Foot Steps

Twelve hours inside a dysfunction air-conditioned train on the way to Jakarta wasn't exactly what I had in mind. But the image of those scenic outside the window pushed me.
As it passed by the railway crossing, I saw a father and his young son on the side of the railroad. The father let out his camera phone and recorded the upcoming train while his son waved joyfully in front of him. As if the train was some kind of superstar. Next to them were those brick houses that stood so near to the railway. The sights inside the plain brick houses were similar to those short reality shows. They lived with the danger of being so close to railroad. I guess it was comforting and was probably the only comfort they could expect.
There was barely something to notice outside as the sun set; except for light dimes on the porches. On the train, a mother took out a sheet of thin cloth and rolled it out in between seats. She put her son next to her and they cuddled. Everybody started to create their way to go through the night.
I woke up to chatter and found myself looking at crowd of hawkers already clustered inside. They were not part of the train service. Yet, they were allowed to get inside the train. I stood up and stretched up. When I had to walk through these people to go to the toilet, they either shrugged or simply nodded politely. They tried to make room as they could because everybody used the alley to roll out newspaper and thin rag to sleep on.
Looking back at the journey, I get to see people in a perplex behavior and the reason behind it. I experience human emotions during the trip and it humbled me. These passengers are migrants from the countryside arrive each year in Jakarta. Many of them end up with jobs in low-end.
When I first heard about a friend offer to take me to a fifty thousand rupiahs trip from Mojokerto to Jakarta, I didn’t instantly say yes. The smelly and dirty compartment and tons of unimaginable uneasiness along the way came inside my mind. But there is always something about the sound of a train in the distance that I can't resist. The curiosity of a thing or two takes my mind wandered, the passengers with their one million worth observing.
At that time, I had lost my mom to cancer few months before the trip. Now, as I remember the trip, I will never forget the day I get on that train. It may be all started in a familiar place but it takes me to a place I have never been before. I finally learn to let go and make peace with my thoughts.