Mercy of the Mountains

Susi and Reine spent the next few days staring through the front room window at the world outside. People, covered in ash, shuffled back and forth along the streets. Cars and buildings took on the same dirty gray color. Clouds of volcanic smoke hung in the air, unmoved in the still, black sky.
"It's absolutely awful," sighed Reine.
"I agree dear," said Mrs. Urwani, "but there is nothing we can do. We are at the mercy of the mountains."
The girls watched and waited while Mrs. Urwani cooked. She boiled pieces of chicken in a pot of shallow water. Then, she added sliced potatoes, celery, and green onions to the broth. Just before she was finished, she added eggs and vermicelli. The vermicelli was just like bits of rice made from spaghetti-thin noodles.
"What are you making?" asked Susi.
"Soto Ayam," replied her mother.
"Where's the yellow?"
"It'll come in good time," replied Mrs. Urwani."
She handed kitchen knives to the girls. Everyone chopped shallots, ginger root, and garlic cloves into bite-sized pieces. Mrs. Urwani mixed the ingredients in a blender with vegetable oil until it formed a thick paste. Afterwards, she added a powdery yellow spice to the paste. That powder was called turmeric.

"Here's the yellow," said Mrs. Urwani.

Mrs. Urwani transferred the paste into a frying pan. She added salt and pepper and sat down beside the girls.

"It smells so good," said Reine, "I can hardly wait."

"Well, you'll have to wait," replied Mrs. Urwani, "but we can start making Manisan Pala."

"Mmmmm," said Reine.
Mrs. Urwani filled a large stockpot with water and salt. Meanwhile, Susi sorted through a food bin, selecting any nutmeg that were not yet soft or bruised. She handed the good nutmeg to Reine who handed them to her Aunt Maly. Mrs. Urwani quartered the nutmeg and removed the seeds. Then, she soaked the nutmeg in the salt water and put down her knife.
"What now?"
"Again, we wait..." said Mrs. Urwani.
Reine sighed.
Mrs. Urwani and the girls took their places on the stools and waited. Mr. Urwani arrived home from the rubber plantation before either the Soto Ayam or the Manisan Pala were finished. He, too, was covered in black soot.
"Papa, are you okay?"
"I'm just a little dirty, that's all."
While Mr. Urwani changed, Susi ran over to Mr. Onato's to check on Yudhi. As she opened the door to the shop, Mr. Onato looked up from his desk. Susi waved at Mr. Onato and walked into the garage. Yudhi was laying across the back seat of a car, fixing a door handle.
"Mom wants to know how long until you're finished."
"I just have to finish this job."
Susi stood beside him, patiently waiting. He affixed the door handle and snapped the upholstered door liner back into place.
"Mr. Onato, I'm going home now."
"Okay, Yudhi. If the ash from Sindoro doesn't get too thick, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
Yudhi nodded and away he and Susi went. Their footsteps kicked up a giant ash cloud as they cross the alley between the repair shop and home. There was nobody else outside but them. They entered the house and immediately kicked off their dirty shoes.
"I think it's getting worse by the hour," stated Yudhi.
"Me, too," replied father, "Maly, why don't you call your sister and see if you can take the girls there until the ash clears?"
Mrs. Urwani called Aunt Dona. Aunt Dona reported that the skies were clear in East Java. Light rains washed most of the ashy clouds away.
"I think we should head east."
"To my house?" asked Reine.
Mrs. Urwani nodded, "We'll leave right after dinner."

Mrs. Urwani tended the stove again. She boiled rice and dropped a bunch of whole eggs into the Soto Ayam. As she finished cooking, Susi and Reine placed silverware and china on the table.

Mrs. Urwani served dinner. She scooped rice into everyone's soup bowls. She then ladled bright yellow chicken soup broth and golden pieces of chicken into everyone's bowl. She gave everyone fried shrimp cakes, which everyone crumbled into their soup. Finally, she served the boiled eggs. Their shells were bright yellow, just like everything else.

Reine cracked open her egg. The egg white was bright yellow, too. As she bit into it, she tasted the rich, chicken flavor of the soup. It was her favorite part of Soto Ayam. Yudhi slurped the golden broth straight from the bowl. Susi carefully ate a piece of chicken, a spoonful of broth, a nibble of shrimp cake, and then bit into her boiled egg. As Susi looked over to her father, he was finishing his first bowl. He didn't have a ritual for eating his Soto Ayam. He just ate whatever was in his spoon.

After everyone ate to their heart's content, the girls packed for their trip. Meanwhile, Mrs. Urwani lectured Mr. Urwani and Yudhi.

"There are leftovers in the freezer to get you through the week. Anything else you need, just call."
"We'll be fine, Ma."

"I'm just making sure," she replied.

"If we need anything, we'll call," said Mr. Urwani as he kissed Mrs. Urwani goodbye.

Mrs. Urwani packed her bags, too. The normally busy streets of Yogyakarta were quiet. Everything was gray-black. Wherever a car would drive, a dust cloud would form.

Smoke clogged the air. The few people walking through the streets wore surgical masks to protect themselves. Susi fetched a pair of handkerchiefs from her backpack and made a facemask for both herself and Reine. Still, the smoke burned their lungs.

"How long do you think it'll take to get to my house?"

"We'll know when we get there," replied Mrs. Urwani. Her full attention was on the street in front of her. Driving was very difficult.

On the roads further east, rain showers sprinkled. Instead of dust clouds, Mrs. Urwani had to contend with the slurry of volcanic ash and rain water.

The muddy ash made driving just as difficult. Mrs. Urwani knew that the mudslides would be something Mr. Urwani would have to combat back home.

Reine watched people walking along the side of the road, "I hope these people find a safe place."

"Most of them will."

"Some of them are just sitting in front of their house," said Reine.

"Some of them are trusting the moutain," said Mrs. Urwani.

"What do you mean, Aunt Maly?"

"They believe the guardian spirits of the mountain will protect them."

"Why would they think that?" said Reine.

"For centuries, Indoneisans have prayed to the mountains. They've even created offerings for the mountain spirit."

"Offerings?"

"They've loaded small boats with fruits and rice and floated them on the rivers. These sacrifices are meant to make the spirits happy."

"There aren't any spirits in the mountains...are there?"

"It's hard telling," replied Mrs. Urwani, "Scientists say they are just rocks, but there's a part of every human that believes in the supernatural. I think there's some spirit in everything around us."

Reine eased back into her seat and watched the road rolling by as she thought about the Mountain Spirit. If nothing else, the volcanoes meant many things to Indonesians. Every one of the thousands of islands was formed by volcanoes and earthquakes. Mounds of earth pushed up from the ocean floor and poked their heads out so people could live.

They passed the farming villages as they entered Reine's hometown of Purwodadi. Yogyakarta seemed like a different world. Unlike Yogyakarta, the rain-covered streets of Purwodadi were clean. The fields were green and bright. People went about their normal daily business. Motorcycles and busses crowded the streets. Hawker carts filled the sidewalks, carrying bunches of colorful fruits.

"Home sweet home," sighed Reine.

"It sure is," replied Mrs. Urwani. She stopped the car in front of Reine's house. Aunt Dona was waiting on the front porch. Reine ran up the steps and gave her mother a giant hug.

"Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy!" she exclaimed.

Everyone unloaded their gear for the short vacation at Aunt Dona and Reine's house.