Reflection

“Psssstttt” says something under your bed. But you just leave it alone. Now I see you are staring at the screen reading this, am I right? It’s okay, you just don’t turn off the screen so it couldn’t reflect things on its black screen. Good night.

Yours,
Nugra Gente

WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO? — Apa yang akan kau lakukan?

by

Nugra Gente

If the reason of tonight or every night after this you cannot sleep are because she screams at you shattering only your unconscious mind and her sharp scratches your pupils.

Jika sebab mengapa kau tidak bisa tidur malam ini adalah karena perempuan itu berteriak memecahkan alam bawah sadarmu dan kukunya yang panjang menggaruk-garuk bola matamu.

MISWADI

oleh

Nugra Gente

Suatu maghrib yang sendu, seorang lelaki menerima sms

"Mis bsk jpt aku y" 

"Maksudnya?"

"Bsk jmpt ak"

"Salah sambung..."

"Ne miswadi kn"

"bukan"

"Jd ne cp"

"Emang lo siapa?"

"Km dlu cp? miswadi kn?"

"Bukan! NAMA GW GA

SEJELEK ITU!"

Di sudut ruang yang sama masih senja itu, teve menyala menyajikan berita naasnya korban pencopetan. Sesaat terbesit tangis lirih dan bisikan  "Namaku jelek?"

THE TODAY'S MADNESS-MIRIS

DEWASA

oleh

Sara Fiza

"Kamu masih marah?"
"Enggak" lagi-lagi Nadya hanya menjawab kesal. Mulutnya maju entah berapa sentimeter.

Andra sudah kehilangan ide bagaimana lagi merayu perempuan yang katanya makhluk paling sulit ditebak sedunia.
"Mau sampai kapan kamu kayak gini?" Andra mulai menegaskan suaranya dan menggaruk-garuk kepala yang tidak gatal, "Dasar cewek, coba kamu bersikap dewasa dong! Malu-maluin. Kayak anak kecil!"
"Kamu dong yang harusnya dewasa!"Akhirnya Nadya beranjak dan meninggalkan Andra di bangku belakang kelas.
Andra hanya bisa geleng-geleng menatap seragam merah putih Nadya berlalu keluar kelasnya. Kelas 5b.

THE TRASH-SAMPAH

oleh

Sarah Astro

Setiap pagi, Santi selalu saja membuang sampah di kamar kosnya ke halaman. Rajin sekali.
"San, mau buang sampah lagi? Nitip dong! Hehe"
Lalu aku bergegas karena harus buru-buru pergi ke kampus.
Dan dari depan pintu kulihat dia sedang memilah-milah makanan di sampah itu sambil terdengar suara lirihnya, "ayolah, makanan apa aja. masa empat hari aku ga makan."

Every morning, Santi always takes the trash out of her room and puts it to the yard. Such a nice lad. "Are you throwing the trash? Can you do it for me too?"
I begged her because I'm in rush to get to campus. But when I get in front of the door, I see Santi folding in garbage can and says, "come on, anything! If nothing, it'd be the fourth day without eating anything.."

DOUBLE STANDARD-STANDAR GANDA

by

Nugra Gente

"OH SO YOU ARE TELLING ME THAT I CAN'T DO WHAT YOU GUYS DOING?! HUUHH!!??" Said a girl to her employer, she seemed pissed.

And the boss asked her so calmly, "Do you really wanna go to the site-work and be the miner?"

"OH MY GOD! NOW YOU WANT ME TO GET INTO THE DIRT PIT AND NOT TO WEAR MAKE UP?" She was more pissed, she continued, "WHATEVER! I QUIT!"

Everybody in the meeting room was left confused and blankly stared at the slammed door.

"OH JADI ANDA ANGGAP SAYA TIDAK BISA MELAKUKAN APA YANG KALIAN BISA? GITU??!!!" Tantang seorang pekerja wanita ke atasannya, dia begitu kesal.

