil terhadap Umar Yunus. Dia telah memeriksa buku-buku Umar Yunus. Dan ternyata amat tak beres. Pembukuan dan pengeluaran uang kacau-balau. Menurut pemeriksaan yang telah dilakukan, terlihat kekurangan kira-kira setengah juta dollar Singapura.
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Love, Death And Revolution (Chapter 7)
Stefanny Irawan adalah seorang cerpenis dan penyunting serta penerjemah lepas. Kumpulan cerpen pertamanya yang berjudul Tidak Ada Kelinci di Bulan! diterbitkan pada tahun 2006. Dia sangat menyukai teater dan memperoleh gelar M.A. dalam bidang Arts Management di State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo dengan beasiswa Fulbright. Kini ia menjadi dosen tidak tetap di Universitas Kristen Petra, Surabaya, Indonesia.
Stefanny bisa dihubungi melalui stef.irawan@gmail.com
Chapter 7
It had been two days since Sadeli returned to Singapore. Umar Yunus returned from Sumatra bringing valuable cargo. The weapons and radio interceptors had reached their destination point safely. Also, three boats carrying sugar had docked in Singapore.
Sadeli was very happy. He had arranged David’s maiden flight with great care. He made secret radio contact with Colonel Suroso and contacted the Indonesian Air Force. He had wanted to join this flight, but Colonel Suroso ordered him to stay put and wait for the next order.
Now Sadeli was simply waiting for the maiden flight to take off. They had chosen Bangkok-Singapore-Jambi-Lampung-Yogyakarta as the route, and the plane would fly along Java’s southern coastline. Sadeli would send Ali Nurdin on the flight not just to carry a message for Colonel Suroso, but also to write an article for publication.
Ali Nurdin suggested inviting a couple of foreign journalists on the flight. It would be beneficial for their revolution in terms of international propaganda. Sadeli sent a telegram to Yogyakarta, asking for approval. A shipment of much-needed medicine was ready to be loaded on David’s airplane. Doctor Banerji had donated some medicine, and other Indians living in Singapore had also made contributions.
Ali Nurdin had done his job very well. Indonesia had the attention and support from people in Singapore and Malaya. The red and white colors of the Indonesian flag were very popular.
The only problem left for Sadeli was how to handle Umar Yunus’ case. Umar Yunus’ bookkeeping turned out to be inaccurate. Based on the audit, there was about half a million Singapore dollars missing. Since he returned from Sumatra, Umar Yunus seemed somewhat distracted and after Sadeli’s audit he became even tenser.
At first, Sadeli told Umar Yunus to return the half million dollars and in exchange he would ask Colonel Suroso not to prosecute him. Sadeli also suggested Umar Yunus resign from the intelligence service.
Umar Yunus had turned pale and said, “What will happen to me?
You’re so cruel.”
“In my opinion, this is the best way for all of us,” Sadeli said calmly and added, “Don’t forget, we’re still in the middle of a revolution. Under revolution law you will receive the death penalty.”
Umar Yunus’ face paled further. “How can I pay back half a million dollars?”
“You still have the florist, the car, and the house that are partly under your name and partly under Rita’s. You can sell all the jewelry you gave her.”
“No, not that,” Umar Yunus’ voice trembled, “Have mercy on Rita. I don’t have the heart to take things away from her. You don’t understand; you’ve never been in love. You’re cruel. You’re nothing but a tool of the revolution!”
Sadeli shrugged and said, “Think about it. Don’t be angry at me or even consider me an enemy. I’m just carrying out an order. Consider this: you’re having fun here using the revolution’s money while there are soldiers back home who have to die because of the lack of medical supplies. Who knows, if that money…”
“Stop!” Umar Yunus interrupted and covered his ears. “You’re mean. Didn’t I perform the task you gave me? Shouldn’t you take that into consideration? Haven’t I been loyal to the revolution since the Proclamation Day on August 17, 1945? I admit I made a mistake. Can’t the revolution forgive me? Are the revolution, Colonel Suroso, and you all heartless robots?”
“Our revolution is a revolution of freedom for all humans. The spirit of our revolution is love for mankind. I didn’t come with the order to kill you, did I? Didn’t I give you a way out?”
“You came and ruined my happiness. Believe me, I’ve never been as happy as I am with Rita. Will you destroy that? Does your duty allow you to destroy the lives of two people?”
