I love cooking, everyone who has tasted my cooking always praised me of how delicious it was. My talent in cooking was barely above average. I’m not the kind of cook who can judge what kind of ingredient and how to cook a food was just by tasting it once.
I started to learn cooking at junior high school. After my mother passed away I don’t know how but no matter how much I eat I never satisfied. My father always busy with his work. As the oldest child I have a responsibility to take care of my little sister.
I’m not particularly excel at my study or sport. Then I began to put more effort into cooking. Several month has passed and I has decided to be a cook. Since then I began tried my best to memorize every single recipe and cook every single food I can.
Several years has passed and I’m still remembered the taste of the first meal I cooked. It was nothing luxurious, it was just a plain fried tofu. Nevertheless it was delicious. I’m about to be graduated from my college in three more month and receive a chef title. But never in my wildest dream I dare to imagine when I went to Padang in West of Sumatera to learn how to make a ‘Rendang’ I was lost in the forest.
The sky is getting darker and I’m still searching my way out of this forest. I left my phone at the village. There are no electricity in this rural area. I kept walking for a few hour and noticed that’s the trees in the surrounding began to differ from the trees a few hour ago.
The sun is almost set when I found a paved road. I followed the road while enjoying the scenery. The butterflies are dancing, the birds are singing and the sound of the leaves that blown by the trees are are rhythmically heard. It was the wonder of nature.
I looked at my watch in my left hand. It was 6 pm. The sun is already went tohis home and now is the turn for the moon to make the plain night more beautifull. After walking for several minute I found finally I found a village. I already resolved myself to sleep outdoor in case I didn’t found a village today but it seems my luck are quite good.
The village was quite weird or more precisely it kinda felt out of place. I have many experience of visiting a rural village. But this one is a different case and somehow I felt a bad premonition. There are nothing strange about the village buildings as it looked alike a normal village from the medieval era. But what’s strange is that this is located in Indonesia not in Europe. I never knew that there was such village in West of Sumatera.
I arrived at front of the village gate. There was a huge gate in front of me and the wall surrounding the village looked abnormally sturdy. There are guards in front of me. The guards are wearing some sturdy looking iron armor which looked awesome. I wondered if they are cosplaying but it seems very unlikely to happen as this was in the deepest part of west sumatera that there isn’t any electricity here.
“Who are you? State your business”. (Knight One)
The tallest knight approach me. Well even if I said that he was tall it was about 5 cm more taller than me maybe.
“Greeting sir I’m just a traveller and I just got lost in the forest for a day. It was very fortunate that somehow I manage to found my way to this village otherwise I have to spend my night in the forest”. (Mahendra)
“Hm... that was very unfortunate. It’s a good thing that you manage to come to this village. Sengsara forest are very dangerous at day even more at night because the monster that active at night can’t be compared with the one normally in the day in quantity and quality”. (Knight One)
Hm... A monster? I know that Indonesian ghost are quite scary but it’s very unlikely for me to meet one. Whatever it’s best for me to go with the flow especially when visiting a rural village like this one.
“Ah.. yes I heard that the monster in the forest are quite scary it’s a good thing I didn’t met with one of them”. (Mahendra)
“Mmm. Yes that’s a good thing but I don’t know wheter you’re lucky or not because you’ve lost in the forest in the first place. Give me your identification” (Knight One)
I took my identity card and my passport and gave it to the knight. The knight looked at my id card and frowned. Then he began to examined my id card and passport more closely. After a while he began to shake his head and gave me my id card and passport back.
“Hm... I can’t read your identification. It seems to be a language of a foreign country. What’s your name?”(Knight One)
“Mahendra Wijaya”. (Mahendra Wijaya)
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Wait foreign country he said. Well it’s certainly written in English so it was no wonder he can’t read.
“Mahendra Wijaya is it? Quite an unusual name. Just give me the 10 copper as entrance fee” (Knight One)
10 copper. What kind of currency a copper is. I don’t know well whatever I’m just gonna give him some coin and be done with it. So there are still some village like this that has it’s own currency. I took 500 rupiah from my wallet and gave it to him.
“Hmm.. so it was a foreign currency... hmm.. it was one that I’ve never seen before. It seems like it has the equal value of a silver”. (Knight One)
The knight then gave me a pouch filled with 9 copper coin that has a weird pattern and symbol engraved on it. Then I entered the village and began to search for somewhere to stayI didn’t know how many time I said it but this was a very strange village. The guard was wearing some awesome iron armor and a double edged sword was hanging from their waist. It felt like I was in Europe in the medieval era. I wonder if there are an inn in this village, come to think of it I still didn’t know the name of this village. Well sooner or later I’ll knew about it anyways so first let’s search for a place to stay.
~|~
(Gran POV)
Hm.. what a boring day.
Travellers are always come and gone and my only job is only to guard this gate. Well it’s not that I hate it this job was safer and more well respected anyways. Merchant, Traveller and adventurer are come and gone passing from the village main gate. Ah.. I really miss those day when I was an adventurer. Sure it’s more dangerous but somehow it was more fun and thrilling.
Today was just like any other day I did my duty as the gatekeeper just like the usual. Time is moving fast that I didn’t even realize that the sun has down. Just about the time I was about to close the gate there was someone coming.
He wore a strange looking clothes. Maybe he was someone from another country. He didn’t have a sword hanging from his waist so I assumed that he was some sort of magician. He was quite an unusual visitor I approached him.
“Who are you? State your business”. (Knight One)
“Greeting sir I’m just a traveller and I just got lost in the forest for a day. It was very fortunate that somehow I manage to found my way to this village otherwise I have to spend my night in the forest”. (Mahendra)
So he was lost in the forest for a day it was a good thing that he has found this village. Did he didn’t bring a map? Well it was not unusual for someone to get lost even though they had brought a map along.
“Hm... that was very unfortunate. It’s a good thing that you manage to come to this village. Sengsara forest are very dangerous at day even more at night because the monster that active at night can’t be compared with the one normally in the day in quantity and quality”. (Knight One)
“Ah.. yes I heard that the monster in the forest are quite scary it’s a good thing I didn’t met with one of them”. (Mahendra)
“Mmm. Yes that’s a good thing but I don’t know wheter you’re lucky or not because you’ve lost in the forest in the first place. Give me your identification” (Knight One)
Then he gave me a card and a book. Hm... I couldn’t read the card and the book but judging from the exquisite of the card and the fine paper quality of the book it looked like he came from a foreign country or another continent and he has a quite good position. I didn’t know what he wanted to do but it’s better to not nosy about it.
“Hm... I can’t read your identification. It seems to be a language of a foreign country. What’s your name?”(Knight One)
“Mahendra Wijaya”. (Mahendra Wijaya)
Hm... it seemed that my guess was right. Maybe he came from a noble bloodline because the only one who has a last name was only a noble.
“Mahendra Wijaya is it? Quite an unusual name. Just give me the 10 copper as entrance fee” (Knight One)
Then he gave me a strange silver colored coin which he took from a strange looking pouch (Wallet). Maybe it was a magic bag or a magic pouch how unusual. People nowadays prefer to use a storage ring or storage type accesory. Maybe he came froma very orthodox family.
“Hmm.. so it was a foreign currency... hmm.. it was one that I’ve never seen before. It seems like it has the equal value of a silver”. (Knight One)
Then I gave him a pouch filled with 90 copper and then he entered the village. Hm... he was a very unusual visitor I wonder how long he will stay at the village.