INDONESIA
The Tale of Baswara
Stage 1
Story by Lottie Shauvek
Edit by the CLA Editing Team
Illustrated by Anya Kumarawati
Baswara was a land far away from everywhere. The leader of Baswara, Cahara, controlled the land with strict rules. So much so, that rule breakers were sent to a place called Antiliar.
Nusa was a writer. He published a new book. One day, Nusa went to the bookstore in the square with his friend, Kantang. Nusa was disappointed to find that the government changed the story.
At that moment, they heard a young man yelling. Cahara’s police caught him in the square. His hair was too long. Suddenly, a girl, Gayatri, came and said, “Stop this! Let him free!” She was speaking directly to Cahara. He became angry at her. Nusa stepped in front of Gayatri. He asked the leader to forgive her. The young man with long hair was sent to Antiliar, and Cahara and his police left the square. Gayatri was angry at Nusa. She told him how bad Baswara was and left.
At home, Nusa told Kantang about his talk with Gayatri. He agreed with her that the leader was wrong. Then Kantang confessed that he also was a “rule breaker.”
“I won’t turn you in,” said Nusa.
After that, Kantang introduced Nusa to a group called “Melati.”
They secretly disagreed with Cahara’s strict rules. Nusa was surprised to see Gayatri there.
One day when Nusa, Gayatri, and Kantang went to lunch, the police came and took Kantang to Antiliar. Gayatri thought that Nusa had told the police about Kantang.
Gayatri went to Nusa’s house, but he wasn’t there. In the house, there was a letter from Nusa. It said, “I’ll be back with Kantang.”
Gayatri wanted to go to Antiliar, too, so she walked out of the house and cut her hair short. The police came and sent her to Antiliar. Finally, she met Nusa and Kantang there.
Gayatri thought that Antiliar was a scary place. But Antiliar was as good as heaven. Nusa, Gayatri and Kantang hoped to stay in Antiliar, but Cahara planned to kill the people in Antiliar. So, the three decided to fight.
They found a way out of Antiliar to Baswara, and fought with Cahara and his police. At one point, Cahara caught Gayatri and pointed his gun at her. Nusa said, “You can’t win, father.” Gayatri was shocked. It turned out that Cahara was Nusa’s father. Nusa was angry and pointed his gun at him. Nusa and his father both shot at the same time. Gayatri and the Cahara both fell to the ground.
Cahara died, but Gayatri didn’t. Gayatri became the new leader of Baswara. Kantang worked alongside her. And that’s how Nusa was able to write stories again.
THE END