The old man

He had been there for nearly eleven hours. Budin took a long stride, walking towards the cafeteria. Normally he would leave his name tag in his office. Today had been long day and all he need is a distraction from his day job. The sun shone so brightly and its ray cause more beads of sweats to appear visible on Budin's forehead. It is quite a sunny even after 4 o'clock. He walks even faster to get into a more air-conditioned room.

It is quite unfortunate that the cafeteria is opposite to the parking lot. His face turns sour looking at the scene. Budin wonders why the director did not move the cafeteria opposite to the therapy garden. It is far more beautiful and relaxing than hearing car honks here and there. Upon his arrival at the cafeteria, he looks around, searching for empty, secluded spot. He was very lucky to have found one spot, which faces the wall with a mounted TV in front of him.

Not long after he sat down, an Indonesian waiter walks towards his table.

“Salam Doc.. Mau order apa ya?”

Budin smiles. He was somehow amused of the way that young Indonesian pronounced ‘Doc’ which is closely sounds like ‘dog’. He just nods and said, “Satu gelas Nescafe sama...-“  He scan the whole menu in front of him. “..satu roti telur sama satu roti sardine.”

The Indonesian waiter scribbled on his notepad and repeats his orders one more time before he leaves the table. Budin looks up to the TV. They are showing re-runs of Anderson Cooper 360 show. Anderson was talking about Snooki who were asked to do a commencement speech at this one University in the States. Budin shook his head and rolled his eyes constantly. He seems to find it ridiculous, seeing this Snooki, who had no contributions to the society whatsoever, was being asked to do a commencement speech. He already figured how bad the commencement speech is going to be. That is one memorable speech and a stupid one too.

While he delve into the idea of ways Snooki will be getting humanitarian award for her speech, an old man in his 60s approach to his table. Budin was startled when the old man greeted him.

“Assalam tuan..”

“Waalaikumsalam..”

He turns around and saw the old man reach out his hands which looks like he wants to shake hands with Budin. Budin was a bit confused when he shook the old man’s hands. He started to run his memory and trying to recall his face. Do I know him? Pernahkah bejumpa? He started to get anxious and wanting to find out who this man is.

“Ada urang duduk sini?” The old man was referring to the seat opposite to him. Budin just shook his head. All of a sudden, he remembers this man. He always here in the cafeteria and usually, he was not alone. He always had these young children, probably about 8-10 years old, accompany him. Today, he was all alone. Budin do not want to appear rude, he let the old man sat at the same table. His face is still sour. He wants to be left alone. Kan minta bawa becerita kali, he thought.

“Kita kerja sini kah?”

“Aaah... awu tuan.. “ The old man smiles.

“Padantah selalu tejumpa disini..”

“aahh..awu..”

A pause. Budin felt so uncomfortable being asked by a stranger. His eyes looked directly straight at the TV. He secretly hopes for this old man to move to the other table. To his relief, the Indonesian waiter came to their table bringing his food and drinks. He planned to finish his meal early then immediately goes back to work. The old man is looking at him. No. He was not just looking- he was studying him. Budin’s eye tries not to meet the old man’s gaze.

“eh bapak... mau makan yang biasa ya?” The Indonesian waiter also knows this old man. The old man replied, “Ya, yang biasa.. bawa sama air ah,”

“iya.. mana cucu-cucunya pak? Enggak ikut?” Budin looks at both of them. Apparently they have bonded for quite some time. The old man is very friendly, always smiling even when talks.
“Inda.. masih arah rumah anakku yang sorang atu..yang numbur tiga ah..”

“Ohhh.... Ya udah.. saya permit dulu ya sebenter.. Enggak mau apa-apa lagi pak?”

“inda..okay sudah tu..”

“Okay.. pak. Permisi dulu ya Doc.” The young waiter bowed and went straight to the counter.

Budin starts eating his meal as fast as he could. He took a peek at the old man’s face and it seems like the old man preoccupied. He was watching the news, showing President Obama making a speech, addressing the US congress. The old man shook his heads many times.

“More talk, no actions. Problem with USA...haish..”