Sadeli sighed. He wondered how he could make Umar Yunus understand his utmost responsibility. Since his experience in Bangkok with Sheila, Derek, David, and Pierre, Sadeli did not take human emotions lightly. Perhaps Umar Yunus did love Rita with the profound love between a man and woman that he had never felt. A love so great it appeared to have a Godly quality someone would die for. Sadeli wondered if he had the right to ruin such an exceptional love. He reasoned that if people found such kind of love, they needed to nurture and protect it, but he was unable to pinpoint the difference between this love and its surrogate.
Sadeli decided to be patient in dealing with Umar Yunus. He didn’t want this to become a scandal in Singapore. It would undoubtedly hurt Indonesia’s reputation and the Dutch would definitely use it for their propaganda. He couldn’t afford for that to happen. He warned Umar Yunus, “You’re still a captain in the Intelligence Service of the Indonesian Republic, and you must obey all orders given.”
Sadeli didn’t want to ask for new orders from Colonel Suroso regarding Umar Yunus. The colonel had given him full authority to take any necessary action.
When Umar Yunus asked for a week to think about everything, Sadeli agreed right away. He also needed time to think about his decision. He was not the cruel person Umar Yunus accused him of being, but he had a heavy responsibility, obligation, and trust to bear. He couldn’t let Umar Yunus off the hook for stealing that much money from the revolution. He asked himself if he should take Umar Yunus’ love for Rita and Rita’s life into consideration. His sense of responsibility toward the revolution told him not to.
The revolution for freedom was most important. Everything else had to give way to it. Personal interests, love, and happiness had to yield. It would be impossible to seize freedom without total dedication to the revolution. Umar Yunus had betrayed the revolution by putting his own happiness above the safety of the revolution and didn’t deserve any special consideration. Sadeli sighed. He now realized how difficult it was to find the right path.
He picked up the phone and asked for Inspector Hawkins’ office. He was happy to hear the inspector’s voice on the other end. “It’s Sadeli. I just came from Bangkok,” he said, “How are you? How are things here? What’s new?”
“Ah, welcome back! Your friends are very upset. They’ve been waiting for their flower delivery, but it never showed up. When can we meet for lunch? You know I owe you one.”
“Alright, I’ll call you tomorrow or the day after. I’ve been quite busy lately.”
“Okay, be careful. Someone had a bad experience a few nights ago and wants revenge.”
“Thank you and goodbye.” Sadeli put down the receiver and chuckled. The inspector undoubtedly referred to Tan Ciat Tong. He noted that Hawkins really knew everything that happened on this island. He had no concerns about dealing with Tan Ciat Tong, but was glad he wasn’t alone on this mission.
Ali Nurdin had done a good job and proved himself to be a talented intelligence agent. Sadeli had given him some intelligence training and told him to read books on the science of intelligence maneuvers. Ali’s unit, as small as it might be, operated efficiently. Now they could mobilize the dockworkers to hold a protest rally against the Dutch vessels at any time. With better funding, Sadeli hoped they would be able to boycott the Dutch ships one day.
Five days later, Sadeli received a coded telegram from Colonel Suroso ordering him to buy radio interceptors and weapons to be shipped to Riau. Considering its large population of Chinese people with questionable loyalty, the Republic wanted to reinforce the
intelligence unit and troops in that area. Moreover, the Riau Islands were very close to Singapore and played a significant role.
Colonel Suroso had ordered Sadeli to take the speedboat, check out the area, and report to Yogyakarta as soon as possible. Then he had to return to his post in Singapore and wait for the next order.
David Wayne and Pierre de Koonig would soon fly to Indonesia. Sadeli worked day and night on the preparation of the flight. He had to purchase the radio interceptors and weapons. He needed to buy the items from someone else, through a third party. He could ask a member of his organization to serve as the go-between and be on constant alert throughout the process. He had to always remember three things: safety, safety, safety.
After a few busy days passed, Sadeli realized Umar Yunus hadn’t shown up for days. When Sadeli phoned him he was told that Umar Yunus was not home. He was about to find out more about Umar Yunus’ strange behavior, when a wire from Bangkok arrived. Tomorrow at eleven – David. Sadeli put his concerns about Umar Yunus aside to focus his attention on the more pressing matter at hand.
Sadeli was so excited, he completely forgot about Umar Yunus. He told Ali Nurdin to get three foreign journalists ready for the trip: one from the International News Service, one from Reuters, and the other from the Associated Press. They also had to inform the local newspapers in Sumatra.
