It was one o’clock in the afternoon during this fasting month, and Lupus was getting extremely annoyed. He was starving to the point of no return. Plus, the weather was scorching hot, making his throat feel dry as a bone. Lupus tried to swallow his saliva multiple times, but it tasted so bitter. Well, being good certainly requires a lot of sacrifice. You see, Lupus, who was already quite skinny, dared himself not to eat from the pre-dawn meal until sunset. Although… yeah, Lupus’ reason for fasting was simple and not forced upon him.
You see, everyone at home was fasting, including Gegi, Lupus’ pet dog. So, in that case, Lupus’ mom would only cook for pre-dawn meal and sunset. Lupus’ principle was that it’s better to fast than to not fast and still not get any food.
And now what really annoyed Lupus was that he got a sudden assignment from the editor-in-chief of Hai magazine, where Lupus worked as a freelance journalist. He had to visit the not-so-cool editor at the editorial office during the hot afternoon that could have been used for a nice nap after school.
When he arrived there, Lupus was warmly welcomed by Mas Wendo, the editor-in-chief. And what shocked him was that Mas Wendo was enjoying a plate of gado-gado (Indonesian mixed vegetable salad) with great enthusiasm. And next to the plate, there was a big sign that said, “Respect Those Who Are Not Fasting.”
How could he not be annoyed?
But Lupus remained patient.
“What’s up, Chief Editor? Are you sending me to cover an electronics exhibition?” Lupus asked.
“Well, how did you know, Pus? Maybe you should become the editor yourself,” Mas Wendo replied with a smile.
“Don’t worry, Mas, sooner or later that coup d’etat will definitely happen,” Lupus calmly responded.
Mas Wendo laughed.
“By the way, what’s so interesting about covering those exhibitions? I’d rather take a nap, Mas. I’m sleepy,” Lupus argued.
“Well, don’t you know that the teenage visitors are flooding in? That’s what you should write about. Are teenagers nowadays really interested in modern technology? And also write the opinions of the teenage visitors…” Mas Wendo explained.
“Oh man, Mas, whenever there’s a free show for teenagers, they’ll go through great lengths to attend. It’s not bad, you know, it’s like…” Lupus started to say.
“L-u-p-u-s…”
“Oh, okay, Mas, I’m going!” Lupus said without enthusiasm.
Lupus made his way to his desk. He read for a while. He also felt annoyed by the other editors who were not fasting. Only Jipi – a single guy from Java with slightly dark skin – seemed to be not chewing anything. Maybe he was fasting too!
Lupus, feeling like he found a kindred spirit, approached Jipi.
“Fasting, Mas?”
Jipi glared angrily.
“Don’t accuse me randomly! I came all the way from Java to Jakarta to find food, and now I’m being told to fast!” Jipi quickly retorted.
“What got you interested in coming to this exhibition?”
“Well… I’m just here to kill time. Instead of being bored at home, might as well enjoy the free entertainment,” the sweet girl replied with a smile.
“As for me, well… besides being interested in electronics, there are also a lot of cool girls here. It’s not bad for some fun,” another student chimed in without being asked.
“Um… yeah, those videos are pretty cool. There’s even a hula dance and stuff. Who knows, maybe they’ll play a naked dance next… hehehe,” another guy sitting near the stage said. (Seriously, why watch that kind of stuff during fasting?)
“We should be proud that Indonesia is keeping up with technological advancements. Yeah, even if we’re just admiring it for now and can’t afford it yet. But who knows, maybe it will inspire us to create our own. It might not happen anytime soon, but it will happen for sure. Oh, by the way, when is this going to be published? Don’t forget, my name is Robert Siagian. Student. Hobbies include going to exhibitions and collecting brochures. Feel free to take a picture…” a bespectacled student said. “Well, I just came here to meet up with my girlfriend. She’s too scared to pick me up from my house. You know, parents disapproval and stuff. By the way, have you seen my girlfriend around?” another girl said while striking a pose.
“I came here with my wife. Oh no, I’m in trouble now. She might demand that I buy all sorts of things after watching this…,” a dad added.
“This is a positive activity. It needs to be preserved. Cultivated. Can’t let it disappear…” another student said. (Are we talking about endangered species here? Why all the cultivation talk?)
