Chapter One - Richard Lewis

"An emergency visit, you might say. And you know Bali, the preparations for
ceremonies look like madness but it all gets done in the end." He eyed Zoe, stretched out
on the recliner. "Putu is surfing, is he? He should be helping. My nephew Nol is there but
Nol is the sort of man who means well but causes twice the work."
"He's a good landlord," Tina said
Down the beach, the old men in the water erupted into a good-natured argument.
Dharma said, "Those four men are the power brokers of this village. They swim here
most mornings."
"Then shouldn't you be swimming with them?"
"I am their misan."
The word could mean either cousin or servant. "In which sense do you mean?"
Tina asked, slipping a hand inside her bag to turn the digital recorder.
The matron delivered the coffees. After a long slurp of his, Dharma said, "Nah,
when I was a young, strong man, I worked as a farmer sharecropping the palace's rice
fields. I had no education. I wasn't qualified for government jobs. There was little
opportunity back then to do anything else, and I had to make a living, and I did what my
ancestors had done. I am a sudra, Tina, a peasant. A rich peasant now, but still a peasant.
Is that a tape recorder in your bag?"
"Do you mind?"
"Would you turn it off, please?"
Tina took out the recorder. "I really would like to tape this."
Dharma shook his head. "Off the record."
She hit the stop button. "You said you had something to tell about Gestapu."
"I hear you've been asking questions about Luhde Srikandi."
That certainly riveted Tina's attention. "Did you know her?"
"Communist Special Bureau agent, right here in Batu Gede. Masquerading as a
Gerwani activist." Dharma looked right at Tina with a shuttered gaze. "I was the one who
cut off her head."
Tina summoned all her willpower to maintain a scholar's dispassionate
expression, but Dharma obviously sensed the effort. He said, "It was what happened. I
could speak in circles, but why? It was a violent time, Tina. The Red Beret commander
was furious I hadn't kept her alive for their tortures. She was fortunate I killed her
quickly."
"She would have been more fortunate if you'd kept her alive and away from the
Red Berets."
"And be called a Communist myself?"
Tina didn't reply.
"Nah, my sister-in-law. Arini. I promised my brother Catra I would take care of
his wife, and for forty years I have. You want her to tell you about the events of Gestapu
and of her husband, but I am asking you to please leave her alone. She is fragile. Her
mind is not strong."
"She strikes me as being the exact opposite, very strong-minded."
Dharma slurped again and carefully placed the glass on its saucer. "You've only
known her for a short time. But you can tell me I have been wrong all these years I have
known her, from when she was a young girl going to school with my brother?"
"Maaf," she said, the apology a tactical retreat.
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