Not long after he said that, the waiter came up to him and bring his food over. Budin was impressed by the old man’s level of knowledge. It was odd though for an old man, eating kelupis udang and drinks water, to talk about international politics. Budin was intrigued by the old man. He put down his fork. Finally he found someone worthy enough to talk to him.

“I agree with you on that Tuan haji..”

The old man just gives out small chuckles. He was still busy peeling off the oily banana leaves which wrapped around his Kelupis. He looks up and faces Budin.

“Belum haji lagi...“

“nama kita siapa ah?”

“Latif..”

“ahh... but honestly, you think they just talk and no actions? They did more actions than any other countries.”

“Yes they did.. inda dapat dinafikan tu ah.. but I think you are missing the point here-“

“Oh... America did promote democracy in many third world countries. They had set up many organisations that mainly pasal humanitarian..they also-“

“terrorize other nations? Sibuk kan the world affairs? This is only political lah... no concern about the people..”

Budin felt so challenged by this old man. He thought that the old man was too stubborn enough to see the truth. He knows this. He did went to the States several times and enjoy the life of people living in such a free and exciting nation.  It was unfair to say that they did not care about the people.

“They have set up many organizations to help the people in the name of humanity. How can you say for certain, that they have no concern for the people?”

The old man stopped for a while to take a sip of water from his glass. Budin seize that moment to his advantage and continue his debate.

“Despite they live freely, they still care for the people. Yes, lurus kita atu on one thing: this is mostly for politics sake. But you can just say the Americans do not have a heart at all. Politics are politics. They are dirty. Never compare them with the civilians. After the fall of communism, America had made the world more globalized. Also, If it weren’t for them, we would still be backwards.”

Budin felt it was enough to justify his reasons. He had this needs to educate the old man. The old man put down his glass. He seems calm and very laid-back. Budin took off his name tag and put it on the table. The old man watched it from the corner of his eyes and look up again.

“Apa yang kau cakap ani.. all of it from the news.. I watched it too.. I’m not sure what you’re talking about.. I don’t know why you need to mix up all those news macam mix vegetables pulang usulnya.. You still did not get the point.”

The old man points his finger to Budin’s name tag. “You are a doctor. You should know what I was trying to say. Take for example, do you know his name?” His finger now points to the young Indonesian waiter. Budin looks even more confused. Why should he know the name of that Indonesian.

“Inda...”

“My point exactly. Nobody cares about these people. Nada urang bother to look at their face clearly or asked their names. Have you seen his scar on his left forehead?”

“Inda...”

“Did you do the same thing to every patient? Pernah kau betanya nickname bisdiorang? Pernah kau duduk sama diorang, becerita?”

Budin was taken aback by those questions. It was a simple yes or no answer. Yet he is unable to give a definite answer to that. He admits that never asked for patients’ names nor even caring for them. He just does the job as what other doctors would do. Just diagnose their problem.

“I am not saying it is your utmost responsibility to be there for them. You are looking at a much bigger scope.. sampai inda sadar apa yang terjadi with the innocents.. You are looking at one side of the story. What happen to the third, fourth and so on? Do no be easily blinded by what you see on the news, owned by Americans. You should have this question in your head already: why these people die? For what cause?”

He paused again to look at the young Indonesian. Budin just looks even more uncomfortable with the idea of death.

“cuba kau tanya namanya... “ He was referring to the Indonesian. “bawa ia becerita.. get to know him.. maybe you will start to understand that all of the things that you mention before.. are meaningless. You have seen many deaths.. barangkali labih kali daripada yang ku experience... You are a doctor..inda sepatutnya berfikiran sempit..”

The old man finishes his kelupis and took a big gulp. He looked at his watch. It is fifteen minutes after five. Budin was still amazed of had just happen. The old man raises his hand, calling for the young waiter to come to his table. While waiting for the waiter to come to their table, the old man looks at Budin and smiles.

“Bah balik dulu ah.. minta maaf eh mun tesinggung.. kan membuka minda saja..bah assalamualaikum.”

“waalaikumsalam”

The old man stands and paid the waiter and just left. Budin finally felt defeated by a much wiser man. He looks at the waiter’s nametag. His name is Sabilin.