Destiny That has Been Waiting

A middle-aged man with his pedati-cart pulled by a buffalo was crossing a dry, dusty dirt road. Lately, the rain has never fallen, probably because it is in the middle of the dry season, the man thought.

The man sat in the tub of his cart, on a pile of grass from him working all day in one area earlier. That was the only job he could do, looking for grass for fodder belonging to people whose castes were higher than himself.

The buffalo that pulled the cart also did not belong to the man. The buffalo is the deposit of one family with a higher caste for it to maintain and care for properly. At any time, the buffalo can be taken by the owner. And if that happens, then his efforts in finding grass will be much more difficult because he is very forced to just walk while carrying the basket.

That's why he tried to pay attention to the health and safety of the buffalo to still be able to gain the trust of the buffalo owner's family. Of course, even more for the sake of his ease in finding grass that he will then sell.

And if the female buffalo gets pregnant and gives birth to offspring, then it is a piece of good luck for the man. Because then he will get a bonus from the owner of the buffalo.

Soon he would cross a river, he pulled the bridle so that the buffalo stopped stepping. Then he got off his cart.

"You must be thirsty," said the man, wiping the buffalo's back. "Come, let's drink first to queer our thirst, I've run out of drinking water supplies."

The man pulled a piece of wood around the buffalo's neck—still part of the cart itself—so the buffalo turned around and followed the man's steps.

Arriving at the bank of the river, the man removed the wooden crossbar tie around the neck of the female buffalo, then pulled slowly the bridling rope that coiled from behind the horn and then penetrated the buffalo's nose.

The bridle rope was quite long, so the man tied the end of the rope to one tree trunk on the riverbank. Thus, the buffalo can be freer to drink or even soak on the banks of the river. Maybe with a little snack in the form of weeds that meet some points on the edge.

While the buffalo looks happy to soak in clear river water, the man pulls something out of his pedati-cart. A bag of cowhide that had been empty. Soon he approached the riverbank. Scooping up the river water and drinking it, scooping it again with both palms and then he uses it to wash his face and head.

The female buffalo that was soaking suddenly whined with a loud voice, the buffalo was seen agitated with its head facing towards the headwaters of the river.

Moo…!

"What happened to you?"

The middle-aged man tried to calm the buffalo, but the buffalo's moo grew louder.

The man tried to check around the buffalo soaking, there may have been snakes or others that disturbed the buffalo. But he didn't find anything that could disturb the buffalo.

"Tell me, what makes you nervous?"

Then, the middle-aged man heard the sound of the baby's crying. He looked around, and his gaze struck a small basket floating on the surface of the river upstream, in line with the gaze of the female buffalo.

"Baby?" said the man. "Whose baby? Who threw the baby into this river?"

Not waiting any longer the man immediately plunged into the river, the depth of the water was only as high as his waist. He stepped hastily even though the river currents slightly made his steps falter.

Not thinking about the dangers that might threaten the man's safety, he kept his feet up, treading the riverbed filled with rocks. Once upon a time, he slipped from stepping on a mossy rock. But he immediately got up again with his body drenched and continued his pace.

The man managed to reach the basket that was carried by the river current. His eyeballs were enlarged when he saw a tiny baby crying in the pandan leaf basket. The man looked around, he saw no one behind the density of the trees on either side of the river.

"Don't be afraid," the man said to the baby. "I'll save you."

The man then brought the basket with the baby in it to the river bank. This time he stepped more carefully so as not to slip because he did not want the baby in the basket to be wretched.

He managed to reach the side where the female buffalo soaked without any significant obstacles. The buffalo itself no longer sounded as loud as before. The man smiled widely, he rubbed the buffalo's head.

"So, you were nervous because you heard this baby's voice?"

Moo!

"Good girl."

On the edge, on a wide flat stone, the man checked the condition of the baby in the basket who was still crying loudly.

"Oh Gods in heaven," said the man. "Even your umbilical cord hasn't been cut..."

The middle-aged man lifted the baby into his lap, the baby looked calmer even as the sound of his crying was no longer heard. The man smiled with teary eyes. Then, while being carried with one hand, he poured clear river water on the baby's body to cleanse the baby of the remnants of blood.

The baby cried again, perhaps surprised by the cold river water. The man laughed without a sound.

After cleaning the baby was again wrapped by the man with a long cloth. He let the basket of pandan leaves washed away by the river currents. Then he stepped towards his cart.

The buffalo's bridle attached to one tree was removed by the man. Without any compulsion, the buffalo went straight out of the river and stepped closer to the cart, as if the animal understood that the man wanted to immediately go take the baby out of the area.

This afternoon felt very different, the air that suddenly became shadier as if deliberately accompanying the steps of the female buffalo who pulled the pedati cart. The middle-aged man held the baby boy who looked calm inside the man's lap. The baby may be asleep due to exhaustion. The man held the baby affectionately while singing a lullaby's song. And he hopes to be able to surprise his wife at home, later.

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