The Mandarin Fireflies (II) - Seno Gumira Ajidarma
One unexpected day, a Chinese Mandarin came to the town alone. He was a scholar, who was always very curious about the history of his race, and therefore he was interested in the story about the Mandarin fireflies that came from nail clippings. Sukab served him with arak wine, but this person didn’t easily get drunk.
“So, Mr. Sukab, you catch fireflies that fly around the graveyard?”
“Yes, then I breed them.”
“But your fireflies are so much different from the ordinary ones found in the fields. Your fireflies are not the kind explained in the encyclopedia of the world. We don’t find the Latin translation of your fireflies. A billion ordinary fireflies won’t be strong enough to create a sky-supporting column of light, and ordinary fireflies flicker about at night only to be found dead in the morning, while your fireflies can enlighten hearts lost in the darkness.”
“Come on, Mr. Udin Mandarin, don’t exaggerate it.”
“I think you understand, Mr. Sukab, that what I say is not an exaggeration. Is it really possible to breed those mystical fireflies that come from the Mandarins’ nails? Your fireflies are not biological insects, they’re mystical. My question is, what kind of treatment do you give them as farm animals? They aren’t the kind of fireflies that can be bred. Those fireflies are from nail clippings. They come out of the grave at night digging up through the ground. Are they breedable?”
“Mr. Udin Mandarin, I’m just a stupid person, I don’t think with my head. I only follow what my heart says. I never ask myself those questions that you asked me. I don’t even know what you mean by those questions.”
“My question is, if you run out of those nail-clipping fireflies, while in fact they can’t be bred, what will you do?”
Sukab studied his guest. He was an educated Mandarin, and it looked very clear that he never did manual labor. His fingers were well-groomed and looked soft, like a woman’s. His nails were rather long, but very clean, almost as clear as calm water in the pond.
“Mr. Udin Mandarin, Sir, how do you expect me to answer such a question about something that I never do?”
August 15th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
For Certain The Mandarin Fireflies (II) - Seno Gumira Ajidarma will father tons of involvement only for the fact it\’s occupying learning.