After collecting a few opinions and figuring out how to put them together, Lupus sat near the exit. His body felt exhausted from all the pushing and shoving. And his throat was parched. He glanced at his watch. Wow, it’s only three o’clock. The call to prayer is still a long way off.
“Why does time seem to move so slowly? It’s like, ugh, can’t it go any faster?” Lupus wondered, his thoughts interrupted by a busy kid showing off his bread and ice cream to everyone around him. Such an annoying sight during Ramadan. Lupus wouldn’t have cared if the kid hadn’t come up to him and loudly said, “Hey, want some bread? It’s delicious, filled with surprises. Or how about this orange ice cream?”
Lupus stayed silent, thinking to himself, “Well, he’s just a little kid.”
“Why are you so quiet, dude? Don’t be shy. I’ve got two of them…” the kid continued.
“Don’t joke around, okay? I’m fasting!” Lupus snapped back.
The kid laughed. How infuriating! And then he went back to teasing the people around him. Such a strange kid. As mischievous as Lupus could be, he would never stoop that low. It was just too much. But because it was Ramadan, Lupus held back his emotions and didn’t kick the kid hard.
A few minutes later, Lupus heard the kid screaming. Lupus was surprised. It turned out there were some other teenagers who couldn’t resist messing with the kid. Lupus felt sorry for him, so he approached and said, “Hey, let him go. He’s my little brother. Sorry, he can be really naughty…”
The teenagers all looked at Lupus.
“Your brother is so disrespectful. Hasn’t he been taught any manners?” one of them said.
“Sorry, man. He’s just too mischievous. Let me take him home,” Lupus replied, guiding the kid out.
“Huh, if he was older, I would’ve beaten him up!” they muttered.
Once they were outside the building, Lupus pinched the naughty kid.
“There, naughty kid. Now you’re safe. I’m still okay with you. If not, they would’ve beaten you up.”
The kid stayed silent, looking down.
“Didn’t your mom teach you to respect people who are fasting?” Lupus asked.
The kid remained silent, too afraid to look Lupus in the eye. His hands were busy squeezing the leftover bread he hadn’t finished eating.
“Now just go home. And don’t be naughty again, okay? If you can, try fasting tomorrow. So you can feel how it hurts to see others eating in front of us while we’re hungry.”
“I’ve felt that a lot!” the kid suddenly said angrily. His eyes started to defy Lupus.
“I’ve felt how painful it is to see others eating their bread so casually in front of me. Right in front of my eyes. While I’m so hungry. But they don’t care. They don’t want to share their bread with me, the hungry one. I’m just a poor person who’s always hungry since I’m not allowed to sell newspapers anymore. Now, am I wrong for retaliating against them who never cared about me?”
Lupus was stunned. Meanwhile, tears started to well up in the kid’s eyes.
“I just want them to feel how painful it is to be hungry, while others enjoy their bread so freely in front of us. I hold a grudge against them. And in this month of Ramadan, I can satisfy my grudge…”
Lupus saw that the kid turned his face away, trying to hold back the tears falling one by one. Lupus was deeply moved.
“Oh, you little devil, not everyone treats you like that. Don’t cry, your fate is still too early to be mourned. Now, just come with me for a while. We can talk more. Who knows, maybe I’ll be kind enough to invite you to break the fast at my house later. Okay?” Lupus tried to cheer up the kid.
“Come on, come with me. I’ll introduce you to my naughty little sister, just like you. She loves to bother people who are fasting, if she happens to not be fasting. Her name is Lulu. She’s pretty, just like me…”
The kid stayed silent, but didn’t refuse when Lupus invited him to leave.
The next day, when Lupus went to Hai, Mr. Wendo was already eagerly asking for Lupus’ report on the electronics exhibition.
Lupus didn’t respond, “Nah, I’ll figure it out later. Right now, I’m busy writing a short story. The mood is just right.”
“Writing a short story?” Mr. Wendo’s eyes widened.
“Yeah, you’ll probably cry when you read my story. It’s sad, about a hungry little kid…”
“I don’t care if it’s sad or funny, just don’t expect it to be published in Hai magazine, okay? I just want the report on the exhibition yesterday!”
“Well… if you’re afraid of competition, don’t act like that. It’s not sporting!”
Mr. Wendo started getting angry again.
