THE NIPPON’S HOLE (LUBANG JEPANG)

SHORT STORY SECTION 1

Back to Bukit Tinggi should’ve been a moment that excites me...

Imagining how she’s waiting for me with the beauties that couldn’t hide with veil and simple cloth that always taking as a daily outfit of hers, and her face that always poke my hope each time I’m doing my unworthy job as office driver at one of automotive company in Jakarta.

"A rental car businessman..." were something I said repeatedly to the girl and her parents who want to know about my job and my ability to survive alone at big city like Jakarta. 

Sometimes I wonder whether it’s just common question, with no intention to deceive, but what I felt about their daughter always make my voice tone increases, just like want to defending myself to show them that I can take care of myself with what I do now…and not just me, I can take care of her too…with clear condition that she’s staying in Bukit Tinggi and I’m in Jakarta.

It’s not easy to maintain the feeling in long distance relationship, that’s why I was so inflates with so much sense of missing her due to the wide range. Things that only I can keep in every moment for five years as I decide to put my step to Jakarta with all passion and confident in my ability to make Rendang which I believe could bring me fortune, but eventually my fate ends with my expertise in driving.

I thought fate only could disappoint me once but when I met Mr. and Mrs. Amrizal…hear their sobbing on the couch…the awkward situation that make me confused doing anything except sit tight with my legs bent close each other and arms hugging my knees…waiting until the tears ran out and they able to talk…

"Are you really don’t know what happened to Siti?"

"What's happened to Siti, mak?" I asked the old woman back. "We often correspond with mail and she seems fine..."

Both of them looked at me looks like I was crazy. Unfortunately I left all her letters in Jakarta so I couldn’t show it to them, "Siti is missing, young man! It's been five months she’s gone. We've been looking everywhere but didn’t able to find her yet. "

Missing?

It answered my question why she’s not replied my letter from five months ago as she used too. I thought that she’s finally gave up with her parent’s will for married as they force her hard to meet the man of their match…sometimes I think the Amrizal still living in a time where Juliet struggling the parent’s matchmaking that keep her from getting true love…then accept Muklis’s married proposal. The big question that lead me back to my hometown to find out ... and I barely believe what I’ve just heard

"How could that happened, mak?"

"The last time we saw her it was when she asked our permission to go out with her friends, Kadir, Badrun, Hapsari, Leyla, and…” they spoken the last name slowly and carefully. “…Muklis.”

I know who’s Muklis was, he’s on the same class with me and Siti from elementary. A-quiet-type kind of guy, a bit strange to my opinion, but I know all parents want their daughter will marry him one day because Muklis’s parent was one of village leaders who seemed had no limitation for money that came from the rice plots owned by their great…great…great grandmother.

And it includes Siti’s, for the last couple of months Siti wrote to me about how her parents encouraged her to marry Muklis as soon as possible, let alone the man has now successfully become a Deputy of Branch Manager in one of the banks at Bukit Tinggi, exactly on the area which his family’s took charge for decades. 

Siti’s parent who’s also friends of Muklis’s parent bring her to several occasion that meet the girl with Muklis with a big hope of intertwined the love between them. Muklis figure certainly had more dazzle in their eyes compared to him, who’re already familiar with Siti since high school. 

Luckily he never introduced himself as Siti’s boyfriend to Amrizal family, she knew how old-fashioned they are so in front of them Siti met him as her close friend…the closest one…more like brother…

"But that day they didn’t return after that..."

"Just Muklis who got back," the old man corrected. "But he’s gone crazy. The police couldn’t question him where the others were...including Siti. "

"I think he’s just pretend. They say Muklis killed them all and buried them somewhere," the mother said.

"How can he pretend if he’s not ashamed to be naked in the street just like many had saw?” the old man snapped.

"The killer would do anything in order to cover up his ass," evasive the mother.

It appears that this will be a fierce debate for a few rounds if I had not finished off, "Where were they go before they’re disappeared?"

"Siti said they want to go picnic to Lubang Jepang…”

Lubang Jepang in local named or Nippon’s Hole was a place where Japan forced Indonesian people to built some kind of hole or natural bunker underneath the town as a hiding place when the battle gets rough and troops need to take cover from enemy’s attack. 

A series of bad scenes flashed with craze in my mind. Why it should have to be on that place? That’s where I express my love for her for the first time at second grade at senior high...a place that’s supposed to be our 'sacred'...the anger take control of my heart slowly because she dare to take the man I hate most to that place.

She knows I hate Muklis...I have write about it couple of times in my letter. She could say no if he asked to take her there, though the invitation along with some others, because going there with him is equally spoiling the wonderful memories we’ve shared all this time. 