Dan lalu Si Pak Bos bertanya dengan lembut, "Apa Anda benar ingin terjun ke lapangan dan jadi penambang?"

"YA AMPUN! SEKARANG ANDA MAU SAYA PERGI KE TEMPAT JOROK DAN GA PAKE MAKE UP?" Semakin kesal, lanjutnya, "TERSERAH! SAYA BERHENTI KERJA DISINI!"

Semua orang yang berada di ruang rapat kebingungan dan hanya dapat menatap dalam diam pintu yang baru saja di banting.

OTHER SIDE-SISI LAIN

By

Nugra Gente

Every night I cannot go to sleep because everytime I want to, they scream from the other side of my mirror.


Setiap malam kutak bisa tidur, sebab setiap kali aku berusaha memejamkan mata, mereka berteriak dari sisi lain cerminku.

Meow - Meong

By

Nugra Gente

Meooowww... Meooow... Meeoooooww. Listen to that chanting of the cats before you go to sleep at night. Aren't they beautiful? Hell yeah they are. Do me a favor, readers... When you go to bed tonight and if you are lucky enough hearing their voices, just quietly listen to them, very carefully. And keep wishing in your heart that they don't stop meowing. Because once they are silent, they are silenced by the arriving of a little boy who lives underneath your house.

...

Ngeooongg... Ngeoong... Ngeooong. Coba dengarlah nyanyian para kucing sebelum kau tidur tiap malam. Indah, 'kan? Ya, memang. Aku ingin kalian melakukan satu hal, readers... Saat kau hendak tidur malam ini dan itu pun jika kau beruntung bisa mendengar mereka, maka dengarlah mereka mengeong, dengan saksama. Dan berharaplah mereka tidak tiba-tiba diam. Karena sekali mereka berhenti, mereka dibungkam oleh anak kecil yang menunggu bawah rumahmu.

Author's note; Enjoy our flash fiction || Nikmati fiksi mini kami.

Happiness - Kebahagiaan

By

Nugra Gente

When I woke up in the morning, I did not see him in our bed anymore. I looked for him everywhere in our house. He wasn't anywhere. I started thinking to check around neighborhood, but when I opened up the front door he was there standing with flowers and a poem in his hands. My beloved husband gave me roses, wrote me a sweet words in rhyme, later in the same morning he took me to a picnic. He had been romantic like never before. I wish the feelings could last forever, oh my sweet darling, until we went to bed. Then I saw a long haired lady sitting in the corner of our room. Blood bathed. Crying.

Ketika bangun pagi ini, tak kutemukan Ia diranjang kami. Sudah kucari keseluruh penjuru rumah, Tak jua kutahu keberadaannya. Aku pun bermaksud mencarinya disekitar perumahan, namun saat kubuka pintu Ia sudah berdiri menggenggam rangkaian bunga dan puisi. Suamiku tercinta menghantar mawar untukku, juga menuliskan kalimat yang manis, setelahnya pun membawaku piknik. Dia begitu romantis tak seperti biasa. Kuharap perasaan ini abadi untuk selamanya, sayangku, hingga sampai diwaktu kita hendak tidur. Kulihat perempuan berambut panjang duduk di sudut kamar. Bersimbah darah. Menangis lirih.

**Inspired by real event

Author's note: Enjoy our flash fiction || Selamat menikmati fiksi mini kami.

FREEZING - MENDINGIN

By

Nugra Gente

Everytime when suddenly you start feeling a little cold around your toes, there is something touching your feet trying to get possession over your  body.

...

Setiap kali kau mulai merasakan dingin di ujung kakimu, saat itulah mereka menyentuhmu mencoba merasuki tubuhmu. 

Author's note: enjoy our flash fiction || selamat menikmati fiksi mini kami. 

PLAGIARISME

PAINTING

By

Nugra Gente

One day a famous artist ran an art gallery, his first masterpiece was a little red dot painted on a huge white canvas. He explained to people who came by, "it's rage around goodness. It's my first painting." He said so proudly. 

