Lupus let out a sigh of relief.
“Phew, it’s finally over!” he exclaimed, stretching his arms wide. He quickly gathered his scattered books from the floor, while Anto and Boim were still busy writing something.
“I think I’m going to head back home, Nto!” Lupus said as he packed his books into his bag.
“Well, wait for me. I want to hitch a ride to my house,” Boim said.
“Whose house?” Lupus asked.
“My house, of course. Not the neighbor’s house.”
“That’s called getting a ride, not hitching!” Lupus grumbled. “And since you’re not my girlfriend, I refuse to give you a ride. Goodbye.”
At that moment, Anto’s mom entered with a plate of her homemade cake. Lupus hesitated about leaving.
“You said you wanted to leave early, Pus. So, go ahead!” Boim cruelly urged.
Lupus smirked, “Sorry, it has to be postponed.”
“Where are you going in such a hurry, Pus?” Anto’s mom greeted.
“Um, Auntie. Lupus has to hurry home. His cat is about to give birth, so he has to take responsibility!” Boim spontaneously replied.
Lupus glared, Boim and Anto laughed.
“Just stay for the night, Pus, Im. Auntie made a lot of cake!” Anto’s mom offered.
“Well, thank you, Auntie. I’ll just take this one. It’s for souvenirs,” Lupus said, grabbing a piece of cake from the plate.
“Just take everything, Pus,” Anto’s mom said, handing Lupus a plastic bag. Lupus enthusiastically put the cake into the bag. All of it, until nothing was left. Boim could only stare in disbelief.
“Hey, what about my share, Auntie?” Boim protested.
“Just stay calm, Im,” Lupus said. “There’s still a lot of uncooked ones in the oven. At the latest, they’ll be ready by tomorrow morning. While waiting for the cakes to bake, you can nibble on the corner of your pillow. Not bad, right? And don’t forget to pray that the cakes don’t get burnt!”
Then Lupus hurriedly left the room.
“Come on, Nta. I’m heading home. Thanks, Auntie, for the cake…”
“You really don’t want to stay over, Pus? Why the rush?” Anto’s mom greeted.
“Thanks, Auntie. I have obligations every morning. So, I can’t stay over,” Lupus politely replied.
“What obligations?”
“Feeding my chickens, Auntie. If I’m even a little late, they throw a tantrum. There was this one time I was late with their food, and they staged a protest. They went on a hunger strike. When I went to the coop, they ignored me. No one even clucked…”
Anto’s mom laughed.
“Oh, how funny.”
“Yeah, Auntie. My chickens really like to be dramatic. In the evening, they gather and play riddles. Like, what’s the difference between a public bus and a payphone? Well, Auntie, you probably can’t answer, right? Same goes for me at that time. I was curious to know the answer. So, I waited until the chicken who asked the riddle answered. And it turns out the answer was, ‘When people get on a public bus, it can get crowded, but when you want to use a payphone, you have to pick up the receiver first.’ Can you believe it, Auntie? What a silly connection? Those chickens are really something…”
After babbling like that, Lupus rode his bike home.
Lupus actually has a few pet chickens. The chickens have their own coop in the backyard. Under the shade of a lush guava tree. Every morning, they get their food.
Some of the chickens Lupus bought from a chicken seller who passed by when they were still little. They were cheap, only a few cents. Sometimes Lupus even traded bottles for them. And some of the female chickens were bought cheaply from a chicken farm near the market.
At first, Lupus was really diligent in taking care of the chickens. He gave them a lamp to stay warm, bought them delicious food, gave them medicine, and so on. And he even gave them fancy names. The males were named Boim, Gusur, Anto, Aji, Gito, and the females were named Fifi, Yanti, Wati, Ita, Meta, Nyit-Nyit. Well, they were really nice names. Lupus was impressed with himself.
But typical Lupus, he eventually got bored of taking care of the chickens. He started letting them find their own food. Boim, the darkest chicken, even protested. With a hunger strike. But Lupus didn’t care, “As chickens, you should learn to be responsible, right? You’re all grown up now. Can’t you find your own food?” Lupus scolded in front of his chickens, who pouted. Honestly, in front of his chickens, Lupus had quite a commanding presence. And the chickens eventually obeyed.
“But in the evening, Lupus found himself in a bit of a pickle. He had to catch those chickens. They were being so stubborn, especially that sassy chick named Fifi. She was the hardest to catch, always giving Lupus a run for his money.
So, every evening, Lulu got a free show watching Lupus chasing after his chickens. It would’ve been fine if it was just one chicken, but we’re talking about more than fifteen of them. And sometimes, the ones that were already in the coop would try to escape again, making a ruckus and teasing Lupus.
And that morning, Lupus seemed to be waking up early. Busy feeding his chickens who were making a fuss. Today, they were all almost two months old. What used to look cute now started to look ugly. Especially Gusur, who started flirting with the neighbor’s chicken.
“Wow, they’ve grown so big. It’s time to slaughter them, right, Pus?” Lulu teased as she followed Lupus to the coop that morning. She acted like a general inspecting the troops.
“No way! I’ve worked so hard raising them since they were little, and now you want to slaughter them!” Lupus snapped.
“Well, what are you going to do with them then? Keep feeding them until they retire?”
“You’re not allowed to slaughter them! Period.”
“Well, then let’s grill them.”
“NO!!!”
“Fine, if that’s the case, don’t slaughter them.”
