Once When He Told Me

Once when he told me that it was a sad song,
a sad story,
a sad history...

I can't help but to keep singing it

The White Sun

Never has it occur to my mind that someone would categorize my writing as 'suspense', or somewhere near that. When I asked one years ago, this writer told me that what I had in them were casually, mistakes amateur writers has taken over and over again: less detailed,wrong reasoning, incomprehensible logic... nevertheless I keep writing this blog, which I feel fun, and considering that Stephen King himself said that as a writer, one should write minimum 6000 sentences a day, well... even as amateur writer I still have this lack of exercise.

Seeing the pond in the side of Jardin du Luxembourg yesterday, my mind flew towards the scene in the movie Love Actually, where the character Colin Firth had to help his maid recollecting the blown away copies of his manuscript. The scene also has the pond. It has the same color with the one I saw yesterday, the water.

Both of us, if I could humbly say myself as one, too--- we are writers. The writers who shared the once same scenery they find themselves in.  Same color of water... And so did Virginia Woolf as what had been depicted by Nicole Kidman in The Hours; she finally drowned herself in that serene flowing, dark green water.

It's funny how different Monet saw the water, I think. He painted  all in black at first, maybe, as the shade of the water in the background of those water lilies also feels like deep greyish underneath the upper layers. I've seen somebody painting some polar bears in realistic features; first he covered all the bears in black, before then patiently, drew and layered them with their furs that were caressed one by one by his hand and brush . People will say that the bears look like they've been photographed before, while it was not. This technique has been applied before by Leonardo da Vinci,for example when he painted Monalisa. Turns out that it could give such a depth of shadows and real-impression.

There was a time, though,before that someone commented on my writing and said that it was suspense-like.

I was seventeen, oh well, yeah, almost. I found myself seated in this room, more than 12000 km away from my home in Bandung. This room was almost empty, and slightly small. There were only a table and a couch, but the girls with whom I spend my next 3 weeks in this teenage camp, loves to throw at least 3 of themselves on the couch, while giggling, sipping tea, and having snacks. On the table, sometimes one put some books there, their evening meals, their after laundry clothes... this room is just a small room and each floor in this dormitory has it. If we go outside it, we can see corridors and rows of bedrooms. My roommate was Hiroko, a sweet Japanese girl who took my photograph in mukena, of course she asked politely to do so.

But this time, beside me was Mbak Mudhi, a reporter from a girl magazine from Indonesia in charge to report the ongoing of this summer-3-weeks-camp that is meant to introduce us to the so-called United States' common culture and tradition, before then the Exchange Program Committee will be sending us to fly to each of our host families. Me, I was scheduled to spend one year with this family in Oklahoma.

"So, for you, you will still hold those Indonesian values with you, right?" Mbak Mudhi asked me. I find she was observant, like how journalists should be, and that time, I was hesitated to answer. I tried to smile and be relaxed, as Mbak Mudhi was I thought to be a charming friend and even with such a comforting friend, I was still this awkward girl in every situation.

"Well..." I just vaguely nodded.

If only I could explain what had been going on my mind properly. All this culture things, and new places! I was so desperately excited and curious to explore. I remembered my conversation with fellow mate from Indonesia, Ratna,aboard the plane when we get there and okay... I admit it was far from the topic about society and cultural interest, as we chat about first-grade high school physics topics. Now I say what that girl, the 16-year-old-me, was trying to do; to make a statement: she simply loves science.

What she didn't realize that time: she thought that science is the core of all culture. Science advancement will give birth to a new culture and society, it will tear down what it thinks obsolete, and it will categorize. When will it be exhausted?

...That time  when she was barely 17, nope, it didn't feel that science was exhausted.

And that time, the 16-year old girl  also have not thought about the bigger pictures that she could potentially think.

August 3rd, 2006

The date was approximate. It was a nice, crisp summer in Olympia when we arrived. The Seattle-Tacoma International Airport was smaller than what I thought. The windows were tall as I remembered it, and the next thing I knew when stepped out of the plane was a corridor, slightly long, before then some circular automatic reels greeted us, delivering eventually our bagpacks, suitcases, and things we brought from Indonesia. As for me, I only needed two of large suitcases and a backpack.