The next morning, long before eleven, Sadeli and Ali Nurdin were already at Changi airport, waiting. Soon, the three foreign journalists joined them. They were ready for the maiden flight.
At a little past eleven, the loudspeaker announced the Dakota plane from Lotus Flights Inc. was about to land. Sadeli’s heart pounded as he watched the yellowish-gray plane descend and make a smooth landing. Now the air connection with my country is established, Sadeli thought happily, as if the plane was actually his.
After David Wayne and Pierre de Koonig exited the immigration room, Sadeli couldn’t hold back his excitement and shook their hands vigorously. “You can just fly out after this. I’ll have the cargo loaded right away. And you have four passengers,” he said and introduced them to Ali Nurdin and the three journalists.
An hour later, the Dakota took off. “Godspeed,” Sadeli wished as the plane disappeared into the clouds.
***
Tanah Tabu (Bab 8)
Anindita S Thayf memulai riwayat kerja sebagai penulis cerita pendek anak-anak. Kini, Anindita lebih dikenal sebagai penulis novel sastra. Novelnya yang berjudul Tanah Tabu (Gramedia 2009) mendapat predikat Pemenang I pada Sayembara Menulis Novel Dewan Kesenian Jakarta 2008, diekori oleh karangan tiga serangkai Ular Tangga (Gramedia 2018)
Kini penulis tinggal di Blitar, Indonesia.
Anindita dapat dihubungi melalui bambu_merah@yahoo.com
Bab 8
Sebenarnya aku masih belum puas bermain bersama Yosi. Beberapa permainan mengasyikan belum sempat kami mainkan. Penyebabnya, teriakan kesal mace Helda sudah terdengar menyambar-nyambar telinga. Membuat wajah Yosi meringis, seolah jeweran tangan Ibunya itu sudah singgah di tempatnya yang biasa.
“Aku pulang dulu,” desisnya sangat enggan, menjauh dari arena permainan, sebelum kemudian melayangkan senyum pamit kepadaku sambil melambaikan tangan perpisahan untuk hari itu. Aku pun mengangguk pasrah. Berusaha tidak menghalangi langkahnya dengan kata-kata yang bisa membuat hari sahabatku itu semakin sedih. Sembari melepaskan ikatan karet gelang dari batang pohon pinang yang tumbuh lurus dekat pagar, kuantar kepergiannya dengan pandangan kasihan. Tentunya sangat berat bagi Yosi meninggalkan permainan lompat karet kami. Ia tinggal melakukan satu lompatan terakhir menuju kemenangan. Lompatan Merdeka. Tak hanya itu, aku pun tahu perasaan Yosi pastinya sama denganku. Kami masih ingin bermain lebih lama lagi. Setelah seminggu lebih terkurung dalam rumah karena ada perang yang pecah di jalan besar, bisa bermain kembali rasanya bagai sebuah mimpi yang mewujud nyata.
“Ada kabar gembira! Perang sudah berhenti. Berhenti karena korban yang mati sudah sama. Sepuluh orang dari Kelompok Atas, juga sepuluh dari Kelompok Bawah,” begitu pemberitahuan Mama Mote, lebih dikenal dengan nama Mama Pembawa Berita, yang datang kemarin. Ia muncul dengan sepasang mata yang bersinar di wajah yang sarat ekspresi. Senang, lega, sekaligus sengsara karena itu berarti kehadirannya tidak bakal dinantikan lagi.
Ketika itu, aku sedang bermain rumah-rumahan sendiri di kolong meja. Berpura-pura perang juga sedang terjadi di dunia khayalku, dengan pintu dan jendela rumah harus terus-menerus ditutup rapat, agar bahaya dari luar tetap di luar dan tidak masuk ke dalam, begitu pesan Mace. Aku pun sengaja mengurung diri di bawah meja. Terbentengi ujung-ujung kain taplak yang menjuntai kaku dan kotor di keempat sisinya. Aku tetap berdiam di situ hingga Mama Pembawa Berita datang, duduk di kursi kayu tepat di depanku, lalu mulai mengoceh dengan semangat yang menolak reda.
“Sekarang jalan besar sudah sepi. Semua mayat sudah dibawa pergi. Yang ada hanya genangan darah, anak panah, dan potongan kayu. Ada juga petugas yang dipasang buat jaga-jaga. Petugas yang membawa senjata api. Mereka bilang, orang-orang yang mati itu masih muda-muda semua oo….”