But half part of my heart, which is where the logic takes part, mocked the jealousy that makes me angry, challenge me to find the place elsewhere for them if my childhood town were just having less choices for place to be visit besides Jam Gadang, Local Zoo, Janjang Seribu, and of course Lubang Jepang!

Jam Gadang is too crowded. It’s not very amusing at all if you need exclusivity like Muklis and his friend used to have and don’t want to be bothered by the presence of others. They’re no teenager who fascinated by animals as well. And it’s too tiring having to climb the thousand ladders of Janjang Seribu that often visited by Bukit’s people like Siti and her friends, so Lubang Jepang is perfect choice because it really cool and comfort in there.

The darkness that covers makes anyone inside doomed with romanticism, something I had felt when I’m with her on that moment. It came up in my mind how’s my heart beat so fast, my body trembles and somehow smoldering so quickly as I hold her arms, fill with doubt, because I don’t want to scares her. I really don’t know what to say if she pulled her arm, that would be embarrassing, but apparently she let her hands clasped in mine with soft smile when I told her about my feeling…

I'm out of that gloomy hole as a winner…my whole life was different before we enter the hole an hour ago, since then there are no feeling I must hide from her…no more separate walls…I can share her everything happened in my daily life, that was the most important thing for me…

As my logic had spoken, after that moment I even visited that pace couple of times, especially when my cousins from Jakarta went back each Eid, but things were different. That place always brought me special aura because of special memorize I had with her every time I step in there. The image of Siti’s face as I entered the cave entrance with her wide smiled as she heard the word of love from my mouth.

"A lot of strange things happened there," said Emir, my old friend who works as a police officer in Bukit Tinggi District Police at present day. "Do you remember the news about dozens bodies that were found in the canyon below the gate at north pit?"

I stood for a moment and then shook my head, "Criminal news had never appealed me since I was kid. That's why you’re the policeman now. "

"That death is still a mystery. No police knows where these people came from and how they ended up there. "

"Perhaps they are travelers who fell while climbing?"

There they are...I saw the same strange sight that was done by Siti’s parent to me on Emir’s face, "Climbing tourists, eh? Where the hell is a mountain near Lubang Jepang? "

I shrugged, "I dunno, I’m just talkin about the possibilities…”

"About five years ago there were also scattering corpses that found around the area where Jenjang Seribu been construct.”

"Well, I’ve never heard that because I was in Jakarta five years ago."

"There’s a rumor, said that the corpse might be the workers who died in an accident while building the place but I had questioned the contractor and all fellow workers but no one recognized who’s the corpse were.”

"What do you mean? Do you want to say Lubang Jepang is haunted, is that so? "

"I think so..."

I laughed out loud, "You're crazy, Emir! The place is already there since we were kid…since our parents perhaps…so if they knew the place were full with ghost how’s government dared to make it as a travel destination? Have you ever heard the place was haunted since you live here?”

“Well, maybe is not haunted…mysterious is more like it…have you ever think how Japan could built such huge hole if they only ruled us for only 3,5 years?”

“Nope! I have no idea about that! I don’t see what the connection…”

“The hole was built beneath half of the wide of city’s area, just imagine if there's a hole under your bed room, quiet disturbing, eh?”

I shrugged, "What's important to me is how you can find Siti and the rest of them, not arguing about the mysteries or any other reason that you couldn’t explain..."

I felt bit arrogant in front of him, after all he’s the detective, right? But what do I care? Emir just know me as a successful urban from Jakarta, he doesn’t know what was my really job there and surely he didn’t need to know, and hometown nomads always had high respect for person like me, more over we’ve been a close friend before the rank stood on Emir’s shoulder.

"I know this is hard for you ..." Emir said, aware of my despair, he’s the one who knows about my relationship with Siti. "...but we've been trying as much as possible since five months ago. Still, we don’t know where they are…”

"Five people lost at the same time, at the same place as well, and you…cops…are not able where to find them?”

Emir winced like a wounded animal, "We’re still looking for ways to get information from the lunatic only survivors. It was not easy and it takes time. "

"Why don’t you guys not looking on the canyon below the hole…perhaps they’re fall like your mysterious corpses down there, or perhaps at the top near end of Jenjang Seribu? Or they might be hide in one of the pit in that huge hole?”

"Don’t you think we’re not doing those things?” Emir said with annoyance. "Before you say it, I've told my men to look into all of those places."

“If that so, could you let me see Muklis in person?”

"For what?" Emir’s eyebrows has raise.

“Well, perhaps I could help you pry something out of it?" and I added with either a lie or the truth may also be personal, something that only I know about Muklis from Siti’s letters. "I think I know something that can get him to talk...I know him well..."

