The key rattled a couple of times in the lock. Then the turnkey came in and found the food—that had gone bad—in the plate on the floor untouched, again. She never heard the turnkey said any words before but that time he spoke: “Please, Maharatu, eat the food.”
Amretasari, hugging her legs in the corner of the prison cell, raised her head and gave a thin smile. She never thought it will feel so good only to hear a human voice. The turnkey then gave a lengthy sigh and carefully carried the plate outside before dutifully locking the cell. After the sound of the footsteps receded, the overwhelming silence came back ruthlessly; silence that hated by the Maharatu at first but now she grew accustomed to.
She did not know exactly how long they had made her captive. A week, a month, a year, she could not tell. The cell was damp and dark, lit only by one candle that to Amretasari’s annoyance did not maintained regularly by the turnkeys. One thing she could be sure of was the prison should be located near the sea since she could smell the ocean and sometimes heard the squawk of seagulls. However, she did not recall Palembang had any prison near the shore.
Suddenly, a jolt of pain filled her stomach, forced her to lie down on the floor, her head pounding. I don’t fancy dying, she thought bitterly. That day was the day four of her hunger strike. It was not the release from imprisonment she was fighting for, but she only wanted to see her children. But she began to realize that her captors would rather see her dead than granting her wishes.
As she hugged her feet tighter, she wanted to cry so badly but she couldn’t. The night before, she had cried a lot she thought she had drained all of her tears. Amretasari seldom cried in her entire life. A Kumaramatya does not cry, she thought, but a mother who long for her children does. Vividly, she could hear Indravarman’s voice calling her. She then realized her son’s voice did not come from her mind.
“Mother!” cried Indravarman shaking Amretasari’s body.
The longing mother opened her eye and then the pain and her stomach ceased. Amretasari thought she had fallen asleep or fainted thus she did not realize the turnkey bringing her son to the cell as they hugged each other.