The Dyers of The Hearts of Platina, Silver, and Bronze

When she started the mission along with Aria, Sinbad never knew that this was how it felt to be incompetent, dull, and without the helps of our parents. Sometimes she felt envious towards her very comrade (since they assign each other's lives on the safety raft together, which seemed to be deliberate-incidentally matched by The Great Inventor-GIself), since what she saw in her heads were rather a totally different dreams compared to hers. If you please, Aria's head was rather colorful; she saw  winds as pink shades of the sun's part ray of light, where she could take advantage technologies merely as tools and marketing games, along with all of its overdue romance in Vivaldi's four season symphony.

... While on the other head, Sinbad chose the different roles, the roles she could not imagine to live without: the sacredness of information, numbers---if you please--- numbers are behaving as humans, full of will and cuningness, rage, and sometimes, reluctance... to be discovered. Universe shall remain mysterious, according to Sinbad, with a little bit of leaking here and there, just to console one mind's about some (ridiculous) persistence of discovering it.

Let the narrator tell you what these two girls are doing. This journey that we call our quest took place inside the world called The Opylus Universe, where in our casual human being customs, Aria and Sinbad are taking their second level of High School. Aria and Sinbad come from the Land of Antaranusa, where their tradition in studying comprises of :

1. The journey with boats towards their choices of academic subjects;

Example of Case : Sinbad, she wants to study mathematics, physics, and sufisms; therefore, because the Land of Antaranusa has collaboration with The Cape of Marrakech in overall general teaching, Sinbad (and automatically, the entire second level high school students whose age minimum 58 years old in human being's metric age system)would have to sail to the cape and then lives inside the ashramas (dormitories) for students there. Because her choice of subjects are different to Aria's, she may or may not live inside the same dormitory.

2. Once arrive at The Cape, they will directly, by themselves, these students, go towards each of their teacher of subjects' offices and study there. Usually, each teacher will handle about 30-50 students (well you see--- The Land of Antaranusa is rather vast, if not very--- hence they produce many, the narrator means to say it, many students).

(3. The narrator shall complete the other tradition when he remembers it better, later) Oh yeah, the dormitories are separated for boys and girls.

Well. As what we expect to usually happen with large numbers, you know, in this case, large numbers of students, we are also talking about large expenses (either from and to the body of education establishment itself). The narrator would take an example, the boat that we are embarking on in this very story.

Sinbad and Aria, they don't have their family come from those people with very money. This means a gigantic boat, which in their case, are also home (for this journey will end in 3 months) to some other 50 students, about 12 teachers who are also the maitres-du-bateau (including two of them who act as chef).

(To be continued)

The Shiny Pathway

Anthony could still remember the shiny pathway that led one following it to the Grand Citadel of Stanislav-Andrei Markov on the bank of the River of Ob, West Siberian Plain. It was spring 1977. She, Jo, Dave, and Mom, and Papa were taking a short trip to the land of their Ancestors, The Soviet Union.

Even the 5-years old Ann could understand the tension happening during their visit. Papa said that she couldn't cry there or hug Mommy too tightly as usual... she should not trouble everybody else. It was a very strange trip, since after they dropped themselves out of Helsinki, Papa drove all of them inside a rotten-looking jeep for six days in a row, and suddenly they arrived in a freezing, serene pine- wood where there shaped a five hundred yards flat snowy space. A helicopter picked them up, and a military-dressed stewardess,Anthony felt she would poison them no matter how beautiful she might seemed, offered she who curled anxiously on her brother's lap a cup of hot chocolate. She reluctantly gave it a little sip now that Jo sipped it first.

When they arrived, eventually she felt a little better. It turned out to be quite a spring down the town they supposed to head. They stayed for one and a half month in a building(she later knew it to be the Novosibirsk Legislative Provincial Building) where she, Jo, and Dave played cricket every morning in its backyard. Papa and Mommy always tried to smile but Ann, as well as her two brothers, knew how worried they really were.

And it was so strange that during the last three nights, Anthony kept on dreaming of this heavy voice, calling her name down a foggy alley. Anthony, in this dream, followed the voice and suddenly she arrived to a fog-shaded tall, big figure she could not see his face.

But she knew the figure was smiling at her.

