I was keeping on the count of how many days I had been stuck in this wooden cradle.
Twenty-eight? No, thirty it was.
It had been a month since my arrival to this world, yet my knowledge that was clear about this place was only as big as the house I resided in. The path to the beach couldn't be counted since I saw it not more than once. Heck, even I didn't have the physical privilege to learn every corner that existed in my own home.
Walking was still a long milestone to reach, but at least I was confident I could do something better than the previous baby me. Grandfather once said I needed a year to be able to walk, so I had a clear target for earning the ability to move by my own feet before that time.
By far, I had mastered my self-dragging around the pillow but my hands weren't developed enough to support my body weight, thus obstructing my progress to crawling.
The next thing I had been able to do lately was reaching the edge of the cradle, flipping my body with my whole might, and then sat on my own by leaning to the wooden bars.
I couldn't describe the shock that my parents had on their faces when they witnessed my activity, but I felt they were supportive enough not to immediately returning me to the sleeping position. They just spectated my movement with mesmerized eyes.
They were doing it this time too, laying on their stomach side by side and thoroughly watched their son from outside the cradle. The said person was sitting leisurely in front of them and longed for the morning sky view that existed beyond the windowsill.
"Ko (you) serin anakita (the child) dabisa (can) robolu saniri mak? Dikuma barusi (just) bulenan to," the man spoke to her while his doubtful eyes were directed at me. His gaze was inspecting me too seriously and his posture was quite tense.
"Serina akoma! Anaki ni (this child) dabisa (can) selonji saniri dipanan ku (me) tana. Adiaja bika bira agil (say) mama (mother) palagi enam (eat)," she replied to him. She was smiling with pride when she talked about my condition, heavily contrasting the man's stiff expression.
I learned a few words this month solely by listening to her self-talk during the feeding and caretaking sessions. She was unexpectedly chattery after being accustomed to my presence.
Despite her occasional anxious looks toward me, I could tell she was enjoying more and more of her nurturing time with me. There was a tinge of confidence that was beginning to exhibit within all of her activities.
"Niya, ku (me) suru adia (him) noba kalio ko (you) tape (not) kaya," she was swaying him with an unusual excitement before her finger poked my tummy softly several times. As I wanted for her to stop with the ticklish nudges, I turned my head and also my attention to them.
"Hoba agil (say), maaamaaa (moootheeer)," she said with an excessive stretch to the word, asking me to repeat it as usual.
"aaamaa, maamaa," I did what she told me to do although it wasn't a perfect imitation. My lips sometimes failed to touch each other and it showed.
Regardless, her yelp of cheer was the first thing I heard while the man was agitating after I finished my spelling. He stared at me confusingly as if I was the strangest thing he ever knew.
It was reasonable for him though, since he was barely present when I managed to talk with my mouth. Following the incident, he rarely showed up again in my room or anywhere in the house. I was even unsure if he really came back home after leaving in the mornings.
The main visitors of my room were the woman in the first position and followed by the string girl in the last position. Without any other person, it became lonely quite fast.
Just on some occurrences at the dead of nights, he would take a short glimpse of me before closing the door again. His face was often covered in bruises and he would leave no word for me to hear.
But this day, it was the longest time I had spent with him recently. He returned to his casual clothing and his tattered guard's robe was nowhere to be found.
His surprised gaze was fixed at me, added with a shine of amazement on his eyes.
"Seri isdato? Ko (you) apaki adia (him) ami bisa (can) kagitu?" he asked again to her, not with a skeptic tone but with an astonished one.
She shrugged, "tutau ha (yes), tabina pasa ku (I) kasi enam (feed) kangku jara robolu sani, tetiba adia (he) ikusi kumanap!" she explained something to him while also seeming uncertain of her own words.
After thinking for a while, he was the one who poked me first instead. "Byar ku (I) naba hulu (now). Agil (say) paapaa," he repeated exactly what the woman did but with a slightly different word.
