Living in Poverty ; part 1

Ever felt like school is just one of the worst places to be at or go to ?
Sometimes when we are pressurised with tons of homework to finish, we just wished that there was never such a thing or place called school.
We take all these things for granted, the bountiful food we get, the clean water we drink, education, proper homes, etc. And sometimes we even complain about it. But do we actually looks deeper into this matter and think about how lucky we are ?






There lived the matahari family on a hillside in central batam. They had a roof over their head, but it isn't the type of house you'd expect yourself to live in. The walls were made of steel plates that were buried about half a metre into the ground, covered by the dry and hardened sandy ground. Their roof was made of branches that are tied together with the help of rope and then sheltered with different types of leaves.

Normally, houses would be built with a metal roof but the family was poor and they had fourteen children, three of which have passed away due to food poisoning and vehicular accidents. Eight, the breadwinners, lived on the other islands of indonesia. The remaining three were adopted young teenagers and children whom didn't have proper education. Every month the eight would send back 200000rupia each, totaling about S$120 a month. With the $120, life was hard, they needed more money to feed every mouth. Now, one person in the family would miss two meals. To kill the hunger, they'll just sleep it off.

On a monday morning, Hari and Indah both got ready for school. Rafi the youngest of the lot stayed at home and helped them to prepare breakfast. They have to wake up earlier than the other children due to the distance they have to journey to. Four miles altogether, both back and forth. Walking together helped both brother and sister know more about each other and from there find out about the lastest talk.

Pulling up their worn out socks and wearing their brownish stained shoes, the set out into the dimly litted road. That particular morning, it was chilly. Hari lended Indah his favourite leather jacket his siblings got him for his thirteenth birthday. Looking up into the morning sky, you'd still be able to look at the moon. Both sibling get their encouragement to study hard and do their job by looking at the moon. It rises at night and guides whoever's on their way home and help light up the nightsky.

Upon reaching school, Indah passed the jacket back to Hari and they both went for their own classes. It was math class, Hari's favourite subject. Hari had always dreamed of being a businessman when he grows up but his hopes had been smashed as his father wanted him to work at the local shoe factory. His father had always pressurized him, pushing him to do his best in school. When he doesn't get his passess, Hari's father would bring out the bamboo cane his own father caned him with. If you were to take off Hari's shirt, you would be able to see the scars on his back and his bottom. He reminded himself that everytime he got hit, it was out of love and so he tried not to bear any grudges.

Indah on the other hand didn't really give two flying fucks about education. She was the playful, mischievious girl that was well-knowned with the boys in her class. She'd stole several times from the convenience store across the road and got away with it five times. Nonetheless, Indah was more streetsmart than her brother. After stealing chewing gum and sweets, she'd sell them to younger children and earning some extra pocket money. Even though she doesnt earn much from it, she managed to scrimp and save til her present-day amount, S$50.

After school ended, they would go to the newspaper factory and from there walk to the cross-junction to sell them. This was their way of making money for recess money for the next day. Breathing the car and motorcycle fumes everyday, they would sometimes choke while breathing and at night suffer severe coughs from the exhausts. But this was all worth it, sometimes when tourists visit the island, they would get about S$20 being pitied by them.

As they hurried home, the sun was setting. Dusk will soon be arriving. Rushing back, night draws nearer by every passing second. They were half a mile away from home, picturing the food and dinner their parents prepared with the help of Rafi. Their mouths watered with saliva which made them dash home.

Running as fast as they could, they heard a distance hum as if a vehicle was approaching with great speed. It was dark, both Hari and Indah could not tell where the vehicle was coming from.
Out of the blue, a taxi emerged from the darkness. Seeing both children on the roadside, the taxi swirved to a corner, the rear of the taxi had hit Hari in the leg and had pushing his knee backwards causing him to fall.

He was in great pain, his knee had been twisted backwards, Indah heard the cracking of the joint bones and had rushed to his side. The thin layer of skin behind the knee had torn and blood was lost quick. Indah checked to see if the driver had passed out. Fortunately he suffered minor cuts on his forehead and broken pieces of glass lodged into his palms and arms. The taxi driver and Indah carried Hari to the cab.

Moaning in immense pain, the cabbie sped to the hospital. Indah held onto Hari's hand and he said to her. "Jangan biarkan saya samping. (Don't leave me.)"