The Life Journey of a Nobody

"Bu, mau saya foto penerima sumbangannya? Buat dokumentasi." Saya cepat menjawab, "Nggak usah, Bu. Bagikan aja. Jangan kasih tahu juga saya yang kasih, ya? Nggak seberapa ini."  "Beneran, Bu? Kemarin waktu Pak RW bagi-bagi sembako, malah lebih sedikit dari paket Ibu, kita semua difoto, lho!" "Ya, mungkin sebagai bukti dokumentasi untuk pemberi sumbangan, Bu. Apalagi kalau pemberi sumbangannya pemerintah, pasti ada semacam pertanggung jawaban dalam bentuk foto atau tanda tangan. Kalau saya nggak salah dulu tanda tangan aja cukup. Tapi, tanda tangan kan gampang dipalsukan. Jadi, mungkin diganti foto bersama, biar lebih otentik," terang saya. "Ibu emang nggak butuh bukti saya udah bagi-bagi ke tetangga?" Tanyanya lagi. Saya tersenyum kecut, "Saya percaya sama Ibu. Nggak perlu bukti-bukti. InsyaAllah." "Baik. Nuhun atuh Bu, kalau begitu. Saya bagiin dulu, ya, sembakonya," pamit si ibu tetangga kampung. "Iya, Bu. Mak...

Reading Little House Series awoke my own childhood memories from their slumber.  Let's begin the journey through the past: Photo taken from:  https://bogor.tribunnews.com/2018/09/06/kesabaran-mak-acam-10-tahun-tinggal-di-rumah-bilik-kota-bogor-kebocoran-bila-hujan?page=all It was not even a proper shack, more of a lean-to. The lean-to was generously given by my grandfather. It stood ugly next to his brick, white-painted house. It was only made of wood and bamboo with no added colour. There was only one bedroom and a living room flowed into the kitchen. We didn’t even have a proper bathroom and toilet. I guessed Grandpa also generously built a toilet next to the well in his yard, which automatically served as our not-so-private bathroom. I had vague collections of my childhood life, but the house and the outdoor bathroom were vivid in my mind. There was only one big bed that we shared together. Yes. My Dad, Mom, big sister, and me slept together on that big bed. The...