Dear, Stemian Friend!
Hai, Sahabat Stemians!
SEMALAM, dengan sepedamotor aku meluncur ke pantai Ujong Blang yang tidak jauh dari pelabuhan kecil di Lhokseumawe. Jalanan kota yang kulalui padat dengan berbagai jenis kendaraan yang saling terburu-buru, tak sabar, seperti orang yang kebelet buang hajat.
Aku pun harus hati-hati agar tidak ditabrak. Dari beberapa kecekaan yang pernah kualami, akulah yang ditabrak oleh orang ceroboh. Orang-orang yang menggunakan jalan di daerahku suka sekali membawa laju kendaraannya kencang-kencang. Hampir setiap hari terjadi kecelakaan. Mereka seolah mengira memiliki begitu banyak nyawa cadangan.
Baru ketika aku berbelok di Loskala, jalanan yang kulalui agak sepi, hanya satu dua sepedamotor. Jalan ini membentang di sepanjang pinggiran sungai, sehingga terasa indah. Seolah-olah aku sedang mengendarai sepedamotor di sebuah jalan dekat sungai yang ada di Jerman atau Eropa. Sekelilingnya pun menyuguhkan pemandangan indah, rumah-rumah nelayan, dan hutan-hutan. Dulu tempat ini dihuni perampok dan pembunuh yang merupakan oknum-oknum tertentu.
Nah, sekarang sampailah aku di tempat barisan orang berjualan ikan. Ada tujuh jajaran bangunan bertiang kayu dan beratap rumbia tanpa ada dinding. Bagunan itu berada di pinggir jalan lingkar yang baru sekitar dua tahun lalu dibangun pemerintah yang dikuasai orang-orang yang dulunya dianggap sebagai pemberontak. Di depan bangunan itu terdapat meja panjang dengan tumpukan ikan-ikan segar yang dibawa pulang nelayan dari melaut.
Aku pun memilih ikan dan akhirnya memilih ikan selar. Harganya lumayan mahal untuk ukuran dompetku. Ikan segar memang lebih mahal dibandingkan ikan yang sudah terendam es selama dua tiga hari. Memang akhir-akhir ini harga ikan terus melambung. Barang-barang di negeri kami selalu naik, tanpa pernah turun. Inflasinya tinggi, dan pemerintah tidak berdaya. Memang yang menjadi pemimpin di negeri kami adalah orang-orang yang kurang pandai.
Oya, biasanya orang berbelanja ikan pada pagi hari. Nenekku, ibuku, bibiku, tetanggaku, dan saudara-saudaraku yang lain juga begitu. Tidak ada yang menjual ikan malam hari, dan aneh bila ada orang yang membeli ikan di malam hari. Namun, seiring perubahan zaman, karena banyak pekerja kantoran tidak sempat berbelanja pagi hari, mereka terpaksa melakukannya malam hari. Akhirnya pedagang ikan malam hari pun muncul di mana-mana, bahkan di tempat gelap, persis hantu!
Night Fish Traders
Dear, Stemian Friends!
OVERNIGHT, with a motorcycle that I traveled to Ujong Blang beach not far from the small port in Lhokseumawe. The city streets I passed were dense with various types of vehicles in haste, impatient, like people dying to defecate.
I also have to be careful not to get hit. Of the few sensitivities I experienced, I was the one who was careless. People who use roads in my area like to bring the speed of the vehicle quickly. Almost every day there was an accident. It seems they think they have so much reserve.
It was only when I turned to Loskala that the road I passed was rather quiet, just one or two motorcycles. This road stretches along the banks of the river, so it feels beautiful. It was as if I was riding a motorcycle on a road near a river in Germany or Europe. The surrounding also presents beautiful scenery, fishing grounds, and woods. This place was once inhabited by robbers and murderers who are certain elements.
Well, now I come to the row of people who sell fish. There are seven rows of wooden and roofed buildings with no walls. The building was on the edge of a new ring road about two years ago built by a government controlled by people who had been considered rebels. In front of the building is a long table with a pile of fresh fish brought home by fishermen from the sea.
I also chose the fish and finally chose the fish selar. The price is quite expensive for the size of my wallet. Fresh fish is more expensive than fish that have been submerged in ice for two three days. Indeed, fish prices continue to soar. Goods in our country always go up, without ever going down. High inflation, and government powerless. Indeed, the leaders in our country are the less intelligent people.
Realy, usually people shop fish in the morning. My grandmother, my mother, my aunt, my neighbor, and my other brother did the same. No one sells fish at night, and it's strange if anyone buys fish at night. However, as time passes, as many office workers do not have time to shop early, they are forced to do so at night. Eventually evening fish merchants appeared everywhere, even in dark places, just ghosts!