Strange Shaman

Fajri, desperate and losing hope, along with the villagers ready to burn an innocent person alive, suddenly fell silent and still. A powerful footstep resonated through the earth, accompanied by a resolute and loud shout, "Pancen jaman edan!!!" A derogatory term emerged from the mouth of a man while he stood confidently.

He wore traditional Javanese attire from the era of Javanese kingdoms, with a thin, tall figure, a headband resembling that of a shaman, and wrapped in batik pants and sarong (batik cloth) tied around his waist. A rolled-up piece of paper was tucked into the sarong.

His shouted words seemed to split the heavens and the earth, piercing through the emotions of the villagers present. It was as if he awakened the furious lion within the hearts of the people. Truly, he resembled an honorable knight from ancient times, (or perhaps not).

It appears that the man successfully captured the attention of everyone present, including the two individuals tied to the pole alongside Fajri.

"Mbah dukuuun!!" Small shouts came from the two individuals, as if calling out to the hero who had halted the cruelty of the villagers.

The man then raised his right hand, repeating his derogatory statement. "Pancen jaman edan! Isine uwong ora waras!" The voices that had started to resurface vanished into the ground. This demonstrated the great charisma possessed by the man. Fajri, not proficient in Javanese, only partially understood the man's words.

"Haa??.... What did he say? If I'm not mistaken, it means crazy era, right?" "Well, in my opinion, the people here are already crazy! Burning others like grilling skewers? Madness!" Muttered Fajri in his heart.

"Ngerti pora?! Malinge ki aku! Hudu wong sing nang ngarep kae! Jenengku Pardi! Maling kawit lahir!"

("Understand, people?! The thief is me! Not the person being held hostage there! My name is Pardi! A thief since birth!")

Shouted Pardi loudly. Despite his brave words, Pardi was, in reality, a "coward." His legs trembled as the villagers stared at him sharply.

The emotions of the people there became unbearable, erupting like Mount Merapi. Slowly, they approached Pardi while carrying machetes used for cutting wood earlier. As the crowd drew nearer, Pardi's legs trembled uncontrollably.

The courage Pardi showed while shouting earlier had vanished. The villagers closed in, and Pardi's legs could no longer support his sturdy frame. His body collapsed to the ground, and he fainted. However, right before losing consciousness, Pardi managed to utter a thought in his mind.

"Ahhhh... Ngopo aku nglakoni iki..."

("Ahhhh.... Why am I doing this...")

Pardi, a young man from a bygone era, specifically a commoner from the Mataram Kingdom, found himself unexpectedly transported to the future, precisely in the year 1010 AD. Pardi, a man with five children from four different wives, faced expulsion from each wife's domain upon the revelation of his true identity as a thief. The challenge of securing steady employment during the era's tumultuous division of the Mataram Kingdom proved insurmountable. Divorced by his wives, Pardi continued his journey, pilfering from seemingly affluent households—a true outcast in society.

Survival for Pardi meant resorting to theft, as he couldn't conceive of any alternative means to sustain himself. His thieving exploits went unnoticed, thanks to a talisman—a blackish-gray stone necklace inscribed with ancient characters resembling Javanese script, bearing the reassuring inscription "basuki," meaning "safe/secure."

Until his final journey, Pardi encountered Sumi, a woman who became his fourth wife. Pardi openly confessed his flawed nature to Sumi, who nevertheless, accepted him under the condition that he forswore thievery and endeavored to find alternative employment. Pardi then handed over his talisman to Sumi as a tangible commitment to abstain from stealing.

In the aftermath of his marriage to Sumi, Pardi embraced a semblance of normalcy, raising two children and working as a farmer on the lands of a wealthy landowner. However, the seemingly generous landowner gradually revealed a stingy nature.

Pardi's wages dwindled, and despite a bountiful harvest after ten months of toil, the landowner offered almost nothing in return. Pardi's life once again plunged into hardship, struggling to provide even basic sustenance. The dire situation led Pardi to contemplate a return to his life as a thief.

Yet, the certainty lingered—resuming thievery would sever ties with his family forever. Whether he faced capture, the fiery consequences of being burned alive, or a miraculous escape, Pardi grappled with the uncertainty of reuniting with his family. Nonetheless, survival seemed elusive through any other means. After much contemplation, Pardi reluctantly resolved to resume his life of thievery, targeting the house managed by the landowner.

Amidst the shroud of night's darkness and the bone-chilling cold, Pardi bid a farewell of sorts to his wife under the guise of "searching for food." While his quest for sustenance was genuine, he also approached the looming catastrophe before him. In this moment, Pardi prepared to break his own solemn vow against thievery.

As the night's dark clouds concealed the moonlight, Pardi infiltrated the house he had chosen. A futile search for valuable items or food ensued, culminating in the discovery of a single, decent-looking box.

Disappointment washed over Pardi as he opened it, revealing only an old, tattered scroll. Discarding it in dismay, Pardi witnessed the scroll unfurl and emit a piercing blue light. Startled, he leaped backward, inadvertently landing in a jar, causing it to shatter with a resounding crash.

Panic seized Pardi as he frantically searched for sustenance amidst the wreckage, grabbing only the glowing scroll. His panic was justified; the homeowner, now awake, realized his abode was in disarray.

Shouts of "Thieeeef!!!...." reverberated through the air. The reason Pardi had evaded capture for so long was because of the talisman he wore. However, this night marked an oversight—he was no longer adorned with his trusted amulet. Attempting escape, Pardi found himself too late to flee. Resigned to his fate, he could only brace himself for the impending ordeal.

As a result, Pardi was captured and taken to an iron cage. Regret always comes too late. Pardi, resigned to his fate inside the cage, could only lament his actions. Violating his own oath, it seemed like this was the consequence Pardi had to accept. His hope was shattered.

"Wes lah mati aku" (It's okay, let me die)

The scroll he carried emitted light again. Curious, Pardi attempted to open it, and the paper, initially blank, slowly revealed mysterious writings from an unknown source. Pardi couldn't read the text. The scroll glowed again, and somehow, Pardi could suddenly comprehend it.

"Pingin urip?" (Want to live?)

It seemed the scroll wanted to engage Pardi in conversation.

"Mbengoka sak seru serune! Aku wong edan!" (Shout as loudly as you can! I am a madman!) instructed the scroll to Pardi.

Because Pardi still desired to live, he immediately complied without shame or hesitation. The crowd began to gather around Pardi, who genuinely appeared like a madman. Once again, writings appeared on the scroll. This time, he couldn't decipher them. However, Pardi heard whispers resembling the word "moksa" .

As mysterious voices echoed, dark clouds gathered, fierce winds extinguished the torches in the night, intensifying the cold and shrouding the radiance of the moon, plunging everything into complete darkness.

After a few seconds, lightning struck from the sky, dazzling every eye seeking light in the dark night and shattering the cage where Pardi was held. The place exploded, and the people around were thrown back. Their eyes momentarily blinded, their ears ringing, and upon regaining consciousness, the bewildered crowd discovered that Pardi had disappeared.

There was no sign that he had escaped or been consumed by the lightning and explosion. Well... because Pardi had vanished from the world (moksa). At least, Pardi disappeared for a thousand years.