"Rahadyan sanghulun ...."
"Rahadyan sanghulun ...."
Lestari was not someone who liked to sleep, so when she heard the voices of women calling out to each other and getting louder and louder, her dreamless sleep was disturbed and she opened her eyes in annoyance.
Seeing that, the women in the room who had been trying to wake Lestari immediately knelt down.
"Wungu sampun Rahadyan sanghulun! Sunana pinaka nghulun, mangjumput tahapan banyu putih gawe Rahadyan sanghulun!"
After saying that, the woman got up from her position. Quickly and without spilling a drop, she poured water from a bronze jug on a wooden table near the bed where Lestari was lying, observing her surroundings.
'Wooden floor ...
and six women ... are topless?!'
Lestari immediately opened her eyes wide and sat up.
"Niki tahapan banyu putih gawe Rahadyan sanghulun." The words of a woman broke Lestari's focus on observing the situation that was so foreign to her.
'What did that woman say?'
The woman knelt beside Lestari's bed, with one hand raised as high as the bed, offering a cup of water.
Actually, from the whole sentence, Lestari could only understand two words, namely 'banyu putih', which means white water. The language was quite foreign to her ears, as was the accent. However, she could assume that the woman was offering her a cup of water to drink.
Lestari suddenly felt her throat go dry, so she took the cup from the woman's right hand.
However, Lestari suddenly stopped and withdrew her right hand, which was hovering in the air.
'Light yellow skin and hairless ....
These fingers are very slender with long nails ...
also adorned with gold rings with intricate and beautiful carvings on both index fingers ....
The heavy gold bracelets around both wrists were even carved in more intricate patterns ....
So luxurious.'
Lately, Lestari had been reading folktales and watching ancient Javanese-themed dramas, so it didn't take her long to realize the historical context of her current dream.
'The simple, round bun hairstyles of the women,
the woven skirts they and I wear instead of batik,
the bronze bowls of different styles, some are hung on wooden walls and pillars, while others are placed on tables. I don't know how those bowls could produce fire, but clearly, even with so many of those objects, the lighting in this room is still dim.
Two words and one phrase, Ancient Java.'
Lestari then took the cup and sipped its contents. As she had expected, there was still no refreshing sensation in her throat. The woman then stepped aside and joined the line of other women.
In her heart, Lestari apologized and praised how strong the woman's hands were to still maintain her position, even though twenty minutes had probably passed. She also did not forget to praise the other women.
Lestari was not stupid. Seeing that she had ignored the women for quite some time and none of them protested about it, she immediately knew what role she was playing in the dream.
A princess.
'This must be my room and they must be my maids. Uh, they're still kneeling. Now, what should I say ....'
Although Lestari was a Javanese woman and spoke Javanese in her daily life, as far as she knew, the Javanese language of ancient times was very different from the Javanese language of modern times.
'Eh, this is a dream. Using English shouldn't be a problem.'
However, Lestari didn't do that. She gave orders in the Javanese language she knew, "Dangak kabeh!"
[Translation: Look up, everyone!].
The kneeling maids then raised their heads, but their gaze was fixed on Lestari's feet.
Lestari observed their faces one by one. She had often experienced lucid dreams, but never one as real and clear as this. Moreover, she did not recognize any of the faces in front of her, even though they all had the distinctive features of Southeast Asians. Sometimes, when she was having a lucid dream, she could conjure up people's faces, but only those in her memory, such as the faces of family members, friends, neighbors, and so on. If there were characters she didn't know, they were always faceless, and she wasn't scared of that because she knew she was dreaming.
"Rahadyan sanghulun ...."
The silence that had lasted for who knows how long was finally broken by that voice. It was a voice that Lestari had only recently become familiar with, belonging to a maid who had just brought her a cup of water. However, she did not know which face belonged to her among them.
"Rahadyan sanghulun dumadak sumaput, gumawe ajrih ikang punika nghulun kabeh. Sampurakna patanyaning pinaka nghulun ring Rahadyan sanghulun--"
Finally, Lestari saw what the maid looked like. It seemed that she was their leader because she had been the one who took the initiative in serving Lestari. She had a beautiful face and light yellow skin, indicating she did not often spend time outdoors. Upon closer inspection, Lestari noticed that her hair bun was tied with a yellow bracelet.
"--ri huwus, apa sing kudu pinaka nghulun kabeh magawe? Binakar sampun dening pinaka nghulun kabeh ikang pari-pari ing sisih wetan."
As the maid spoke, Lestari's frown deepened. That was because she did not understand at all, so the only response she could give the maid at that moment was, "Metu kabeh!"
[Translation: Get out, all of you!].
"Ya, Rahadyan sanghulun." They said the sentence in unison. Then, they turned and walked out of the room in an orderly line.
Jeglek
As soon as the sound was heard, Lestari knew that they were gone.
However, Lestari still needed to be sure.
Lestari got out of bed and walked toward a wooden door.
Actually, the door was not very tall or large, it was exactly the same size as the doors in Lestari's house. However, the wood was thick and heavy, as evidenced by her difficulty in opening it. After a few moments, the door finally opened.
However, Lestari didn't actually want to be outside at the moment, so she closed the door again. The locking mechanism was very simple, requiring only a long, heavy wooden bar and a latch system.