"Malaikat Hujan"- The Rain Angel

MalaikatHujan "The Rain Angle"- Mario F. Lawi

I've almost forgot the last time I read a book that trembled my heart, it was so long... but I still remember the book, The Unknown Errors of Our Lives. The first story of that book "Nyonya Duta Menulis Surat" has always been an unforgettable story for a forgetful woman like me.. (I've stopped calling myself a girl since I turned to 26). The story is simple but very touchful, about an old grandma who found the changing of life when she moved to USA to live with her only son. However, something that makes the story special for me is that the message contained in that story has led me to my past and future. To my past, when I was thinking of the time I spent with my beloved grandma, I wondered, did she feel the same as Ny. Duta when her children and grandchildren were so busy with their own lives and ignored her? and to my future, I also wonder, will I find the same situation as grandma Duta did?. Yup, I find, at the end of all, what makes a story everlasting is when it can bring you in as if you were inside the story, or in the other words, when you find yourself merge into the story.

The same feeling has finally trapped me into this book, Malaikat Hujan, authored by Mario F. Lawi. This book is a compilation of Mario's 19 short stories. Honestly, I would never know this book if I didn't read "Malaikat Lautan", a short story in Loti Basastra Magazine.There, for the first time I found Mario Lawi's short story. The first impression after reading that story was different. It's like 'this is unique'. I think the uniqueness simply lies on the main character. To be honest (again), I never read a story that the main character is an animal although I know that there must be many stories like this.  So, I felt attracted. That's why I was curious about his other writings and this curiosity was the reason I was busy looking for his book "Malaikat Hujan". 

Consisting of 19 short stories, Malaikat Hujan was opened by a wonderful love story, "Lelaki Yang Mencintaimu". When you read this story at the first sentence, you might think that this is just a triangle love story, too mainstream. In fact, it is not like other love stories you've ever read. The way the author creates the characters and the point of view of this story make it worthreading.The three characters "I, You, and He" are unusually described. I, as the main character seems to be the loneliest seeing 'you' and 'he' live up their love but he keeps loving 'you' with his own way. I love the way Mario describes 'you' as a waiting girl. Her strong and unconditional love for 'he' has captured me tenderly into the way the author describes;

 "Dia selalu meminta doamu meski selalu kaukirimkan sebelum ia minta. kesibukan tak pernah menghalangi kebahagiaan kalian, karena ketika kalian berjauhan, kerinduan menjadi doa yang saling menjaga dan menguatkan masing-masing."

( "He always asks for your prayer although you have always prayed before he asks. Busyness can never be a hinder to your love, because when both of you are far from each other, longing becomes a prayer that keeps and strengthens each other.)

 " Tapi semuanya perlahan berubah. semakin sukses dalam karirnya, semakin sering ia tinggalkan engkau sendiri. kesibukan adalah teman yang paling nyaman dan keselamatan adalah doa yang engkau minta pada Tuhan baginya jika ia pergi.”

( “But all has slowly been changing. The more succesful he becomes, the more often he leaves you alone. Busyness is the most comfortable friend and safety is a prayer that you request from God for him if he leaves.”)

“Penantian, bagimu, adalah terjemahan bahasa kesunyian......tapi melihat kebahagiaannya dalam bekerja membuatmu kembali harus berpura-pura seperti usaha untuk tersenyum bahagia sambil menutup luka yang semakin perih dan menganga. “

 (“ waiting, for you, is an interpretation of loneliness.....but seeing him happy in his work gets you back to pretend like an effort to smile happily while closing the open and hurting wound”)

 “Tapi, seperti apa pun keluhanmu, ada cinta yang setiap hari selalu kaupoles baginya, sebuah cinta yang selalu baru.”

 (“ But, no matter you complain, there is always love that you adorn everyday for him, a brand new love.” )

I really love these parts, the love given for ‘he’ is beyond all limits. It’s like loving someone with everything you have until nothing is left on you. I feel like I could feel what “you” feel here. Waiting and trying to renew your love daily no matter how hard you struggle with your own selfishness and envy. I don’t know whether it’s stupid or not. I don’t care. What I know is that this is the way I love him and it has become my favourite habit. So is what “you” do to keep her love for “he”.

Therefore, I don’t really take into account the existance of “I”. For me, the strongest character here is “you” for her commitment to ‘stay’ regardless of the wound. The “I” may love “you” with his own way but ‘you’ will always stay strong to love. So, this is a lovingly waiting story of love.

Well, beside the first story, I actually have my most favorites’. It’s kinda strange as I used to fall easily for a love story. Yet, the impression after reading all stories from this book is not the same.The two stories, Utopia and Seekor Kucing dalam Rumahmu, have caught me into a different world. And again, I should be frankly saying that I love to see the world from animal’s point of view.

From these two stories, the writer gives us great lessons from a moth and a cat. The spirit of sacrifice for love as a moth in “Utopia” and ignorance towards animal (read; cat) in “Seekor Kucing dalam Rumahmu” are simply described but truly inspiring. Moreover, we are taken into animal world to see the things we’ve ignored from animal life, that is to understand animal behavior. I am talking about it because I also have a cat at home. From my cat I find that animals have a purpose behind their behavior. Actually they want to communicate to us through their behavior. My cat, for example, she always meows to tell me she’s hungry but she crawls my foot when she’s starving. The same way I find in Seekor Kucing dalam Rumahmu, especially when the cat wants to tell the host that she needs a comfy room for her kittens. I love this part because apparently the writer wants to tell us that we need to open our eyes to see the reasons behind a problem because a problem for human might be the only solution for an animal. :D

Overall, I love this book for its big lessons from the simplicity. Although it contains stories from our daily lives, it is actually not that simple. We will find complicacy through simplicity just as we start to see this life from the eye of a cat. So, make sure you read this book and get your own interpretation. Enjoy reading!!!