War will never make love weak. War will not make love become extinct. The war will evoke even more terrible yearnings than death.
That afternoon, Abdoul sat leaning against an angsana tree while looking at the beautiful waterfall of seven angels. For a moment, his gaze was empty, his tears flowed. For two years he has not met his son and his wife. He wished the war was over and he could go home.
Before long, Abdoul got up and walked back to the camp. Arriving in front of the tent, Abdoul was shocked by gunfire and a grenade blast leading to the camp. He also creeps into the forest grove behind the camp to save himself.
Three of Abdoul's friends at the guard post had been shot for protecting another friend who had escaped to the mountain of Salak.
For a moment of calm, Abdoul walked slowly back to the camp. Usually, after an ambush in a rebel location, government troops will return with prisoners and evidence they can. Such times are the ones used by rebels like Abdoul to monitor the movements of government troops, so as not to take the wrong route of escape and the next hiding location.
"Oh, God save us," he said, surprised to see the government soldiers coming out from behind the trees totaling a hundred more.
Abdoul could only gaze from afar with sadness over the treatment of the government troops against his shoten friend.
Abdoul became even more worried when he saw the commander of the government army ordering his troops to keep pursing. Only ten soldiers were left to guard the camp.
For a moment Abdoul mused while hugging his rifle. The face of the child, his wife and friend who had been killed continued to loom in his memory. Love, longing and revenge blend in the deepest hollow of his heart.
Abdoul felt the dilemma, it was the right time for him to save himself and go home, but what about his friend who did not know they were being chased?
Abdul was walking away from the camp. Then run. Run. And keep running until it disappears in the middle of the wilderness.
On August 15, 2005, the Government of Indonesia signed a peace agreement with the Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, GAM). The surviving rebels return to their hometown and become ordinary people.
After that day, the people of Aceh began to dare freely opinion, suspect and even accuse, including accusing friends themselves. Like Abdoul's friend who ran into the mountain and survived an ambush near the waterfall of seven angles, they accused him of being a traitor who had leaked the information of the hiding camp. They accused Abdoul of being in a hideout abroad. Luxury place given by the government.
Although convinced the allegations are not true, but every time he heard about the allegations, Abdoul's son and wife can only be sad. His wife did not know how to explain his dream to others. One night, he dreamed of seeing Abdoul standing in the middle of a flower garden, smiling and Wave a farewell sign.
The sky began to turn red, Abdoul decided to continue looking for ways to let his friends know that they were being chased by government troops. He was surprised to see a hundred government soldiers walking quietly and separated in groups to the mountain Salak.
"My friends can all die," thought Abdoul.
As if his strength recovered, he ran to the government army. She does not care about the pain in her legs that are wound from abrasions.
After about two hundred yards, Abdoul threw a grenade at the hillside. "Boom," the sound of the grenade exploded and broke the silence of the jungle. He hoped his friends hiding in the mountain could know that they were in danger. Also the grenade to lure the hundred of soldiers back for thinking of an attack on ten soldiers guarding the camp area. And vice versa, so that ten government soldiers are also guarding and moving toward him so that he can ensure the escape route to the hometown after saving his friends.
Abdoul then fired an automatic shot at a hundred government soldiers, "Dor Dor Dor ..." the government army was even more hooked and running towards him.
Abdoul ran back to the ten government soldiers guarding the camp area. Abdoul hopes to pit their fellowman.
After Abdoul was near the camp, he fired horizontally into the camp. Sure enough, from behind the bush, there were countless repetitive shots. Abdoul flopped to the ground, crawled and then fired back toward a hundred government soldiers. Finally, Unconsciously, the government soldiers fought with each other.
But unfortunately, Abdoul's position is really pinched. He was caught in the middle. Then he got up and ran amid the bullets. Trying to get out of there. Abdoul ran. And keep running toward the hometown.
It was getting dark, Abdoul began to stammer. He felt very weak. But suddenly he smiled at the sight of the swamp, the sign of his village not far away.
Arriving in the middle of the swamp, he lay down, turned and drank the water in the swamp. Unconsciously, his left hand continued to suppress the pain in his stomach. Originally he suspected of running, but after noticing, his palms were full of blood. He just realized he was shot. Despite his weakness, he continued to crawl over the wider swamp. But unfortunately, his vision slowly disappeared. Accidentally his body plunged into a deep hole. For a moment his body struggled and kept moving about to rise to the surface. The more moving, the more he drowned. And finally he did not move anymore at all.
