The Good Day
The translation of Gde Aryantha Soethama’s Indonesian short story “Hari Baik” by Tjahaja.
The priest was frail and decrepit, walking slowly, hunched over, sometimes stopping a few steps to catch his breath, tightening his grip on his staff for firmer support, before his body could swing forward again. His skin was wrinkled, but his eyes were luminous, and his face was authoritative. When he arrived at a ceremony and people rushed to pick him up, he always refused by moving his head and smiling. People stopped and folded their arms across their chests, one of them sometimes kneeling down to kiss his knees, bowing in awe. The priest then rubbed the person’s head so coolly that he watered the crown of his head.
At this time, the priest would bless a couple. As usual, he would chant mantras with fire, incense, and water. His thin hands would shake the bell, blessing a pair of human children to live happily, immediately have children, be blessed with abundant sustenance, and be kept away from quarrels and calamities. With what little strength he had left, he climbed the stairs to the pamiosan, a bamboo structure with a platform almost two meters high, built especially for a priest who was ready to worship. Several people from the bride’s family anxiously watched the priest limp up the stairs.
