Nine-year-old Susi Urwani laid on her back on the living room couch, reading a pocket book. The room was dark except the single pool of light cast by the reading lamp hanging overhead.
Meanwhile, Susi's father was still working at the rubber plantation. Bucket by bucket, Mr. Urwani collected latex drippings from the rubber trees and loaded them onto the plantation truck. He would not be home until late.
Her sister Reema had gone shopping at Malioboro Street with Susi and Reema's cousin Sanna. Sanna and Reema weren't only cousins, but best friends, too.
Her brother, Yudhi, was working at Mr. Onato's Auto Shop. The Auto Shop was located next door to the Urwani house. Just then, Yudhi arrived home; He was covered from head-to-toe in engine grit.
"Hey, Tag-along, do you want to go to Kanisius Park with me?"
Susi looked up from her pocket book.
"You smell like a dirty old car," she said.
"I meant that we'd go to the park after I washed and changed," he said.
"Oh, okay."
Yudhi rushed upstairs and took a shower. Meanwhile, Susi folded the page of her book at the corner, marking her place. As she clapped the book shut, dust puffed from the pages.
"That smells awfully Dutch," she thought to herself as she held the book to her nose. She inhaled deeply. To Susi, 'Smelling Dutch' simply meant a sugary sweet, yet musty smell, like an old book of pastry recipes that had been forgotten on a library shelf.
Yudhi rumbled downstairs and stopped beside the couch.
"Is this better?"
"Much better."
"All right, come on, Tag-along."
Susi jumped up and followed Yudhi to the family car. He had given her the nickname 'tag-along' for the very reason anyone might suspect. Whenever Yudhi went somewhere, his mother made him take Susi It just became a habit that nobody broke. They rode through downtown Yogyakarta, passing the Presidential Palace before leaving the city. Kanisius Park sat three kilometers beyond the city limits.
A field of tall grass rolled down a hill. At the top of the hill stood a row of coconut palms. Yudhi parked his car and grabbed a blanket out of the back seat. Susi tagged along as they loped down the hill. About halfway down, they spread out the blanket and laid down, side-by-side.
Yudhi pointed out stars, planets, and constellations as they filled the empty blue sky.
"Where is the bull?" asked Susi.
"Look straight up."
He traced the familiar shape of the Centaurus, starting at the front leg.
"The easiest way to find the bull is to look for Alpha Centauri."
"That's such a bright star."
"It's actually three stars. If you look closely, you see one bright star and one faint star."
"Sort of," said Susi.
"The brighter star is actually two stars. One is called Alpha Centauri A and the second is called Alpha Centauri B. Each of them is about the size of our sun."
"Why aren't they as bright?"
"They're farther away. Thirty-seven light years away, to be exact."
"Where is the Eagle?" asked Susi.
Yudhi drew his finger over eight stars, forming the constellation known as Garuda: The Eagle. Yudhi had traced that constellation many times. He had also brought her to this exact spot two months earlier, to view meteor showers shooting through that same constellation.
Yudhi studied the sky whenever he could. For now, he worked on cars at the auto shop next door. Someday, though, he would be an astronomer, studying the stars.
"We'd better get back home. It's getting late."
Yudhi and Susi folded the blanket and then walked back to the car.
"Garuda is my favorite," said Yudhi.
"Why? It's not bright or easy to find like the Alpha Centauri."
"The eagle is the national symbol," replied Yudhi.
Susi had never considered that before. She knew that the Eagle was the national symbol, she just never knew her brother to be that patriotic, even during the month of Indonesia's Independence from Dutch rule.
As they returned home, the car shared the crowded streets with the many motorcycles that weaved in and out of traffic. On the way, they passed the Royal Palace again. Indonesians called it the Kraton. Old Dutch buildings stood side-by-side with old Palace. The Kraton's red-tiled roof and ivory walls stood out, expressing the old Islamic architecture brought by the Turks.
"Why is it called a Kraton?" asked Susi.
"It means something like 'Queen's Palace', I think."
"Isn't it where President Sukarno lived?"