On the forty-seventh day, another military-uniformed one, this time a blonde, cold-eyed man guided them heading towards this place... where the gate towards the main building was shining beneath the spring sun. Jo was the one standing next to her little steps, holding her left hand tightly. The guiding man, turned out to be leading them towards a mighty citadel she always dreamed of to be castles Mom told her in stories some nights before she slept when she was 3 years old. The story was portraying Vassilisa The Brave, a name of a girl whose legend so famous her uncle, Fadev, made it his daughter's name.

More military-guys emerged and the five of them was guided to a high-ceiled, medium-sized chamber where Papa and Mom busily signed some papers and documents. The bored little Ann silently slipped her legs away and strolled around the surrounding alley near the chamber. Luckily Jo saw her, and quickly followed her.

What's up Ann? You can't trouble us, you see... Jo whispered in her ear. He raised her in his arms.

Jo... I heard a voice! Ann whispered back.

That moment, they arrived in a deserted alley with a wide, empty semi-dark creak with a broad window importing a ray of sun light to the room. Jo smiled, shaking his head. Oh, it must be Ann's another imaginary friend...

It's calling me, Jo, from here!

Ann, we'd better get back...

But as he turned his body around, Ann frantically pulling his ear, Look Jo!

Jo turned back to the wide empty creak. He was stunned.

A transparent figure of an old, bearded man with an early 1900 Russian-style tux was beaming peacefully towards... Ann. He waved his hand, and slowly melted within the morning ray of sun-light.

For a moment neither he or Ann spoke. Then slowly Jo turned his head upon his sister, who yawned. I miss Mommy, Ann said while curling her head on his shoulder.

Silently the still-shocked Jo walked with Ann in his arm, back to the chamber where Mom, Dad, and Dave were still struggling with papers. Seemed that nobody noticed that both of them were missing for a moment.

The family eagerly packed their bags and headed home. To Nantucket.

In the airport in Helsinki, Jo told Mom that Ann and he saw the mysterious old, transparent figure. Mom told Dad, and he was beaming. So strange that the smile reminded Jo of the old figure's .

That was your Great Grandpa Dmitri, he patted his head. You know what, Jo... he finally accepted us.

Jo casted his gaze upon the bright blue sky that also shared by the Baltic Sea. He remembered all the six days cruise in the jeep, the tension for one and a half months in the building where they lived, the papers signed, their taken photograph in order to validate their family's ownership to the tourism of the citadel.

So that was his Great GrandDad Dmitri, the one who was notoriously known in their circle to be the man who was disgraced by the marrying of Grandpa Ricardovich and their beloved Grandma, Brendamilikan.

Eye of The Golden Horses

The Readers might always find the happy frames of Brownsimov's daily lives.

But not The Clan of The Hidden Horses. What they usually observe are blood, plot, and big pictures. They shadow the every step of Anthony's. Every move Davidovich made. Every place Joshev be.

Once there said that Fritz Novozybirsk Braunsimov, one of the Great Great ancestor of the current Brownsimova who lived circa 1500's made his journey to the Land of The Vast Desert in the Far East... where there said that there lived The Ancient Wise who mastered the art of conserving talent. Yes however weird and cheap it must be, he sold talents in shape of children, or baby, to whoever desired them.

Fritz bought this Eurasian little boy who had so much traits of the mighty Genghis Khan himself inside his blood. That time, rarely anybody could understand the method of Fritz' extrapolating one's potential. The Eurasian boy was seen to be this lame guy by his surrounding.

Until, Fritz bought him and cure him, but more on that, maybe later.

He was called Khaka. He became Fritz' personal bodyguard, was shared some of his stocks in global market in East Japan, and was asked to make his own dynasty.

Khaka married two descendants of the oldest Viking family, and paid his debt of being raised by Braunsimovs by being their paternal bodyguard, which was continued on by his descendants. They called themselves The Hidden Horses before The Brownsimova. Because they operated like the hidden horses inside some puzzling pictures.

So be careful when you wanted to mess with the Brownsimovs... the time you had your weapon ahead of them would be the time some of the Hidden Horses snipers had theirs ahead of you.