***
Untuk membaca cerita ini secara lengkap silakan membeli bukunya melalui: https://gpu.id/book/89380/tanah-tabu
Daughter Of Papua (Chapter 8)
Stefanny Irawan adalah seorang cerpenis dan penyunting serta penerjemah lepas. Kumpulan cerpen pertamanya yang berjudul Tidak Ada Kelinci di Bulan! diterbitkan pada tahun 2006. Dia sangat menyukai teater dan memperoleh gelar M.A. dalam bidang Arts Management di State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo dengan beasiswa Fulbright. Kini ia menjadi dosen tidak tetap di Universitas Kristen Petra, Surabaya, Indonesia.
Stefanny bisa dihubungi melalui stef.irawan@gmail.com
Chapter 8
LEKSI
I want to play with Yosi longer. We have exciting games we haven’t played, but Mama Helda’s yelling is too loud to ignore.
Yosi cringes like she feels her mother pulling her ears. “I need to go.” She walks away, then smiles and waves goodbye.
I try not to stop my best friend with words that will only make her sadder. While I untie the rubber band string from the pinang tree by the fence, I give her a sorry look. It’s hard for her to leave our rubber skipping game. She was one jump away from winning the merdeka jump. More than that, I know Yosi shares my feeling. After being locked in the house for more than a week because of the war, being able to play outside again feels like a dream come true.
“Good news. The war is over. Both sides lost the same number of men, ten highlanders and ten lowlanders,” said Mama Mote, the mama messenger, when she came yesterday. She showed up with shiny eyes and mixed feelings: happy, relieved, and miserable at the same time because it meant that her visits wouldn’t be needed anymore.
I played house by myself under the table. Mace said we had to keep our doors and windows closed all the time to make sure the danger stayed outside, so I pretended that a war had also happened in my imaginary world. I hid under the table where the hanging ends of the stiff and dirty tablecloth protected me like walls of a castle. I stayed there until the mama messenger sat on a wooden chair in front of me and began to talk with nonstop excitement.
“The main street is empty and the corpses have been cleared. There are only blood pools, arrows, and wooden sticks on the ground. A few armed guards are in place just in case something happens. Those who died were still young.”
Mama Mote muttered to herself, saying she would go to the hospital to find out about the poor kids. Maybe she could help deliver the bad news to their family. She kept going until Mabel interrupted.
“Meanwhile, Papua lost another twenty brainless people. Brave but stupid men who were easily poisoned to kill their own brothers. They died so young over something so trivial. When will these people realize….”
Mama Mote answered Mabel with silence. From under the table, I saw her hand reaching down. She’d rather scratch the scabies on her calf until there were long white lines than comment on what Mabel said. But a reaction came from another direction in a form of a loud sigh. I turned my head and watched Mace’s feet with their cracked soles that reminded me of dry ground. The sound must have come from her. I knew her well enough that I could imagine how she frowned when worried. I never know why she behaves like that every time Mabel says things I can’t understand. She acted like Mabel had let out a big secret that would put us in danger if someone found out. I did the same when Yosi accidentally spilled our secret to Karel that I had found a treasure in the field. But usually, Mabel didn’t seem to care that much.
In the next minute, Mace stomped to the kitchen. She came back soon afterward and talked politely.
“Please have some pinang, Mama Mote.”
She tried to swallow her anger in front of her guest.
Just like how kids were not allowed to talk about any ghost or spirit they saw so as not to be possessed, the talk switched from war to the price of things. Mace gave her opinion that we should raise the price of pinang since other things were already getting more expensive. Meanwhile, I got bored playing alone and decided to end my imaginary war to go to Yosi’s house.
“Leksi, where are you going? Can’t you see that no one is out on the street?” Mace’s warning stopped me. My smile turned into a frown. I really wanted to play. I tried to sulk for a few seconds, hoping she would let me go outside. It didn’t work.
“You can play tomorrow. I’m sure Yosi isn’t allowed out today. Try to be patient, Leksi. Tomorrow you can play all you want until late.”
That’s what Mace promised me yesterday, but Mama Helda didn’t make the same promise to Yosi. I’m saying this because when we met again, Yosi had to make dinner for her family like she did every day.
“Leksi!” Yosi’s loud yell startled me, and woke me from my daydreaming. I saw her skinny figure near her porch. With one hand waving, Yosi mouthed words. She tried to send me a silent message from far away. Too bad I couldn’t understand what she said. Somehow, I was sure she made a promise to play together tomorrow. I answered her with a big grin. It was the right answer because I saw her start to smile. Her look of fear returned when Mama Helda’s yelling came thundering from inside the house, “Yosi, move it, or do you want me to hit you?”