That night, a light rain made reptile predators of meat hungry and out looking for prey into the middle of the swamp. Oh, God, how can anyone else now accuse him of being a traitor?
It is true that Abdoul joined after the rebel group started guerrilla. But why did Abdoul join the rebels? Simple, because he did not accept the treatment of government soldiers who harass his wife while doing identity checks in her village.
His last ideals just wanted to meet his son and his wife. Even if he died, obviously his grave.[]
Perang tidak akan pernah membuat cinta menjadi lemah. Perang tidak akan membuat cinta menjadi punah. Perang justru akan membangkitkan rindu yang lebih mengerikan daripada kematian.
Siang itu, Abdoul duduk bersandar ke pohon angsana sambil memandangi indahnya air terjun tujuh bidadari. Sejenak, tatapannya kosong, airmatanya pun ikut mengalir. Telah dua tahun dia tidak bertemu dengan anak dan istrinya. Dia berharap perang segera berakhir dan dia pun dapat pulang ke rumah.
Tak lama kemudian, Abdoul bangkit dan berjalan pulang ke camp.
Setibanya di depan tenda, Abdoul terkejut mendengar suara tembakan bertubi-tubi dan ledakan granat yang mengarah ke camp. Dia pun merayap ke rerimbunan hutan di belakang camp untuk menyelamatkan diri.
Tiga teman Abdoul yang berada di pos jaga telah tertembak karena melindungi teman lain yang menyelamatkan diri ke arah gunung salak.
Sejenak keadaan menjadi tenang, Abdoul berjalan pelan memantau kembali ke arah camp. Biasanya, setelah melakukan penyergapan di satu lokasi pemberontak, tentara pemerintah akan kembali dengan tawanan dan barang bukti yang mereka dapat. Saat-saat seperti itu lah yang dimanfaatkan oleh pemberontak seperti Abdoul untuk memantau pergerakan tentara pemerintah, agar tidak salah mengambil rute pelarian dan lokasi persembunyian berikutnya.
"Oh, Tuhan selamatkanlah kami," ucapnya karena terkejut melihat tentara pemerintah yang keluar dari balik pepohonan berjumlah seratus lebih.
Abdoul hanya bisa menatap dari jauh dengan perasaan sedih atas perlakuan tentara pemerintah terhadap temannya yang tertembak.
Abdoul semakin khawatir ketika melihat komandan dari tentara pemerintah memerintahkan pasukannya untuk terus mengejar. Hanya sepuluh tentara yang disisakan untuk menjaga camp.
Sejenak Abdoul merenung sembari memeluk senapannya. Wajah anak, istri dan temannya yang telah tewas terus terbayang dalam ingatannya. Cinta, rindu dan dendam menyatu dalam relung hatinya yang terdalam.
Abdoul merasa dilema, saat itu adalah waktu yang tepat baginya untuk menyelamatkan diri dan pulang ke rumah, tapi bagaimana dengan temannya yang tidak tahu kalau mereka terus dikejar?
Abdul pun berjalan menjauh dari camp. Kemudian berlari. Berlari. Dan terus berlari hingga menghilang di tengah hutan belantara.
Pada tanggal 15 agustus 2005, Pemerintah Indonesia menandatangani kesepakatan damai dengan Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM). Pemberontak yang masih hidup kembali ke kampung halaman dan menjadi masyarakat biasa.
Setelah hari itu, masyarakat Aceh mulai berani dengan bebas berpendapat, menduga dan bahkan menuduh, termasuk menuduh teman sendiri. Seperti teman Abdoul yang berlari ke gunung dan selamat dari penyergapan camp di dekat air terjun tujuh bidadari, mereka menuduhnya sebagai pengkhianat yang telah membocorkan informasi camp persembunyian. Mereka menuduh Abdoul pasti sedang berada di tempat persembunyian di luar negeri. Tempat mewah yang diberikan oleh pemerintah.