La Claire de La Lune

Ricardovich Alexandrov Braunsimov was rather a jittery man at heart when he was younger. Some psychologist might conclude that he suffered a deficit-attention disorder made him insecure all the time, even rarely dare to look straight in his talking partner's eye. His mother died when he was two, and somehow his father, Dmitri Mikhailov, was trembled so bad he kind of forgot who he really was. He never looked straight into his son's eyes. Up until Ricardovich turned 12, his father rarely spoke to him... and Ricardovich could not understand but to swallow it uneasily to his throat to believe that his father remained an arrogant man in front of him.

Ricardovich was tutored privately at home. He was never too brilliant at anything; no matter that how Petrov, his mathematics tutor was one of the best algebraists in Russian history, something just blocked Ricardovich's mind to comprehend the materials he learnt. And it just did not happen in math; he could not excel in everything from Russian literature, geography, history, government... he just hated academic lives so much. The only thing he could bear was music. He had been good in it, being able to master the Hungarian Rhapsody when he was 12.

He always had been happy to play with piano. Every maid and Kruschev the old gardener praised him a lot and seldom did they continue their work when the Young Master played his fingers down the grand piano in the Main Hall inside the manor. For a moment could Ricardovich smiled at himself to listen to his own playing and felt that he worthed something.

Music is the only thing made him dare to stand before his father about his capability.

No matter how his father ignored him, as usual, of him and his talent and his everything.

One day when he was nine, the Grand Piano in the manor's Main Hall broke one of its strings. The bored little Young Master Ricardovich was waiting and waiting for the repairer to fix it so he could continue playing, but it took some time... so he strolled along the alley of the third floor where it was deserted because the maids were busy cleaning in the lower storeys.

He leaned himself before the small window balcony at the end of the alley, quietly humming Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. It always felt night at heart, and the light only came from the generosity of the moon... the music, the only thing he excelled of. He missed his father. He never knew his mother, but Father would never disignore him no matter how good he played the piano.

He casted his gaze around the scenery of the alley behind him. Something looked really strange... but what did? The tapestry on the wall on his right side was silently glued as usual, as well as the reddish empty brick wall on his left side. The empty brick wall, strangely, was different in colours... he just realized it now. Well, he did rarely observe this floor, though...

There were five rows of milder red colour along the left wall.

And inside the rows, there were even subtler periodic pattern of colours... our Little Young Master became quite intrigued to figure it out. His head was only full of pattern of music, if there were any, so he didn't really expect to be able to see some meaning behind the pattern. Gosh, he could barely able to see pattern in simple maths... how could he expect to derive something special of some subtle pattern on the wall he barely see?

So funny how five rows reminded him of five rows in alphabetic music notes(he was quite fluent at it, too)... na na na na na... he could remembered the sequence of the first verses of moonlight sonata... it should be here, here, here... as his hand traced down the rows of different colours

... to be surprised that every finger-tap he made on the different-coloured rows touched his hand upon the subtler colours of the pattern! His heart chilled... how could this happen?

But he started to feel excited. I found something here! The pattern sings Moonlight Sonata the first verses in alphabetical music notes! He anxiously tapped on every following sequences until the end of the wall...

and the wall slid opened!

Anxious but excited, the Young Master stepped inside the medium sized, high-ceiled room where he saw a painting of a very beautiful, strong young lady with a balalaika in her hand. He was strucked at heart by her beauty... it was as though he met his long-lost first love.

But what distracted him from the painting was a gigantic black, Grand Piano slightly covered by dust at the bottom of the painting. He was really happy. Not only was he able to find this secret room all by himself, he also acquires his new friend! Gosh... and this piano is the Boesendorfer Concerto Grand Piano, one that he always wanted! Doesn't any maid and servant here know about this room whatsoever?

He opened the grid and started playing Moonlight Sonata...

Suddenly, his Father appeared behind him with a loud noise.

Ricardovich turned his head around, so anxious that for the first time their eyes met, what the little boy saw was an outraged, furious man he hardly believed it was his Father. The man who should have been loving him all this time...

You tedious prick! the grown up man roared, and slapped Ricardovich so hard on his face.

The maids and servants hurrily ran along to the thunderstrucked Young Master, who sadly wailed before Dmitri Mikhailov.

The Father who should have loved his son.