If my mere words could impress someone that much, then I might as well try for him.
"Baaavaaaa," a failed attempt.
"Paapaa," he repeated eagerly.
"Baabaaa," a tiny improvement for me.
"Paaaaapaaaa," his word became too elongated.
"Haaapaa," I tried my best. I really did. If he gave me some time I would surely exceed his expectation, maybe only a little.
He sighed from disappointment, but not the kind that made you thought it was serious.
The woman giggled from seeing the whole spectacle and lightly slapped his shoulder.
"Hanapa? Dasika anaki (child) gaka (not) bisa (can) sube papa (father, perhaps) na?" she spoke with a hefty amount of teasing.
"Huuffhh, adia (he) anggil (call) mama (mother) jau derilema dabisa (can), tapia ku (I) yapa anggil (call) papa (father) senau gaka (not) bisa (can). Ku haruna open duruma (home) ya," he commented dejectedly.
Looking at their reaction to my sitting and talking, my overall progression was quite alright so far but that might be where the good things ended.
For this complete month, I had not been able to prove my wind ability as a significant presence. I still couldn't wrap my head around the concept and for whatever reason, my limit was only one per day.
After giving my whole in a shot, my hand would go limp on the side of my body.
Every time I took an air shot toward the woman, she shrugged it off like it was a normal blowing wind.
I couldn't blame her since it was what it was, a blowing wind.
My attempt was only recognized by the girl once, who seemed interested when the motion of my hand produced an air that nudged her face. But her interest quickly worn out due to my inability to repeat.
She acted as If she was just seeing things and it was all in her head. The rarity of her visit also condemned my chance of being realized.
I felt lost since I needed a measurement to know whether my power was increasing or not.
*Krrrruuukk*
My stomach rumbled all of a sudden from all the thinking.
Both of them focused on the embarrassing roaring sound.
"Ahh! Haday (now) peru anakita (the child) belu man enam (eat), ku (I) maso kindu luia, ko (you) bawala tubo ke (to) bair dulu," the woman said before hastily picking herself from the ground and rushed to the floor below.
"Yah," the man replied shortly while his hands were lifting me from the cradle. We went downstairs to give me a feeding as the normal routine.
The chair positioning was the same, the food dedicated for my nonexistent teeth was the same, almost everything was the same.
As I was being spoon-fed, my eyes wandered to the door that connected us to the outside world. If I stayed here for too long then my improvement might come to a halt.
I needed to go outside soon and learn new things that didn't exist in this cozy home. Since my clue of the direction to Aria existed faintly in my head, I had to know places other than this house and the beach. I wondered if the sea lady expected me to understand everything with the lacking information.
And then, miraculously after my food had finished, the door knocked as if it was giving me an answer.
The door was slowly opened by the man, revealing not an answer, but a turtle lady, the very same person that helped my birth.
"Nomuda, kasinie labe enta. Tika kamo pegi (go) angka," the lady's raspy voice was directed to the woman. Her pointy finger twitched back and forth, inviting the woman to come out from the house.
After listening to the turtle lady, she lifted me again while replying, "sesaba abu, byar anakan (child) diganda apas dulu," she talked calmly before turning back to put me upstairs.
Wait, were they planning to go outside? I shouldn't let this chance just pass.
Hurriedly, I tugged her cloth and shifted her attention toward me. When her eyes drifted to me, I raised my hand and pointed my finger to the door. She seemed to understand my meaning but there was a hesitation that lingered on her face.
"Dapa to? Ohhh, anaki (child) moi (want) kutangka? Bawala seka lika bupo ana anakan mae," the turtle lady noticed my interest and said something to the woman in a persuasive manner.
"Manta, bu?" the woman asked again for permission.
"Mantala! Anaki luni sape yan tamo," the turtle lady nodded and chuckled at her.
As soon as she said that, the woman grabbed a cloth to cover my body with another layer before stepping outside.
This was my first time to look at the village in its usual state.
I couldn't wait to see what it offered.