Then a child approached, took a paper and a red crayon out of his backpack. He started drawing what he saw. 

The artist began to talk, "oh you are learning to copy MY art, aren't you little guy?" 

The child stopped what he was doing, "I'm not copying. I'm just learning!" 

The artist insisted, "But you ARE copying." 

"I'M NOOOT!!" 

"hey stop it! That's just another painting which looks just like my country's flag!" said a narrowed eyes guy across the room wearing a tourist hat.

 NASKAH 

Oleh
Sara Fiza

Ia mengangkat setumpuk naskah novel dengan bangga di tengah riuh kilatan kamera dan ratusan pasang mata.  "Inilah draft novel terbaik saya. Novel pamungkas saya" katanya sumringah. Dalam sorotan kamera, seorang penulis dunia yang karyanya selalu ditunggu-tunggu menjadi primadona. Sebuah masterpiece telah lahir kembali. Tepuk tangan membahana.

Di rumahnya aku berada. Menggelepar-gelepar kehabisan darah. Naskahku baru saja diambil  paksa. Lagi.

SURAT ANTRIAN

Oleh

Sarah Astro

Aku selalu kehilangan akal bagaimana caranya menghindari Mr. Royyan agar tidak memaksaku disuntik. 

Sudah 2 bulan terpaksa aku harus disuntik rutin akibat penyakitku ini. 

Karena sangat ketakutan untuk disuntik, hari ini aku mencari cara lain yang lebih aman. Yaitu mengganti data asli antrianku, memplagiasi data seseorang yang kutemukan di ruangan Mr. royyan kemarin. 

Tapi kemudian aku dipanggil suster dan dibawa dengan kursi roda ke ruangan bedah. 

"Ada apa?" Tanyaku tak mengerti. 

Lalu setelah aku masuk ke ruang bedah, dokter disana berkata, "jadi, ini pasien yang mau diamputasi tangannya itu? " 

Authors' note: Enjoy our little flash fictions || Selamat menikmati fiksi mini kami. 

A COUPLE

By

Nugra Gente

 “Will you marry me, Alice?” A boy said while he stood on one of his knees and opened a little box of a ring.

The girl couldn’t hold her tears, “YES! Oh my god I’m the happiest girl on earth!”

They both hugged one another. Flowers grew on their lungs as love was in the air.

A few months later the lovey-dovey couple, Jason and Alice, was married. They held a garden themed ceremony with green spring grasses and pink lilies and roses everywhere.

A year and a half passed, in a cold winter morning a silence broken, Jason yelled at Alice, and either did she. They flamed out arguing over having a baby.

“You are being dramatic, Alice!” Jason screamed his lungs out.

“Am I being dramatic or you’re out of your mind? We cannot have baby, Jason! Our savings aren’t enough to raise a child yet! I don’t want my child to go to public school. Ew!”

“I can have a double job or work overtime!” He continued, “And you can stop buying fancy stuffs, you know?!”

She felt there was an arrow just poked her inside beast, “Now I am to blame?! Oh look at you Saint Jason, going to bar with your friends every night. What is it called again? An alcoholic?”

The fight was going even crazier; they started cursing and swearing. Then Jason left the house and his wife in tears.

A quiet night had come as the girl sat alone at dining table. She stared at her dinner in empty look, even forgot to turn on the light.

Jason opened the front door and quietly stepped inside. He switched on every needed lamp. He saw his wife sitting alone and so silently. He said, “Honey, forgive me, will you?”

The girl finally woke up from her long daydream. She glanced at him, “Let’s talk.”

“I’m sorry for what I said this morning. I really am, Alice.” As he sat on the chair and held his girl’s hand.

She grabbed his hand back and softly said, “I’m sorry too, honey.”

“Thank you.” He smiled.

“Let’s eat.”

