the little eyes that spark when the tiny lips smile
4.2.05
these little stories are written in a span of time
they continued to grow
as each and everyday one new story unfolded
although the ending is still far from known,
when a 5.2-scale quake hit Garut, a city South of Bandung
two days ago at 1.05 pm,
I felt it’s time to have others' eyes read them
as a remembrance…
as a reminder…
tak kan mungkin kita berjalan, hidup dalam kesendirian
panas terik, hujan badai, kita lalui bersama
meski hilang arah tujuan, tak tahu ke mana berjalan
meski terang, meski gelap, kita lalui bersama
pernah kita jatuh, mencoba berdiri, menahan sakit dan menangis
tapi arti hidup lebih dari itu dan kita mencoba melawan
-- from ”Seindah Biasa” by Pongki Jikustik
(sung by Siti Nurhaliza in MTV Asia Aid at the time this prelude typed)
the little eyes that spark when the tiny lips smile (1)
office, four days before Christmas
marking exams on my desk,
I saw a mother and a daughter passed the open door
the mother, a lecturer at Unsyiah1, was a classmate in grad school
her husband, the father, another former classmate,
is a PhD student working in an office just across mine
the mother stepped in and told the daughter
“salam dulu tante, dek, kan besok kita pulang ke Aceh”2
the tiny hand extended which I took into mine
as I watched those little eyes sparked when the tiny lips smiled
“selamat jalan”3 I said “kapan balik ke Bandung?”4
no words said,
but the little eyes kept on sparkling as the tiny lips smiled
1 University of Syah Kuala, a state university in Banda Aceh
2 “give aunty a hand, girl, we’re going back to Aceh tomorrow”
3 “have a nice trip”
4 “when are you coming back to Bandung?”
the little eyes that spark when the tiny lips smile (2)
home, Sunday afternoon, 26 December
arrived late from church, dad turned the telie on
said there was an earthquake in Aceh
“besar?”1 I asked “6.8” he answered
I remembered those little eyes
but, “6.8” I thought
home, that Sunday evening
as the scale was “revised” to be close to 9
as no connection could be made to Banda Aceh,
not even by the state TV who has a station there
I started to wonder and my worries grew
I hoped the owner of those sparkling eyes
was safe and sound in her mother loving arms
1 “was it big?”
the little eyes that spark when the tiny lips smile (3)
staff’s reading room, Tuesday afternoon, 28 December
my colleagues sat circling the table
with the father among them
he called his wife that Sunday morning
at 7 am, 45 minutes before the quake
the wife was doing laundry
the daughter was playing in the yard with her cousin
when he said that the house was only 2 km from the Ulee Lheu beach,
I saw glimpses of two little eyes sparkling when the tiny lips smiled
home, that Tuesday night
my sister talked on the phone
on the other side of the line was her good friend,
a survivor in a refugee camp in Langsa
“Merduati” my sister mentioned the name of the area
she repeated what was told
and the sparkling on those eyes was the one that I saw
although the words “habis semua di sana”1 were the ones that I heard
1 “there’s nothing left in that area”
the little eyes that spark when the tiny lips smile (4)
office, Monday morning, 10 January
a student came asking for special consideration
he didn’t sit in the final exam
“kamu sakit?”1 I asked
“saya dari Aceh, Bu”2
as we talked about his family, his village, his current condition,
I couldn’t help not to think about
the little eyes that sparked when the tiny lips smiled
1 “were you sick?”
2 “I’m from Aceh, Mam”
the little eyes that spark when the tiny lips smile (5)
Kartika Sari café resto, Tuesday lunch time, 11 January
the secretary of department shared
a call he received today from the father
the father could not reach his house
three-four-meters high junks and trashes
covered the area where the house used to be
he could only see from afar
not knowing what’s under all those waste
the search effort from camp to camp
was fruitless
everybody in the house,
including his mother and sister in law
were nowhere to be find
except for the body of his nice,
his daughter’s playmate on that Sunday morning,
that was found almost 10 km away from the house
where are you, little girl?
where are those sparkling little eyes and those smiles?
the little eyes that spark when the tiny lips smile (6)
head of department office, Wednesday morning, 12 January
walking passed by the boss’ office,
on my way to student’s final presentation,
I saw a mother and her son,
a familiar face of a senior who also teach at Unsyiah
I stopped by and heard a miraculous story
from someone been drifted and drawn and saved
the boy stood there beside his mother
I tried to search for sparks, for smiles
no spark, no smile
I extended my hand, trying to shake his
he pushed my hand and turned his back away
he was never the same since that Sunday,
his mother told,
even flowers in the park could be a reason to cry
where are those sparks on those little eyes?
where are those smiles on those tiny lips?
the little eyes that spark when the tiny lips smile (7)
office, two days ago, around 1.15 pm
turning my keys to open my office door
when the door of the office across opened
the father was there
and asked whether I felt an earthquake just now
a big one, he said
I answered, I just came back from a meeting downstairs
and didn’t feel anything
I looked into his eyes
I wanted to say something
I just didn’t know what
all I saw was the little eyes that sparked when the tiny lips smiled