But it turns out Lulu went too far. Lupus ended up slaughtering two of his chickens when he stayed over at Anto’s house for two nights. Even though Lulu was specifically instructed to feed the chickens every morning and evening, not slaughter them.
Lupus was furious. “I absolutely can’t accept this! Fifi and Gusur have to come back to life!!!” he yelled that evening.
Lupus’s mom shook her head, hearing Lupus’s outburst. She patiently tried to mediate.
“Lulu, he’s not entirely wrong. Those two chickens seemed sick. Acting all dazed and like they were about to die. Instead of risking the other chickens getting sick, it’s better to slaughter them. It saves us money on groceries.”
“Oh, come on, that’s just an excuse, Mom. And who said that a dazed chicken is about to die? Maybe they’re just in love? I know for a fact that Lulu invited her friends over for a gathering the other day. Right?”
“No, Pus. Mom’s telling the truth. It’s not because of the gathering. Your chickens are really sick,” Lulu defended.
“Yeah. Mom saw it herself, your chickens are sick,” her mom added.”
“Lies. Liiiiies!” Lupus shouted in frustration. Then he stormed out on his racing bike. Disappeared, who knows where.
Lulu and her mom exchanged glances. There was a hint of sadness in Lulu’s eyes. But her mom smiled to calm her down. She hugged Lulu’s shoulder and invited her inside.
**
The next day, Lupus could hardly believe it when he fed his chickens and found Anto and Wati lying motionless. Dead. No signs of being killed or slaughtered. Lupus tried to wake them up, thinking they might just be sleeping. But they remained still.
“Oh, why, you guys?” Lupus whispered sadly. His throat felt dry. His eyes slightly watery.
Then secretly, Lupus lifted the two chickens and buried them in the backyard. From her bedroom window, Lulu witnessed the scene. Lulu felt sad too. Not only because of Lupus’s sorrow, but also because Lupus hadn’t spoken to her since the incident yesterday.
And what’s even sadder, the next day Lupus found three more of his chickens lying motionless. Oh, what a disaster is this? Why did suddenly all of Lupus’s chickens decide to die together? Did Lupus feed them wrong? Or…
Lupus almost cried. No, he wouldn’t accuse Lulu of poisoning his chickens. Lulu wasn’t that mean. Then why?
Could it be that the chickens were infected with a contagious disease, like Lulu and her mom had mentioned?
Regret started to sink in. Regret for being rude to Lulu and her mom. Regret for not believing their words.
And that afternoon, Lupus secretly dug another hole in the backyard to bury his unfortunate chickens. Then he sat alone in the garden. His heart filled with sadness. Lupus’s mom was not unaware of this.
“It’s really painful to lose something we have. Something we cherish. Something we’ve raised since they were little…” her mom’s soft voice startled Lupus.
Lupus looked away, trying to hide his tears.
“But you have to accept it. The chickens you raised, they’re not high-quality breeds. They’re just ordinary chickens. So they’re more prone to diseases. Especially if you don’t take good care of them. And the risk of keeping chickens is that if one gets sick, it can easily spread to the others,” his mom continued.
Lupus remained silent. Unable to find the words.
“I can feel your sadness. I know how happy you were when you first bought those baby chicks. And then you built a coop for them and took care of them until they grew up. But when they grew up, Lulu told you to slaughter them. Of course, you didn’t want to. But if you don’t slaughter them, they’ll die anyway. You can’t keep them forever. And that’s life, Pus. To savor a moment of joy, sometimes we have to struggle hard and for a long time. After we taste that joy, we have to start from scratch again. Repeat the same struggle. And so on.”
“That’s why Lulu is right, Pus. Before you miss the chance to enjoy the fruits of your hard work, enjoy them now. Maybe now is the time for you to slaughter your chickens before they die in vain.”
Lupus looked at his mom. His heart started to feel a little lighter.
“Oh, by the way, Pus, your little sister’s birthday is tomorrow, do you want to invite your friends over? Invite all of them. Like who? Boim, Gusur, Anto, Fifi…”
That morning, Lulu woke up a little early. She immediately opened her bedroom window and went to the big mirror in the corner of her room. Hehehe, today I’m one year older! Lulu exclaimed in her mind. But her gaze was drawn to a small piece of paper stuck to the mirror. Lulu read it:
“Hey, sweet little sister, are you still alive?
Hehehe, happy birthday, okay? Sorry for being annoyed with you before. But not anymore. Oh, do you want a gift? Well, from me, you can slaughter my living chickens for your birthday celebration. Seriously.
Before we part ways, I have a riddle for you. Guess, okay? What fruit has its skin on the inside?
Well, go ahead and think. See you at the breakfast table tomorrow morning. Bye!
Sweet regards to you, from me, who is also sweet.
Lupus.”
Lulu shouted with joy. She immediately went to Lupus’ room. She couldn’t wait for breakfast at the table to thank him.
“Pus! Pus! Wake up. Thanks for the birthday wishes and the chickens!” Lulu said, shaking Lupus’ body.
Lupus woke up, rubbing his eyes in confusion. “What’s up, Lu?”
“That, thanks for your birthday wishes. And also for the chickens…” “Oh.”
“And about the riddle, what’s the answer?”
“You don’t know?”
“No.”
“It’s easy. The fruit with its skin on the inside is a fruit that defies nature… Hahahaha…”
Lupus laughed uncontrollably. Lulu joined in.
And the chickens just looked at each other, bewildered.