Few moments later they both were sleepy and went to the bedroom to have a rest. Jason easily fell asleep but not Alice; she still lied on the bed and blankly gazed at the ceiling. She waited for something, and two hours just gone.

Alice got up, then walked to the dresser looking for something she had hidden. She grabbed its firm handler and stepped back to the bed. Her legs were at ease. Her hands were on the air. At last, without hesitation she swung the baseball bat on her husband face. Braakkk!!! It was really hard the guy lost his life.

The wife took so many tape pieces she had prepared which one side of each attached under her bed. She then hauled her husband dead body and put it into the bathtub. She taped his hands around another at the back and intentionally did the same to his mouth too.

With a happy face she got back to the bedroom and then hit herself with the bat, not quite hard but enough to make her face ugly. By her long sleeves, Alice wiped out the fingerprints on the bat. She then sit on the middle of the bed, calmly tied her legs. Then she continued taping her both hands with a help from her mouth. She put out a plastic and took a really deep breath and put her head inside it. With a little struggle she taped its end on her neck so very tightly so there wouldn’t be even a slight air passed through. The last step, because the girl’s body was elastic, she easily placed her taped hands to her back. She waited her death in piece.

…

“Hey, Sweet Pea.” I walked into her room to find her playing with her dolls. “What are you doing?”

“I’m playing household with my dolls.” She put the girl one on the stuffed bed.

“Oh. Are they Barbie and Ken?”

“They are Alice and Jason.” She replied.

I was a bit passed out for a millisecond like I was just forgetting something. “Why is the guy sleeping in the tub? Are they fighting?”

“No, Dad. They were married but then they died.” Her innocent voice sounded so cute.

“Oh… That is sad…” and I continued, “now you are going to bed, come on.” I tucked her to bed.

As I walked out of her room, she asked, “Daddy, why did mommy hate me and leave us?”

I was quite confused to answer that, but then I answered, “Well… you are a very special child. Not everyone is worthy to have you by their side.” I smiled. “Good night”

“Night, Daddy.”

In the very next morning I woke her up and we both rushed to meet her doctor.

“Have you brushed your teeth?” as I pinched her face.

“Yessss”

“Come on… come on… we gotta hurry to see your doctor.”

She got in the car. I saw her holding the dolls in her arms. “Oh, they comin’?”

“Yes. Of course. They are my besties.”

“Sure.” I fastened her seatbelt.

As some houses passed through, I slowly stopped my car. There were so many people crowding around a green painted house at the corner of the street. I was curious and I cared to ask a woman nearby, “Hey, What happened?”

“A homicide. The police said so.”

My baby girl poked me and asked what happened. I explained in very kid friendly words.

“Who lived here?” I asked again.

“Jason and Alice. A very young couple. Such a miserable ending.”

I checked my watch, “Excuse me, gotta go.”

As I fastened my seatbelt again, I caught a glance my baby girl pulling up both sides of her lips. So did the dolls.

THE END

MAMAN

PENCURI HATI

Oleh Sara Fiza

Maman namanya. Entah kenapa setiap kedatangannya, setiap hati bisa ia curi seketika. Kemudian, Ia makan selagi masih segar tercerabut dari tubuh pemiliknya.

***

A QUESTION

By Nugra Gente

"Oh this is so easy." said a student after reading a math test then wrote down the answer. Then come to the next problem, it said

"Fiza buys 23 watermelons for a carnival and puts them on her truck. As on her way home, She meets Astro and gets 45 more. But when loading down the watermelons, she finds out 17 of them are bad watermelons. So how many oranges does Maman have?" 

She mumbling in a confusion, "Who the fuck is Maman?"

***

SIAPA MAMAN?

Oleh Sarah Astro

"Kamu kapan nih, pake toga? aku khawatir ih kamu nggak lulus-lulus. Udah mau enam tahun juga kuliah. Siapa dosen pembimbingnya, Rin?" Anes bertanya dengan mulut penuh batagor. 

"Maman" jawabku pendek. 

