The Wedding Ritual

Wary and alert, Darma looked at the old man in front of him. He had never seen him before. In the dark night, with the perfunctory light from the moon, the all-black appearance of the old man clearly looked sinister.

"Young man, Nyimas Randu is never wrong in choosing. You don't even know who I am when all your neighbours so often ask me to find demons from supernatural nations to help their efforts," replied the man in front of Darma, ending with a loud laugh that still made Darma shudder.

It was impossible for him to back down now, but in order to move forward and carry out his determination, Darma's guts had shrunk just from dealing with the old man he had just seen tonight. He don't know where the old man who suddenly came from came from. Whereas previously, Darma was very sure that there were no signs of human presence around the big Kapok tree.

"I am Ki Joko Tangkil, A guide of A guideman for a human who wants to be a devil worshiper. The people who are always diaries and are visited by your friends who want instant wealth, position, or wealth by working with the demons who live in the Randusewu base," continued the man who turned out to be Ki Joko Tangkil, a name Darma often heard from his neighbors, who often whispered and they often discuss the guideman in Randusewu forest.

So far, Darma has only heard of Ki Joko Tangkil's name from the stories of the residents. He had never imagined what Ki Joko Tangkil's figure would look like, who turned out to be a big, sturdy man with thick sideburns and eyebrows that made him look so scary. Joko Tangkil's round and wide eyes that sometimes look red and give off a flash of light.

"Sorry, Ki Joko Tangkil, it's the first time I've met you. I'm sorry that I don't know who are you at first." Darma admitted with a downcast face and a bent body.

"Sure, I'll accept your apology, Darma. However, My queen, My leader falls in love with you? She asked me to come down the hill to marry you. Is it true that you are ready to be a Nyimas Randu's husband and you will be her worshiper, Darma?" Joko Tangkil asked with a firm tone that boomed with a scary look in his eyes when he looked at Darma's face, which was getting more and more wrinkled because his fear was increasing.

"If you're scared, you can come back before your wedding rituals begin."

"Joko Tangkil! Who are you? Why do you dare to expel my future husband," growled Nyimas Randu, which made Darma turn his head again to look for the figure of the owner of the voice, who sounded angry because of Ki Joko Tangkil's words. The angry tone issued by Nyimas Randu immediately made Ki Joko Tangkil bow respectfully.

"Forgive me, Nyimas Randu, my queen. I just want to make sure the man in front of me is worthy of our lord, Nyimas," said Ki Joko Tangkil, cupping his hands with his body bent over to the big kapok tree that stood in front of them.

However, Darma's eyes were still unable to penetrate the boundary that Nyimas Randu had set, so he did not see anyone standing in front of ki Joko Tangkil.

"You doubt my choice, Joko Tangkil!" The woman's voice boomed again.

"Your job is only to marry me with Darma, not to select my choice. Marriage us; that's the only reason why I invited you down the hill and let you into my palace."

"Yes, Nyimas, Nyimas' orders will be carried out immediately," answered Ki Joko Tangkil quickly, not wanting to make his gods angry because his orders were not immediately obeyed.

Joko Tangkil turned around to face Darma, who was standing behind him. "Darma, sit down facing the big kapok tree in front of you," Joko Tangkil ordered.

With definite steps, Darma immediately stepped forward and sat right in front of the big kapok tree as Ki Joko Tangkil had ordered. Again, Darma was surprised when he glanced to the side. There was already a medium-sized water barrel mixed with various flowers, whose fragrance was piercing the nose. Darma clearly remembers that at the beginning of his arrival, there was no earthen barrel there.

He took a dipper made of coconut shells with a wooden handle. His mouth seemed to be chanting a spell that Darma couldn't hear clearly. Darma could only silently wait for the next order.

"Close your eyes, Darma. Don't open your eyes before I order, "ordered Ki Joko Tangkil.

"Remember Darma; the success of this ritual depends on your determination. Don't open your eyes for any reason, let alone run away before all the rituals are finished," Ki Joko Tangkil ordered before the ritual actually started. "Do you understand, Darma?"

Dharma nodded firmly. His heart was determined to accept Nyimas' offer. There is no other way he can do it to get money quickly. For the sake of Dewan, he did all this for the sake of his only child, who was lying weak in the hospital.

Darma immediately closed his eyes. A strong gust of wind was felt. The sound of the gamelan, accompanied by the clatter of anklets, made him reflexively want to open his eyes.

"Don't open your eyes!" shouted Ki Joko Tangkil, which immediately made Darma undo his intention.

His eyes were tightly shut again. One bluff was enough to remind Darma not to mess around with the message from Joko Tangkil that told him not to open his eyes until all the rituals were completed.

"Listen to me, Dharma. Youhave to understand this. Keep your eyes closed! Don't open your eyes for any reason! That is a mandatory requirement. You can only open your eyes when I tell you to do it, do you understand?" snapped Ki Joko Tangkil, implying that his order was fixed, not to be refuted.

"Yes, I understand, Ki," answered Darma with a feeling of uncertainty.

Ki Joko Tangkil again recited the incantations that Darma did not understand. Gradually, the sound of the gamelan being played again sounded, accompanied by the tinkling movement of the anklets that seemed to continue to surround the place where Darma was sitting.

Darma's hair was getting goosebumps. The night wind that hit his face was very cold. The smell of fragrance began to waft. Various sounds that could not be described caught his ears.

"Roarrrrrrrr." The lion's loud roar that came from nowhere made Darma jump in surprise, but he kept his eyes closed even though his mind was racing, trying to guess and imagine what was happening around him.

Why is a lion roaring so loudly when he knows for sure that at Randusewu forest there has never been a lion or other wild animal detected?

In the midst of the cold night wind, Darma's body shivered even more as he was washed with a mixture of flowers by Ki Joko Tangkil, who never once stopped chanting spells. Only the words Nyimas Randusewu uttered by Ki Joko Tangkil could Darma understand.

The rest of the sentence that Ki Joko Tangkil recited was recited so loudly as if there were not only the two of them there. However, there were many beings who had to hear the chanting of the spell. The rustling sound of dry leaves was heard along with the sound of hissing approaching towards him.

The gust of wind behind Darma's neck tested his courage, making him bite his lip to stop himself from screaming when he felt something approaching him.