THE BEAT OF DEATH: Part 1, First Act
Published on HivePostify by @ayijufridar · Thu Jul 23 2026
THE BEAT OF DEATH ACT I In the middle of a pitch-dark stage, a dim yellow glow highlighted an old rapai frozen on a wooden table, as if silently holding onto the echoes of a dark past. Silence.
Suddenly, from behind the stage, the sound of a rencong tip and a sword edge clashing, resounding in unison, shattering the silence. The clanking of the metal objects grew louder, followed by the screams of despairing warriors, followed by the gut-wrenching screams of the kaphe (Acehnese people's term for Dutch soldiers).
FROM THE LEFT OF THE STAGE, A MAN ENTERED, HIS STEP BY, HIS BREATH HAS GASPED. BLOOD AND SWEAT MIXED, DRIPPING FROM HIS FOREHEAD. IN HIS RIGHT HAND, HE STILL CLEANSED A RENCONG SPOILED WITH THE BLOOD OF THE KAPHE. THE BLOOD AND SOIL NO LONGER COLOR AGAINST THE DENSITY OF HIS STRUGGLE-WEARING CLOTHES.
HIS EYES LOOKED TOWARDS THE SLEEPING ECHO NEST. A CIRCLE OF WOODEN STEPS, MIGHTY BUT CLEARING MANY MYSTERIES, COVERED IN BUFFALO HIDES FROM THE FORBIDDEN FOREST THAT CAN'T BE FOUND BY JUST ONE. HE APPROACHED IT WITH THE REMAINING ENERGY HE HAD. HE REACHED IT, THEN BEAT IT, AN ECHO THAT SHAKED THE SOULS OF ANYONE WHO HEARD IT.
SILENCE. NO MORE SOUND OF THE IRON OBJECT OR THE SHOUTS OF THE KAPHE FROM BEHIND THE STAGE. THEN, THE MAN PLACED THE RAPAI IN ITS OWN PLACE, STANDING STILL, START- ING IT FOR A LONG TIME.
THE STAGE SLOWLY TURNED DARK AGAIN.
RAMLI (SHOUTING): Abayy, why is your house so dark!
ABAY (TAKING A DEEP BREATH): There's no money for oil.
RAMLI: Gosh, Gata is so poor.
ABAY: Come on, stop making fun of him. It's better if Gata finds you a job that makes more money so you can buy oil for the lamp.
RAMLI (CHUCKS QUITE, THEN SPEAKING, WHILE STARING AT ABAY'S HOUSE): Come out. Lon brings news that will make us rich.
THE STAGE SLOWLY LIGHTS UP. In the middle of the stage, on a small pavilion made of only four coconut tree planks and a roof of nipa leaves, a curly-haired man with a thin mustache and a thick beard was leaning against it. He wasn't tall, nor was he too short. A checkered sarong hung from his shoulder. There were scars just above his left eyebrow and on his right cheek. The scratches from the friction of stones all over his hands also show the roughness of the work he usually does. He folds his arms to his chest while moving his right foot. His eyes stare at the right side of the stage, waiting for someone to come out and invite him to acquire wealth. It's RAMLI.
From the right side of the stage, ABAY, a bald man, walks toward RAMLI. He wears a shirt that looks yellow, but is actually white. He is only as tall as RAMLI's shoulders.
THE WOUNDS ON HIS BODY WERE NO LESS THAN RAMLI'S, HIS FEET AND HANDS WERE NOT ON HIS FACE. HE LEFT AND OUT CARRYING THE HANDLE OF A HOMEMADE RENCONG, WHICH BECAME AN ADDITIONAL SOURCE OF INCOME.
Continued in Part 2, First Act
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