“ARE you from the Rasheed family?” asked Mr. P to Zidan, “Sorry, I only know a few Arabs, and the Rasheed family is the most famous. And of course, the Floyd family."
"Yes, I am Rasheed's youngest child," replied Zidan.
"So you are Aisha's brother?" Matt asked.
"Yes, that's right," said Zidan, "Aisha is my older sister."
"Oh yes," I said, trying to stir things up, "congratulations on your sister's engagement with the son of the Regent of Madura."
Zidan then laughed out loud, while Mr. P, Matt, Liam, and I just stared.
"Is not that true?" Liam asked.
"No, no," said Zidane, "it's not like that. You've come to the wrong conclusions like so many others."
I was getting curious.
"Wrong how?" Mr. P, "Didn't the two families met in Madura? Wasn't that an engagement?"
Zidane replied calmly.
"Actually, there is no engagement in Islam," he replied, "the meeting of the two families in Madura was taaru
Zidan didn't look like what I imagined. He remained calm as he recounted his experience. Zidan was far from the type of spoiled child who always asks to be obeyed whatever he wants. Zidan in front of me was quite mature, even more than Mr. P. He was able to control his emotions even though he tells of an unpleasant experience."So that's why you went to Egypt?" Matt asked innocently.Zidan was actually surprised to be asked like that. But he managed to hide his surprise with a casual answer."Yeah, something like that," Zidan replied and then laughed with Liam.I felt something strange with Zidan's laughter. Even so, Zidan's departure to Egypt makes perfect sense. He was in debt to a mafia boss. Then he dared to return to Surabaya. Because of that he was kidnapped and forced to frame Hendryx.But then he was debt-free. His sister, Aisha, paid for it. And I brought the money. So I thought, does Zidane know all that? Of course not.Since Zidan
I immediately packed up and said goodbye to my mother and sister. Like the trip to Brazil, I brought only what I needed. I texted Kacey, apologizing to her for waking up late."Sorry, I woke up late," I said."You're always like that when you're drunk," said Kacey. "Well, hurry up and pick me up here.""I'm on my way," I replied.I drove straight back to the Schielhorts' house. Damn. In two days I have to go back and forth to West Surabaya. I had to take Kacey with me because she's the only person who's ever been to the United States.In the middle of that trip, I made a video call with the LGBT Gang at the same time, asking where are they? Leah, Garry, Brittany, and Tiffany said they were preparing to head to the airport. I told them that I would meet them at Juanda Airport at 11 pm."I'll meet you at the airport at 11 pm," I said."What do you need that afternoon?" asked Leah."I woke up late and had to pick up Kacey first,"
Along the way, just like before when Kacey and I went to Brazil, Kacey asked a lot of questions about me. He always asks me to share my experiences of meeting great people."Have you ever known a great woman?" Kacey asked."Yes, of course," I said as I drove."Tell me," Kacey begged.“Do you remember when we were in Saltyville with the LGBT Gang, Mr. P, and Matt, last week?” I asked."Yeah, I remember," Kacey replied."Do you remember that old woman weaving bamboo in the yard of a shop?" I asked again."Yes, I remember that woman," said Kacey, "you bought her two serving hoods.""Yes, that's true," I said."What's with the old woman?" Kacey asked."That old woman's name is Mother Thalyssa," I said."Tell me," Kacey asked again.“The long history of the Surabaya hood is about to end. Mother Thalyssa, age 72, is the last generation of Saltyville native craftsmen,” I began.