"Since when you're close to Muklis?" asked Emir in awe. "Even his wife couldn’t pursue him to talk.”

"His wife?" my heart sank. "So he’s already had a wife?"

"How could men like Muklis have not married yet?" Emir laughed. "She's married to a girl from Pariaman named Jubaidah...maybe you know her?"

"Jubaidah…the fattest girl in class?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes, that's her..." Emir said grinning.

"How can he marry her?"

"Don’t ask me! But maybe that's the reason why Muklis wanted to have another wife."

My face feels like burned when I heard Emir’s word, though he knows I’ve got crush on Siti but he said it with such calm style as he doesn’t know anything, because it’s really bothers me a lot, at the same time thinking about how disgusting she was if she’s really pick the choice of being Muklis’s wife while she could be much happier with me as my only star…and no one else will…

"Just give me some time and I’ll give you what you want."

"I’m so sorry, besides families or relatives, no civilians allowed to see him, comrade! He's a key witness of this strange case, so I hope you understand that we couldn’t let anyone talk to him just like that.”

But I still insist, “Five minutes. That’s all I asked. It won’t be anyone lost!”

"He’s in the hands of experts now. Trust me. As soon as there’s new information, I will tell you. "

Conversation with Emir gave me nothing, it’s merely useless, when I go back to my hotel. Apparently it’s not losing me the whole thing…somehow Emir called me on the next day. He told me to get ready to accompany him to meet Muklis. What in the world he change his mind suddenly”

"The psychiatrist, who examined Muklis, sends me a message yesterday. It said that Muklis want to see you and talk..."

"How did he know I'm here?" I asked in awe.

Emir just shrugged...

I simply can’t remember what he looks like when he was a teenager. The man in front of me is very different from the man I’ve remember. He’s so thin…a skinny shape with just bones attached under pinch of meat, some of those bones bulging on various angles at his body, the messy hair is unified with the unkempt beard under his chin. I must hold my breath to keep the odor that comes out of his body...

He sat down and staring blankly, even when I walked into the room, a special room with bars on each four side, seemed to be proper place for the only ‘creature’ who stay’s here. I used that term for he’s merely close to animal than human…as had said by Siti’s parent…he’s in bare naked shape without even bother to wear anything to cover.   

How can they let him in such pathetic condition like these?

I almost scolded the cops who did this to him till my eyes sees pile of blankets and clothes in the corner of the room, from which I understand the police and psychiatrist had tried as much as possible to keep the ethic and norm to him but it’s worse to shot.

"Muklis?"

No answer. I glance to the person sitting on the floor with his fool expression. It’s empty and seems unrealized for my presence. I think for while so I decided to sit on the floor as well, heading face to face towards this madman who, once again, looking at me like an empty shell. Ghooss, I really don’t recognize him as Muklis that I’ve know years ago.

I called one more time, "Muklis?" There’s no answer. "I heard you were looking for me?"

He didn’t answer…instead he moved his head slowly…makes the left and right movement…reminds me of a Cobra that I ever saw at Night Carnival at Rajiff’s show, Indian Fakir who plays with snake and flute, and how the soft tunes seemed hypnotize the snake…only there’s no tunes at all at this moment, but I had the same uncomforted feeing for the snake as I watched Muklis.   

And his eyes…the same pair as the snake had had…blare glance…being hypnotized…focusing on something that isn’t here…without slightest blinking…not once…

"What do you want from me? I’m Fandi…”

His expression changed as I mention my name…there’s something like distrust...guilt...but at the same time hopes...his mouth quivering and his eyes began to move as wild as Bali’s dancers. Suddenly his entire body started shaking as he hold my hands, “Fandi…the hole…help me…nippon’s hole….”

"Siti?" I get hysterical, not for his clutching arm that came with enormous pace that I couldn’t think how but to hear the voice that comes from him…that’s obviously a girl’s voice…it’s very impossible for no-actor-skill as he’s to make that kind of voice…

"Stupid fool!" the sound change suddenly to a voice of screaming man and Muklis looked around, seemed like he’s been confused or frightened. "You will kill him..."

"...The bars...the hole... the bar…hole…bars..." Muklis raved repeatedly.

"SSSHUUUUUUUTTTUUUUPPPP !!!"

I covered my ears, his scream echoed across the wall of prisoner’s room. My tense increase when the madman juped up and slammed his body violently into the right side of the prison bars, make it rocked back and forth wildly, emerging a faint whirred. He crushed himself again...and once more…it’s clear to me that he actually didn’t want this but he has no ability to control the invisible force that dominate his body and mind…this must be stop…

"HEELPP...HEEELLPPP...HEEE’SSS GOONNEEE CRAAZZY..."

CONTINUE TO SECTION 2