The Woman Driver

Story by Darminto M Sudarmo

It was a stinking hot day, with the sun burning down relentlessly and dense clouds of dust whirling about, as everybody tried to fan away the choking pollution.
Srikandi kept her cool as she sat astride her motorbike. She was the only woman in the group, and she was also the only women who made her living driving an “ojek”. An “ojek” was a motorbike commonly used in Indonesia to transport passengers cheaply.
Srikandi was still young, not yet married, her body solid and a little plumb. Her hair was contained by the cap she always wore. Her blouse was tight, matching her rumpled jeans. Her face could be called cute, certainly eye-catching, although not actually pretty. Her radiant smile seemed to invite men to pinch her cheeks. Not surprisingly she was the most popular ojek driver and much in demand in the area. Maybe in the whole world! This exactly was the reason for her troubles. Although Srikandi herself always kept her cool.

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The Generous Man

Story by Darminto M Sudarmo

Mr. Gembrul was the richest man in my village. He had a nice house, surrounded by a wall that was topped by spiky shards of glass. He also owned large rice fields. He owned not just one or two cars, but several. Unfortunately he was also very tight-fisted. His house was always locked and looked haunted. No neighbors ever visited the house unless they had a very good reason.
One day my father and some villagers went to Mr. Gembrul’s house to discuss something. My mother explained to me that my father and some villagers wanted to ask Mr. Gembrul to share the cost of building a floodgate at the end of the village. With a proper floodgate the water could be managed better and channeled to all the rice fields around the village, including of course to the fields of Mr. Gembrul.

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