Yudhi nodded.
"What happened to the Queen?"
"When Dutch traders came to Yogyakarta, they ousted the Queen. It wasn't until Sukarno came along that things changed."
"What did he do?"
"When the Japanese invaded Indonesia during World War II, Sukarno saw it as an opportunity. He helped the Japanese by letting them use the island. In return, the Japanese forced most of the Dutch off the islands. At the end of the war, the Japanese surrendered. Most of the people left were natives."
"What does the Eagle have to do with all of this?" asked Susi.
"It's our coat of arms. The golden Eagle holds a scroll in his claws that says 'Bhinneka Tunggal Ika'. It means, 'Many Yet One'."
"You know, even though Sukarno wanted the Dutch and Japanese rulers out of Indonesia, he understood there were still many Japanese and Dutch people living among us."
"I know. I have friends with relatives are from all over the world."
"You have relatives from all over the world. Uncle Pieter is Dutch and dad is Chinese."
Yudhi turned the car down the alley. The Urwani house was wedged between a tall, thin house and Mr. Onato's Auto Shop. Cars lined both sides of the alley, but Yudhi found a space near their house. As they walked back home, Susi held his hand.
"What's that for?" he asked.
"Just because," replied Susi.
Mr. Urwani was sitting on his rocking chair on the front porch. His old fingers were wrapped around a small clove cigarette. Thick white smoke curled from his lips each time he exhaled. As Susi and Yudhi neared the house, the smell of roasted chicken mingled with the smell of the clove cigarette.
"Where have you two been?" asked father.
"We went to Kanisius Park," replied Yudhi.
"Dinner smells awfully good, doesn't it?"
Both children nodded.
"We shouldn't keep your mother waiting," said Mr. Urwani.
Mr. Urwani led the family in Selah, a short prayer and blessing. Afterwards, everyone filled his or her plate with Nasi Goreng.
Susi twisted her fork in the noodles as she stared into her plate as she paused between bites.
"Susi?" asked Mr. Urwani.
Susi glanced toward her father.
"What is on your mind?"
"I'm just thinking that Ramadan is coming soon."
"Blessed be Allah, peace come upon him," said Mr. Urwani.
The rest of the meal was relatively quiet, except for the occasional "pass the rice". At dinner's end, there was a small bit of rice left over. As Mr. Urwani went outside to smoke, he took the bowl with him.
"Where are you doing with that bowl?" asked Susi.
"I was thinking about Ramadan, too. The Prophet Mohammad once said, "The person who eats his fill and does not think of the hungry is not a perfect Muslim. I'm going to place this bowl on the porch so maybe a stray cat or dog can eat."
Mr. Urwani sat the bowl on the porch next to his chair. Before long, a blackbird swooped down and stood beside the bowl. The blackbird looked at the bowl and then looked at Mr. Urwani and Susi. Without moving a muscle, Mr. Urwani glanced at the blackbird. Susi began to move, but Mr. Urwani carefully warned her with his stare and a very gentle headshake.
The blackbird took one step toward the bowl, and then another. At first, he slowly pecked at the bowl. He grabbed a piece of chicken in his beak and leapt from the porch. He did not return.
"That was amazing," said Susi.
"It sure was a surprise. I guess that's a good way to end a night, don't you think?"
Susi nodded.
Mr. Urwani went inside and left the bowl behind. Susi went upstairs to her room and changed into her pajamas. As Mr. Urwani went to his bedroom, he stopped to check on his youngest child.
"Sweet dreams," he said.
"You, too, papa."
Susi closed her eyes and listened to her father walking down the hall. Wooden floorboards squeaked as he walked across the floor. When he entered his bedroom, she heard him sit on the bed beside her mother. One slipper fell to the floor, then the other. Voices mumbled as her parents carried on a short conversation. Soon, everything was silent.
Susi pulled the blanket over her head, but poked her feet out the bottom. It was how she always slept - nose warm and toes cold. She drifted off to sleep, dreaming sweetly of golden eagles, star-filled skies, blackbirds, and Nasi Goreng.
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