Meski yakin tuduhan itu tidak benar, tapi setiap mendengar kabar tentang tuduhan itu, anak dan istri Abdoul hanya bisa bersedih. Istrinya pun tidak tahu bagaimana menjelaskan mimpinya pada orang lain. Pada suatu malam, dia bermimpi melihat Abdoul berdiri di tengah taman bunga, sambil tersenyum melambaikan tangan perpisahan.
Langit mulai berwarna merah, Abdoul memutuskan untuk terus mencari cara agar teman-temannya tahu kalau mereka terus dikejar oleh tentara pemerintah. Dia terkejut melihat seratus tentara pemerintah itu berjalan dengan senyap dan terpisah dalam beberapa kelompok menuju ke kaki gunung salak.
"Mereka bisa celaka," pikir Abdoul.
Seolah tenaganya pulih kembali, dia berlari menyusul ke arah tentara pemerintah. Dia tidak peduli dengan rasa sakit di kakinya yang luka karena lecet.
Setelah berjarak sekitar dua ratus meter, Abdoul melempar granat ke arah lereng bukit. "Boom," suara ledakan granat itu menghentak dan memecah keheningan hutan belantara. Dia berharap, teman-temannya yang bersembunyi di kaki gunung bisa tahu kalau mereka sedang dalam bahaya. Juga granat itu untuk memancing agar seratusan tentara itu kembali karena berpikir ada serangan terhadap sepuluh tentara yang berjaga di area camp tadi. Begitu juga sebaliknya, agar sepuluh tentara pemerintah yang berjaga itu juga terpancing dan bergerak ke arahnya sehingga dia bisa memastikan rute pelariannya menuju kampung halaman setelah menyelamatkan teman-temannya.
Abdoul kemudian melepaskan tembakan otomatis ke arah seratusan tentara pemerintah, "Dor. Dor. Dor..." tentara pemerintah pun semakin terpancing, berlarian ke arahnya.
Abdoul pun berlari kembali ke arah sepuluh tentara pemerintah yang berjaga di area camp. Abdoul berharap dapat mengadu sesama mereka.
Setelah Abdoul berada di dekat camp, dia melepas tembakan mendatar ke arah camp. Benar saja, dari balik semak, terdengar tembakan balasan yang bertubi-tubi. Abdoul menjatuhkan diri ke tanah, merayap dan kemudian menembak kembali ke arah seratusan tentara pemerintah. Tanpa sadar, tentara pemerintah saling serang dengan sesamanya.
Namun sayang, posisi Abdoul benar-benar terjepit. Dia terperangkap di tengah. Lalu dia bangkit dan berlari ditengah desingan peluru. Berusaha keluar dari sana. Abdoul berlari. Dan terus berlari ke arah kampung halaman.
Hari mulai gelap, Abdoul mulai tertatih. Dia merasa sangat lemas. Namun tiba-tiba dia tersenyum karena melihat rawa, petanda Kampungnya tidak jauh lagi.
Setibanya di tengah rawa, dia berbaring, membalikkan badan dan meminum air di rawa itu. Tanpa sadar, tangan kirinya terus saja menekan rasa sakit di perutnya. Semula ia menduga karena berlari, namun setelah memperhatikan, telapak tangannya telah penuh dengan darah. Dia baru sadar kalau dia telah tertembak. Meski lemah, dia terus merangkak berusaha melewati rawa yang cukup luas itu. Namun sayang, penglihatannya perlahan hilang. Tanpa sengaja tubuhnya terjerembab ke sebuah lubang yang dalam. Sejenak tubuhnya meronta dan terus bergerak hendak naik ke permukaan. semakin bergerak, maka ia pun semakin tenggelam. Dan akhirnya tak berkutik sama sekali.
Malam itu, hujan rintik membuat reptil pemangsa daging lapar dan keluar mencari mangsa ke tengah rawa. Oh, Tuhan, bagaimanakah orang lain kini bisa menuduhnya pengkhianat?
Benar bahwa Abdoul bergabung setelah kelompok pemberontak mulai bergerilya.Tapi kenapa Abdoul ikut memberontak? Sederhana, karena ia tak terima perlakuan tentara pemerintah yang melecehkan istrinya ketika melakukan pemeriksaan identitas di desanya.
Cita-cita terakhirnya hanya ingin bertemu anak dan istrinya. Kalau pun mati, jelas kuburnya.[]
Folow me
Thank all of you Steemians.