Footpath Way

There is no narration about the sky anymore as the opening of this chapter. No one had time to pay attention to the condition of the sky as the surroundings were dark and gloomy. A small lake under a 20 meter high cliff is a bad news for someone caught between the two.

The sound of the shade of the dense forest consisting of the sound of tree insects, frogs, crickets, and sometimes wasps, should be able to calm the heart and mind. But not if someone is under threat.

Suddenly from a distance there was the sound of footsteps and the neighing of a horse, the sound was getting closer and closer, making Abdul's heart feel fear. His body was shaking, his heart was beating fast, his eyes were deliberately closed not wanting to see anything.

He turned his body in the opposite direction from the source of the sound. With his clothes still soaking wet, he crossed his arms over his chest to resist the cold. Closer and closer until at last the sound of the horse's footsteps stopped.

"Hey, who are you?" snapped someone who was still unknown.

Abdul opened his eyes and found a dashing man, dressed in a classic style as he often saw at the carnival in his village. The man looked like he was the same age as her.

It turned out that the horse had been riding it, Abdul was stunned and didn't say anything. The man pulled the sword from its scabbard and pointed it at Abdul's neck.

"I ask again, who are you?" continued snapped a horseman.

"I'm Abdul," Abdul replied stammering

"Where are you from? and what are you doing here?" asked the horseman with another snarl.

"I just had a bus accident, and the bus I was riding in got into the lake," Abdul replied.

"Bus? What is Bus?" the man asked suspiciously.

Abdul is getting confused and feels really bad. What kind of nature is this? Who is this creature? even the bus doesn't know.

The confusion added to the silence, for neither of them said anything. Those who ask are silent because they are waiting for an answer, and those who are asked are silent because of confusion.

In the silence came the sound of horse steps again, this time there were more of them. Occasionally a whistle sounded every five seconds. Abdul's anxiety grew erratic, the young horseman stepped forward to bring his sword to Abdul's neck.

"You must be one of the spies from the royal patrol squad looking for me," the young man asked suspiciously, pointing his sword.

"What kingdom? I really don't understand. Please forgive me, I'm just an ordinary person who was stranded in this place while traveling, I didn't mean to disturb your nature" replied Abdul scared and confused.

"I could have killed you right now, but I need more reasons to let you live," the horseman insisted.

"I will help you if you let me live." Abdul bent his knees and knelt down forcefully.

"Well, you will be my servant from now on. Besides, your strange clothes must be very conspicuous, it seems that it is impossible for a spy to wear such flashy clothes," said the horseman as he then sheathed his sword.

Abdul is getting confused. Servant? what the heck, he really didn't want to do it, but for the sake of his life, agreeing first didn't seem like a problem. For him, life is more important than self-respect.

"Well, I don't have much time. If I leave you here, they will approach you and ask you about my whereabouts. At that time you will definitely be very tempted to answer," said the young man who was already starting to panic.

"No, I won't say it," Abdul promised reassuringly.

"I guarantee you will definitely answer it, come on up quickly! Come with me," the young man ordered to Abdul.

Abdul immediately joined the ride on the horse's back with the man. They rode their horses at high speed. Follow the path between the giant trees that seem to fence the road. They tried as far as possible not to let his whereabouts be known.

The further you ran, the less the whistle sounded, indicating the presence of the royal patrol troops.

It looked like they were patrolling the other way because they didn't get to see the man's whereabouts.

Abdul, who had never ridden a horse, felt so sick that he vomited on his horse's back. Seeing this, the young horseman who was originally driving his horse so fast immediately stopped his speed.

"Shit, why are you spitting on my horse's back?" asked the young man angrily.

"Sorry, Sir, I didn't mean to. This is my first time riding a horse," Abdul explained.

"Well if you're tired, we stop here to rest. But, when you're done, you have to clean up your vomit that stained my horse's back," the young man ordered.

"Okay, sir," Abdul agreed.

They got off their horses and rested under a big tree. Abdul's clothes, which were drenched in the water from drowning in the lake, are now drying up.

During his break, the young man took out something from a bag that hung from his horse. That is a closed jug filled with drinking water.

"Here, have a drink," the young man handed the jug to Abdul.

Abdul accepted it and immediately drank it.

"Where are you actually from?" asked the young man to open the conversation.

"I'm from a small area called Bumiayu. That's the name of the district, sir," Abdul explained.

"District? My lack of knowledge or are you making this up?" asked the young man who was still in doubt.

"Really, sir, the area is located in the western part of the foot of Mount Slamet, and in the middle flows a river called Pemali, which is part of the Brebes Regency area." Abdul explained.

"Enough, you don't need to call me Master. Just call me Saga. Even though you are my servant, but I don't want to position you any lower, I just need you to help with some things I can't do myself," replied the young man who had now introduced his name. .

"Alright, Saga. You seem like a good person, but what made you get chased by the royal patrol squad you said earlier?"

asked Abdul curiously.

"You don't know me, don't draw conclusions about me being good or bad," Saga argued.

"They are the patrol squad from the Galuh Kingdom, they were really looking for me, because I was considered very dangerous to them. They dared to give a big gift to anyone who could tell me where I was, or who could catch me alive. That's the reason why I was sure earlier once you will be tempted if only they ask you about my whereabouts," continued Saga explained.

Abdul was surprised to hear that, Galuh Kingdom? it was an empire that had collapsed hundreds of years ago, he remembered knowing it from history lessons when he was in school.

"Why do you look so surprised? Didn't Barebes also enter the territory of the Galuh kingdom? You said earlier that you came from Barebes Regency, I know that place is not a district, but only a small settlement that mostly contains immigrants from Daha," Saga's chatter made Abdul confusion.

Abdul didn't understand anymore, he thought he was trapped in a demon realm or something since the bus accident. But hearing the explanation from Saga, it really is like listening to a history lesson. Can a time jump to the past really happen? Or is this person just faking it?

Abdul was starting to think that it would be best if he just went with the flow now, after all there would be more things to come in the future to further explain all of this. Whether this person was faking it or what, it wasn't time to jump to conclusions yet.

"Wait a minute, his name is not Barebes, but Brebes. And regarding the immigrants from Daha, where is that?" Abdul corrected while then asked.

"Daha is the capital of the Kediri Kingdom. Two years ago Kediri was overthrown by a new government called Majapahit in the eastern part of Java. Some residents who were not happy with the transfer of power flocked to the west to look for new settlements, including to Barebes, Wanasaba, and around Banyumas," Saga patiently explained.

"Damn it, why do I have to meet someone like you, your strange clothes actually look good, I thought only rich people had clothes like that, and usually rich people always have extensive knowledge. But you don't know a big event that happened. in your own area. You've never even ridden a horse. What curse fell on your parents to have such a stupid child?" continued the complaining saga.

Hearing Saga's last words mentioning his parents, Abdul remembered his mistake again. He wanted to get angry and protest to Saga for his careless words, but it seems that Saga's words have some truth in it. That he really was an idiot.

"It's enough rest. Now do your duty to clean my horse from the dirt you made. Nearby there is a river, you can clean it there," ordered the saga to collect Abdul's responsibility.

***