“Do you know an old man who is still excited?” Kacey asked."Of course," I replied."Tell me," said Kacey."Okay," I said. "I'm going to tell you the story of a man in Saltyville.""Again?""Yes, Saltyville is full of great people.""Okay.""His name is Mr. Wayan."It was scorching hot at that time, so the rest of the rain that had fallen the previous day was not felt. In one corner of Saltyroth, the weather didn't seem to matter to an old man engrossed in the front porch of his log house. This grandfather has dark brown skin, short and thin. But his stature looks solid.The hair that framed his round head was trimmed like a military short hairstyle. The 'savage' impression of a soldier sticks. Round glasses adorn his mustache face. Cigarette smoke incessantly blew from his thin lips."No, knock, no, knock," the carpentry tools clashed.Maybe because it was hot, he was only wrapped in a single s
The car I was driving was stuck in traffic. As usual, the main road connecting the two cities was packed with vehicles. Juanda International Airport itself is located on the border of these two cities. So it is very natural that vehicles from both directions of each city crowded the streets."Looks like we're stuck in traffic," said Kacey."Yeah, it's normal on a weekend like this," I said as I explained the situation."I thought you had another story," Kacey said."You're the one who asked?" I said.“Do you have an idol female singer?” Kacey asked."We've discussed this before," I said, "Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin.""No, I mean an Indonesian singer," said Kacey. “If you say people who are already famous, it's not unique anymore. Tell me a singer you know has a beautiful voice but he is not famous."I could only find one person with such requirements. Sorry, two beautiful voices.I then sing, "My love
After parking the car in the airport parking lot, Kacey and I walked to the airport for international flights. Here, we met the LGBT Gang, which seems to have been there first."Hi! Kacey," said the LGBT Gang."Langley you're welcome too," said Kacey, "I'm glad you can come along.""Now what, Lang?" she asked."Now we wait for the manager of Boumerank," I said.Unusually Brother Quinn wasn't in a place like this. Usually, he was there and prepared everything."Langley!" apparently the person I was talking about just showed up. He is professional and dedicated."Hi! Brother Quinn," I said and introduced him to the LGBT Gang, "these are my friends who are coming to the United States."“What a coincidence,” Quinn said, “Here are six tickets for you. The crew was already waiting in the boarding room. As usual, Ray, Fred, and Ivan will be late."The six of us took care of our check-in needs, while Brother Qu
"Want to hear something even more ridiculous?" I asked."Yeah," Leah said, "tell me something else.""Apparently you're not only good at playing music," said Gary."What are you going to tell us this time?" asked Brittany."History," I replied."We're listening," Tiffany.I started the story.In the history of warfare, defense technology is as developed as an attack weapon. For example, the construction of a large fort with solid walls in order to hold off most of the enemy soldiers outside the fort.If you've ever played the game Stronghold, you can feel how difficult it is to defeat an opponent with a fortress plus a large wall. Therefore, ancient wars were full of siege strategies that often took a very long time.In order to enter a city or a fortress, humans have poured all their ingenuity into creating various kinds of weapons. Similarly, when surrounded, humans also put all their efforts to survive.Well, h
Summerfest is an annual music festival held in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. First held in 1968, Summerfest is located at Henry Maier Festival Park, adjacent to Lake Michigan and Milwaukee's central business district.The flight from Surabaya to Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport is 19 hours, 45 minutes. As soon as the plane landed in Wisconsin, United States, the next day, we immediately boarded a special bus that had been provided by the Summerfest committee. This bus then took us directly to the five-star hotel that had been booked by the committee.Just got off the bus, I didn't see the exhausted faces of Kacey and the LGBT Gang. Instead, they seemed to glow in the morning sun. I don't know what's on their mind so they smile to themselves while looking at the luxury hotel in front of them.As for me, mostly sitting in the plane cabin makes me sore. I feel like I just want to go to sleep right away before the concert starts on Sunday tomorrow. Sleeping
News of my arrest spread rapidly and wildly - from surrender, twisted by the Indonesian Herald by forced arrest. The wave of mass demonstrations was getting bigger in Surabaya.Until one day, a man was demonstrating alone carrying the body of a woman in the Surabaya House of Representative building yard which was recorded by television broadcasts. A moment later, he poured gasoline over his body and the old woman's body. Then, he started a fire which quickly burned himself and the body he was carrying.Everyone knew that he was Mr. Wayan who intended to show his protest by presenting himself and his wife in front of the people's representatives. He had a desperate on the government.When that happened, I was in the detention room.All the prisoners present stood up to learn of Wayan's self-immolation on television. I thought the prisoners would kill him for being the instigator of this distressing incident. Apparently, they even cursed the authorities. Th
Julia then revealed that her pregnancy was actually from my seed. Therefore, Julia asked in return whether it meant that the child she was carrying was a bastard child too. That was why Julia was forced to accept Gerald's marriage proposal to cover my disgrace.I asked Julia why she hadn't said that earlier. Julia admitted that she had tried but was afraid to ruin my happiness. At that time, I received a phone call from Quinn if I was appointed as Hendryx's replacement at The Boumerank. Besides, I was already a famous person. Julia was afraid of damaging my image and defaming Bradley.I also asked how could this happen? Julia reminded me of when I lay in the courtyard of a closed Middle Eastern restaurant. That night, I forced Julia to make love to vent my frustration.I asked why Julia didn't refuse or fight me. Julia admitted that if she fough
When my mother found out that I wrote a book, she could only cry. I softly asked Lidia again. Lidia admitted that she did not want one of her loved ones to be lost in front of her again.Lidia finally told how Bradley disappeared. At that time, Brad and George were advocating for Saltyville residents not to be evicted by the government. The reason at that time was the same, namely the eviction of the brothels. The goal was to control coastal land to build an industrial complex.Bradley struggled on the pitch staging protests, while George, a journalist, struggled through writing. Because George's writings were considered threatening, he was hunted down by a group of unknown people. George during the New Order era was more famous than Bradley because of his profession as a critical journalist.One day in February 1998, a group of people dressed i
I visited Aisha at her palace at Royal Certajava. There, I asked Aisha if it was true that the Rasheed's were eyeing a new source of oil in Saltyville. Aisha said she knew, but was not involved.I asked, why didn't Aisha try to block her family's intentions? There were thousands of people living on the land of Saltyville. Aisha replied that she was only a Muslim woman. She had no power to decide. I accused Aisha of enjoying the result.Aisha started crying, telling me this was not what I accused her family of. I asked, then how exactly. Aisha replied she couldn't expose it.Then, I clashed with Aisha by accusing her of being hypocritical because she pretended not to know what was going on. We both mourned each other and move away from each other.So it was with Kacey.
