When I decided a few days ago to leave the high mountains, to go on a journey like an exile, somehow the first place I wanted to go was a village called Pasir Angin. Maybe because I was so interested in the story that he said was famous.
According to the stories of the exiles, the village was in the middle of a vast arid desert. It is said that there is a well there where if a person drinks its water, he will not thirst forever. However, only those who can throw away their self-interest in the well, can find it.
Unlucky. How can I get rid of self-interest? While I've been hearing stories from them, my mind has been trying to guess the shape of the well. Perhaps it seems impossible to find it. I wanted to give up my intention, but again, according to people who are in exile, to be able to find this village and its magic well, it doesn't require an intention.
"You just need to use your feet,"
I try to understand, but maybe I don't really understand. Because the more I want to understand, the more I don't understand. Because of what the exiles say, I don't need to understand anything either.
In order to go on a journey, of course, according to the instructions of the exiles, I had to bring provisions. Everyone who went on a trip always brought provisions, and they reminded me never to stay too long, and never to be too thirsty. The heat might be excruciating, but the people who were in isolation were so kind and sincere in preparing provisions for me. One of them picked up a piece of cloud over the top of the mountain which was then given to me. They said a piece of cloud would be very helpful.
"This will be enough for you alone, so make good use of it."
Because before I managed to find the village, I might find a well that is dangerous if the water is drunk. The well is absolutely not allowed to be touched, let alone drink the water.
“Remember all our messages well, and never go near the well until you find a village. When you're tired, close your eyes, and again, don't stay too long."
I remember the message and say goodbye to thank you. They prayed for me that I might find him. Again I thanked him and walked away.
I walked and walked, down the valley, kept walking and walking where my feet went without knowing the direction, I kept walking, until I found a village with rice fields and fields that stretched as far as the eye could see.
However, I don't want to share my experience of stopping at that village, so when I have had enough of the experience in a village, I have to keep going, to another village, because that's not the only village I've visited on this trip, and I don't want to talk about it. can stay too long somewhere. In order to become an exile, I have to keep walking and stop for a while, then go on walking again, cover such a long distance, through hills, and wilderness, down again through villages, with various experiences that I feel, perhaps I will share all these experiences one by one at a later time.
That's how I went on and on. I walked on without counting the days, knowing neither time nor direction, and letting my footsteps take me.
So as I recall, then I arrived at a hill when suddenly dark came, a big tornado followed. I tried to run, but the wind kept turning and getting closer, carrying everything around it. Rocks, trees, thick bushes, soil, everything was sucked in by the wind.
I can't fight anything. It felt like my feet had been driven by nails into the ground. And can't run anymore. Only the shudder that then creeps up with the raging wind, spins, and keeps on turning, I follow the will of fate to take and go with it. At that moment I thought my journey would end there. It felt so congested and maybe my life was lost. I was dragged into a vortex of nowhere. Maybe heaven, because before I felt a cold that froze my bones. Or was it hell? Because I then feel the air is so hot whack. Then the air was so dry.
The wind whirled, then left me falling. Then the wind just disappeared. So then miraculously I realized I was in a vast, barren desert.
So after I rested for a while, I kept walking and walking, I don't know where. I didn't know which way to go, while the sun floating overhead felt so close. The heat was getting more and more excruciating, boiling the blood in the head, the foam was heard in the ears, while the heat stabbed into the chest. I feel like I'm not sure if I'm going in the right direction or not. Or just circling in this desert. It feels like it's been a long walk but still you can only see sand and sand that stretches as far as the eye can see.
When the sky turned red, and the sun was about to set, I was already so thirsty. I picked up a piece of a cloud that I had kept in the bundle of cloth I brought with me, aimed it at my mouth and squeezed it right over it. Flowing water is so cool and I really enjoy it. I remembered that I should not be too thirsty, so then after my thirst was gone, I kept the cloudy clouds again.
When I walked again, from a distance I saw a creature, which was lying on the sand, the figure was like an array of living bones, not wrapped in flesh, muscle and skin.
I approached the figure, who turned out to be a woman, I could tell from the shape of her face and long hair, only her face was intact, while her body was only bones. I saw him, his face was so tormented. I felt sorry for the woman, she struggled and struggled. His mouth opened like he was talking about something, I didn't hear him. I then gave him the cloud of a cloud, made his hand move and grabbed the cloud, then squeezed it until there was nothing left. He seems really so thirsty. Constantly struggling and struggling, I just watched him with a pitying look.
He ran away ahead of me, I tried to stay behind him, maybe he needed a friend, but he kept walking away from me in a hurry. It was evening by then, and he kept going, but I decided to stop.
The nights are cold in this desert. I never imagined before. The dark night with a sprinkling of beautiful stars, made me decide to lie down on the warm sand, while the cold air was like thousands of needles stuck in my skin, I lay down and looked at the beauty of the star-studded sky, then tried to close my eyes for a moment. I couldn't fall asleep for long, but the energy I had came back just by closing my eyes for a while. The smell of the desert is so calming. There's nothing quite like this. I really enjoyed this adventure. I remember, said those who had gone into exile at the top of a high mountain, I shouldn't stay too long.
Dawn arrived at that time and I don't know how far I had walked. I was tired and tried to rest and lay down to close my eyes for a moment again, but when I lay down, I was sucked into the sand instead. The sand sucked me in, inch by inch, but I was not worried about this situation. Somehow, it's never felt this comfortable. I was not afraid at all, because this sucking sand gave an experience that nothing can describe, so then I completely immersed and arrived at another desert.
I'm not sure where. What is clear is that I continue to follow where the footsteps go, but it turns out that on the other side, I see the woman I met yesterday. He was still with that terrible appearance. Creeping and creeping living bones. Approaching a large well. I saw him from a distance, he tried to grab the rope, and immediately drew water and drank the water while crawling. I saw the woman drinking water so fiercely, maybe she felt very thirsty.
But it seemed that he was never satisfied, because the water, whether he realized it or not, was running down his bones. The water never made him lose his thirst. He kept on drinking, and he drew more water, then drank again, drew again, drank again, and again, and again.
Moments later I saw many living bones like him walking closer, some of them crawling, in a hurry, towards the same well. The woman saw them and screamed.
"Get out of here you guys! This well, this water is mine alone!”
He drank it greedily, he was also very savage, the other bones that were also thirsty he beat one by one, he then drew it again, drank the water again,
"This is mine! My own!”
I closed my eyes for a moment, then walked away, away from the gruesome sight. I remember not staying too long. I am on a long odyssey.