***
I can’t wait to finish my class today. I think about which exciting games I’ll play with Yosi later. But when I get home and tell her the choice I made before the school bell rang, she tells me her mother won’t let her play. She has to take care of Kaye, her sick youngest brother.
“Kaye has a fever, Leksi. Mama told me to take care of him and not to leave the house, let alone play.”
I should have known. Kaye has shown signs of coming down with a fever since early morning. He was so cranky that I woke earlier than normal. His yelling made the roosters crow before they saw the sun. Dogs barked too. Meanwhile, Mabel washed our clothes by the well and guessed at the reason for Kaye’s painful crying.
“Was he beaten or did he fall? Or maybe accidentally squashed in the door?”
Before I leave for school, I see Yosi sweeping the yard. “Yosi, are we going to play later?”
“You bet, Leksi,” she answers. “You decide what game we’ll play.”
She doesn’t expect her mother to give her the duty of caring for her sick brother. When I ask about Kaye, she cheerfully says, “It’s just a fever, but my mama is taking care of him. She might not go to the field today.”
Kaye is only three but he acts like a giant baby. He cries and sulks too easily. Even Mama Helda can’t stand his crankiness.
Yosi is very patient and caring. She never pinches or scolds Kaye when he acts up. She talks to him, buys him candy when she has money, or lets him interrupt her game.
“We’ll play when Kaye is well. I’m sure his fever will be gone by tomorrow,” Yosi says before Kaye’s crying calls her back into the house.
I thought I would be angry all day because my plan to play with Yosi fell through, but that old woman came at the right moment. It was almost noon and I was very bored playing with dirt by myself.
Our guest was Mabel’s. She arrived from Biak. When they meet, the two old ladies shout greetings and hug with tears running down their cheeks for quite a while. Mabel introduces her as her oldest best friend, but the guest corrects her, saying that she is a relative who has gone without seeing Mabel for a long time. Her name is Mama Kori.
“This is my granddaughter. Leksi,” Mabel said, introducing me.
“Leksi? My, my, what a sweet girl. Really sweet.” She praises me in her warm voice and pinches me lovingly in the cheek. I give her my most perfect smile, a smile that gradually fades when she continues with a question to Mabel, “Is she Johanis’ daughter?”
“Yes. That’s her.”
“Oh, no wonder. She has his eyes. And his nose too.”
As she says this, I touch my eyes and nose. Are they like his? In what way? At this moment, I want to run to the mirror in the bedroom and see and enjoy what is alike in our faces — father’s and mine — the way Mama Kori says, because I have never seen his face. I find it really hard to leave the living room. I want to hear the many new things from our guest. I decide to check in the mirror later and stay on Mace’s lap. Mabel introduces her as Johanis’ wife.
“Lisbeth.” Mace says her name as she politely shakes our guest’s hand.
At noon, our house is more cheerful than usual. Not only does Mama Kori bring many souvenirs, she also has stories that make us laugh, although some of them surprise me.
Mama Kori tells about how naughty my father was as a child, including the time they had to take him to the clinic because a goose had pecked his butt. She makes Mabel blush when she tells the story of the charming young man who came to Mabel’s house every day, bringing her the harvest from his field.
“You know, Leksi, that young man was crazy about your Mabel. Back then she was the most beautiful of all. Nobody could compete with her.”
“Really?”
Mama Kori says like it’s just us: “Believe me, child.” She throws a glance at Mabel, who shouts in return.
“Ah, Kori. Come on, just stop this story.”
“No way, Annabel. Your granddaughter must know a little about her grandmother’s past.” She continues: “Just so you know, Leksi, before those wrinkles appeared, your Mabel glowed in beauty like you. Yes, just like you.”
Hearing that, my chest puffs proudly and I smile. Being praised like that by someone I just met was different from being praised by Mabel or Mace. My smile faded in the next second and it was gone completely when I thought about something.
“Mama Kori, will there be a young man coming here every day, bringing me the harvest from his field?”
Again, laughter fills our cramped house, right when Mace finishes placing lunch on the table. “Let us eat, Mama.”
“Thank you, Lisbeth.”
Pum shows up out of nowhere and Mama Kori recognizes him right away. “My goodness, Pum. Is that really you? Looks like we’ve both grown old.”
This day, lunch is a lot merrier than usual.
*****