Knowing that I again urged my mother to talk. However, Lidia did not budge. Then, I said goodbye and would find out for myself and continue Bradley's struggle. Lidia strictly forbade my intention. But I was determined.Based on clues from Brad's book and Zoey's notes, I and Amelia, with Vincent's help, discover the mode of money laundering by the Rasheed and Schielhort families. Bribes to and from Jamaal, Syahnaz, Fatima, and Malloch, were deposited through the CLIF Foundation and Islamic boarding schools and houses of worship as a form of charity.Besides, some were used to establish Islamic boarding schools in Jombang and Madura. This was done by asking one of the pesantren students to be used on his behalf. That way, the Rasheed and Torstein families were not legally touched. An example was Bowie.While tracing this dirty practice, I continued to experience terror.Exploring further to Jakarta, I also discovered a flow of money to state officials. The
The next day, I asked my mother, Lidia, about Saltyville in more detail. The village elders refused to talk about it unless Lidia had already told me. And how did Bradley relate to all of this? But Lidia refused to talk about Bradley and Saltyville.I insisted that I read old documents at the Dr. Sue Thompson Regional Hospital. The document stated that there was the name of Lidia Tanoto, who gave birth to twins without a father. Lidia didn't budge.I was not broken. Then, I rushed to the warehouse of my house. I unpacked old chests and suitcases that were there. Every old document I read to find what I looking for. But, actually, I didn't know what I was looking for. I only knew Bradley and Saltyville.Then there was a clean pocketbook, tied with ropes from torn cloth. I opened it slowly because the book had rotted with age. In the book, apparently, Bradley wrote his daily life up to three days before mysteriously disappearing.In the book, Brad wrote abo
After Brody investigated, it was Troy who was about to collect Zidan's debt from Jamaal. Troy told Jamaal that Zoey was somewhere in Newton and would kidnap her as bail. Shortly after, there was an IMD raid into the Guysville prostitution complex that left three people dead.We said Brody - referring to himself and Troy - concluded that the mastermind behind the brothel attacks was the Rasheed's. Brody also revealed that the most responsible behind Calliope's past to bring down Jamaal was Vincent. I was surprised.Brody added that Vincent found out from Zidan. And the Zidan was pretending to be angry and running away from the house so as not to stand out, that he was the one who leaked it.I also asked, how did Zidan know if Calliope was Zoey aka Melody? Well, therein laid the mystery. Who told Zidan? Said Brody.I further asked why Brody was willing to let Zoey go to me. Brody answered because I was his nephew.Then, I was reminded of Troy. Actual
Then, suddenly the rumor spread that Vincent Limantoro was a descendant of communists. Vincent's family said the issue once defended Saltyville because they wanted immorality to continue in Saltyroth. George Limantoro was touted as a dissident against the regime.Shortly, Mayor Jamaal announced three villages, not two, whose citizens were asked to leave immediately. The problem was, the three villages would be evicted by the authority in a couple of days. The three villages were Saltyville, Wigan, and Certajava. For Saltyville in particular, the eviction would be the next day.Those facts made me even angrier. I ignored Brody's advice to remain silent. At a concert that refused the eviction in Saltyville, I participated in openly voicing my rejection of Jamaal.At that concert, I was no longer wearing Che's robes. I wanted the world to recognize me and the voices I represented.Then hundreds of IMD masses suddenly attacked Saltyville. There were clashes b
It was Santos. To me, Santos confessed that he and other service officials travel to Singapore for a comparative study on the construction of city parks also the cleanliness rules. He gambled in his spare time. At first, I understood Santos's reasons.We then talked about music and other things. We didn't have much time together because Santos had to leave, while Quinn and I went back to the hotel.The next day, I had a concert with Boumerank. As usual, the atmosphere is always lively. After that, we all returned to Indonesia.Day by day, Zoey's life began to improve. I had also kept his promise to fulfill Zoey's dream of becoming a singer.However, when everything seemed fine, I and Zoey were suddenly hunted down by strangers. They demanded me and Zoey shut our mouths or be killed. Zoey and I at first thought it was someone from Zoey's past.In the midst of her popularity, news spread that Calliope was a former drug addict and prostitute with the