Several years passed, a lot of things happened but I'll make a long story short. My mother decided to return to her hometown, she was already disappointed in my father because he had an affair and did not give her a living at all.
From that incident, my mother brought my younger sibling home and lived with my grandmother at home. I was happy even without my father, but at least I still have my mother, whom I really miss.
The next incident, this incident occurred when I was in grade 6 elementary school. That afternoon it rained heavily, I didn't even dare to get out of bed because the water literally spilled from the sky, not to mention the thunder and lightning that hit so hard, that the electricity was turned off from the center. This time from evening to night would be a spooky time.
By evening the rain had started to subside, grandma was busy cleaning up the bucket used to collect rainwater seeping from the roof. Because of the heavy rain that fell, many tiles fell from their positions.
Our lighting only uses kerosene lamps, do you know kerosene lamps? The fuel lamp still uses kerosene.
"Mother... What's that roaring sound? And... What's this smell?" I asked, besides the roar, my nose also smelled a very pungent smell of mud and soil.
"That... Maybe the sound of river water, the Galo River is flooding, you should never go there! What's more, it's a rainy season like this"
"Yes mom"
Our village has a river called the Galo River, even though the Galo River is located quite far from the house but because the atmosphere is quiet, the roar of the water can be heard very clearly. Suddenly I felt goosebumps, the atmosphere that night felt very much different from usual.
The Galo River is located on the eastern border of the village and flows south. Many residents go to the river to look for stones and sand. Especially after the flood, for them is a period of abundant sand harvest.
"Nimas. Did you know that someone was washed away in the river yesterday?" said Widya who had just come and sat next to me.
"Huh?? People drifting away? Villagers here??" I was very surprised by the news.
"Not residents here. But residents of the next village" (The village above is further from the village where I live). "The SAR team is looking for his body along the river. If they can't find the upstream river, they will automatically look for it in the Galo river," explained Widya.
My body immediately shivered at the news.
"It's scary and it's a pity, I hope his body will be found soon"
There are very few cases of people being swept away in the Galo River, although many residents fish or look for sand and stones in the river. In fact, if someone drifts from another village, their bodies are always found in the Galo River. You could say it was the Galo River that accommodated the drift victims, not the eater of the drift victims.
Coming home from school I saw that there were several residents who had gathered in front of my house, their faces looked scared.
"Yes. Until now it has not been found either." said one of the residents.
"Is the drift victim a person fishing or mining for sand, Auntie?" my mom asked.
I was curious and immediately listened from the living room, their voices sounded very clear because grandma's fence was still made of wooden planks.
"Not fishing nor sand mining. Said the witness who saw what happened yesterday, the victim was in the rice fields. Indeed, the rice fields were right on the edge of the river. When it rained, the witness had asked the victim to stop plowing the fields and took him home. But the the victim said he would finish his work soon, and unexpectedly the river water suddenly enlarged, at that moment the victim was swept away by the fast current"
"Astaghfirullah adzim thing, means the flood in the river yesterday was so big that it went beyond the barrier" my mother shuddered while rubbing her arm.
Likewise with me, hearing stories from residents I immediately got goosebumps and imagined the incident.
I don't know if it's just a hallucination or just my imagination, but what I see in the picture is a man wearing a woven bamboo hat pulling weeds that grow between his rice plants. Not long after, the person was hit by heavy, murky brown water mixed with dirt and mud.
My head immediately felt heavy, dizzy, followed by unbearable nausea.
I immediately turned my attention to take a drink of warm water mixed with salt, to relieve stomach nausea.
"Nimas... What are you doing?" asked the mother who suddenly came into the kitchen.
"Drink salt water Mom, my stomach is sick"
"Are you ill?" Mom asked then came to me and checked her forehead and touched my neck. "No fever" she muttered. "If you're playing, don't go far. Yesterday someone was swept away and their body hasn't been found until now. Don't go fishing or catch fish. The weather is very dangerous."
I immediately got a stern warning "Yes mom" was my only response.
*****
The morning...
I deliberately waited for Widya in front of the class door, she always knows the latest information, even if it's not exciting yet. Fifteen minutes of waiting, finally Widya came running up to me.
"Nimas... Nimas..." she said breathlessly.
"Why are you running around? Surely the buffalo are chasing you again huh?!" I asked.
Indeed, that was her habit, I was surprised and whether the buffalo had a grudge against Widya, every time she met buffalo, the buffalo looked angry and wanted to chase her. wkwkwkwk.
"Ish! That's not it you know!" she said annoyed.
"Then why did you run? The school bell is still long"
"You always miss the news, don't you? I heard earlier that the victims who were swept away yesterday have been found in the Galo River!"