"Hah, siapa Maman? Ada gitu, dosen kita namanya Pak Maman?" Dia bertanya lagi-lagi dengan mulut yang masih penuh dengan batagor. 

"Oh ada kali ya, aku aja yang udah jarang ke kampus. Hahaha ngapain juga udah lulus ke kampus." 

Belum sempet aku jawab, dia udah ngomong lagi. "Eh, rin. Dua bulan lagi aku mau nikah. Doain ya, maafin baru ngabarin, habisnya kamu ilang terus sih. Di kontak nggak bisa." Tuturnya sambil membuka botol air mineral, kayaknya dia keselek tuh. 

"Selamat ya, sing*  barokah pernikahannya." Ucapku dengan senyum mengembang melihat Anes yang makan sama ngomong sama-sama cepet. 

"Terus kamu kapan, Rin?" 

"Kapan apanya?" 

"Kapan nyusul nikah? Kamu udah ada calon, kan ya?" 

"Iya, Maman." 

"Eh, kok Maman. Siapa Maman? Kenapa calon kamu sama dosen pembimbing kamu sama namanya, sih?" Tanya Anes dengan mengernyitkan dahi.

"Maman lah, pokoknya mah." Jawabku lagi dengan singkat. "Ah, gampang lah ya, nanti kalau mau nikah mah kabarin aku, ya! Hehe" Anes ketawa sambil mukul pundakku dua kali. 

"Rin, bos ku di kantor nyebelin, tau Rin! Masa yah, aku cuma izin pake internet buat liat online shop aja kena SP, geura! Kan pelit banget yah." Anes udah biasa cepet ganti topik kalau lagi ngomong. Awalnya cuma ngomongin tempe nanti bisa-bisa ngomongin tante sebelah kosannya yang make up nya menor. 

"Sabar lah, Nes! Namanya juga dunia kerja. Lagian kamu nggak penting banget buka online shop pake internet di kantor." Kataku sok bijak. 

"Iya nih, Rin. Gini dunia kerja teh, keras. Nanti kamu rencana mau kerja dimana, Rin kalau udah lulus?" 

"Maman aja lah," aku jawab lagi dengan singkat. "Ih, kamu mah ditanyain teh dari tadi Maman lagi, Maman lagi, siapa sih Maman? Aku kenal, enggak?" Kata Anes yang kini sambil ngunyah sukro.

"Maman weh lah, pokonya mah!" Jawabku. 

"Iya, siapa Maman?"

"Iya, Maman. KuMa Maneh* ! Terserah mau nanya apa, kuMa Maneh weh lah! Udah yah, aku mau nemuin dosen pembimbing dulu." Aku langsug pergi dan meninggalkan Anes yang menurunkan kecepatan ngunyahnya sambil melongo. 

Keterangan:

*Sing(Bahasa sunda)=Semoga

*Kuma Maneh/Kumaha Maneh (Bahasa Sunda) = Terserah Lu aja dah!

BELIEVING - PERCAYA

By

Nugra Gente

Have you ever believed in ghost, or monster or spirit or whatever you call them? I didn't believe their existence at all, I had been searching for them my whole life in the basement, under my bed, at the kitchen in the middle of the night. They weren't there. Until today I realize that they actually ride on my back. All the time. Everyday. Everywhere. And each one of you have it too. There they hug you, grinning from your back.

Pernahkah kalian percaya akan hantu, setan, genderuwo, kuntilanak atau apapun itu? Aku awalnya tak mempercai keberadaan mereka. Sebab aku sudah mencarinya selama ini di besmen, di kolong ranjang, atau di dapur pas tengah malam. Namun tak kutemukan sama sekali. Hingga hari ini aku menyadari bahwa mereka ternyata duduk manis bergelayutan di punggungku. Setiap hari. Dimana saja. Dan kalian semua juga memilikinya. Ya, mereka memelukmu menyeringai dari belakang.

April 5, Tuesday

2016

Nugra Gente.