That Day in a Traffic Jam

2020/12/06

This is an English translation of “Kala Macet Siang Itu”, a flash fiction by Valerian Pratama // Ini adalah terjemahan bahasa Inggris untuk cerita pendek berjudul “Kala Macet Siang Itu”, by Valerian Pratama

You wake up from your thoughts. It’s midday, the sun at its nastiest. Even the darkened glass of your car’s windows can’t protect you against that penetration of photons from eight light years away. You shade your eyes. It’s been exactly thirty minutes and you have not moved an inch. The old problem: another traffic jam caused by yet another road work, made worse by the traffic light that you don’t even remember how many times you’ve scorned. Bitch bastard cruel feckin traffic lights and all that, but nothing you say is going to change things. You’ve lost track of how much of your probably-not-very-long lifetime has been drained by those red lights. Not to mention the motorcyclists, speeding between the gaps like the liquid they use to fill the cracks of the earth when they’re fracking for oil.

While waiting for the traffic to move you start daydreaming again. Suddenly the thought of your breakfast this morning comes back to you. A great sin that you have done. Lulled by gluttony, you did not even think of the consequences of your action. Losing to the temptation of chili and pepper, you stirred your chicken congee before eating it. Barbaric. You’ve lost yourself to your animal instinct. Maybe it was punishment from heaven itself that when you arrived at the university after breakfast, your stomach was screaming. You hadn’t even been there for an hour and you’d gone to the toilet three times. The number of excrement you’ve let out this morning already rivaled the GPA of some of the students here. Maybe this is God’s merciful reprimand for the sin that you have done. Or the result of your gluttony for the truly inhumane amount of hot sauce you’ve added to your breakfast. Your thoughts invite you to think of something else. The shit you’ve excreted this morning doesn’t seem like a tasteful thing to see. Well, assuming your thoughts can be seen.

Another thought comes to you. After the class accompanied by tragedy this morning, you quickly reached for the campus’s parking lot, to your car, which you hurriedly drove north-a-way. Worried that traffic at Dago would be jammed again, you took the roundabout way through Tamansari and Cisitu Lama. Truthfully, you don’t really have anywhere to go. You just wanted to go around the city while waiting for afternoon class to start. Maybe you can go to Lembang via Punclut, you thought, pass that monstrous slope near Dago terminal. Alas, though you’ve tried to avoid a traffic jam at Dago, you’re now stuck in a traffic jam in Tamansari. Lots of classes are over at this hour, lots of students hiring motorcycle taxis to take them home to their rented homes. Also plenty of students who just arrive on campus because their class starts later in the day. Indeed, one of the causes of traffic jams in the area is, at least within workdays, the going-ons of university students. Or at least that’s what’s popped into your head at the moment.

By the side of the road, you see students hanging out (yes, by the side of the road) while fiddling with their smart gadgets. It reminds you of a time long ago when you were trying to collect data for a modeling course. That’s not an easy job, actually. For other universities it would be enough to gain you a degree. An old memory, you think. Not really a good memory now that you think about it. You remember that time, when you still didn’t have enough data to move forward but you suddenly couldn’t get any more. Nevermind going out to gather more data, you weren’t even supposed to leave the house. Yes, it was that time when a pandemic threatened the whole world. And so the workings of the world ground to a halt. You’re reminded of the five stages of grief you went through then. A bittersweet memory that’s a lot more bitter than it was sweet.

The pandemic ruined all your plans. The pandemic ruined your chance to bond with your buddies in your workgroup. The pandemic ruined your study sessions. The pandemic ruined your university score. The pandemic ruined your happiness. Those thoughts pop up again and again in your head. The thoughts you thought you’ve succeeded in eradicating this whole time, or at least since the pandemic was over.

Music from the radio drags you back to reality, pulling you back from your imagination that has flown any which way. This is one of your favourite songs, sung by a singer that is also one of your favourites. His distinct voice you immediately recognize, even when your thoughts have gone who knows where. You’ve no idea if the verses sung by Berlian Hutauruk is a coincidence or not, but it fits well with your thoughts at the moment.

The seasons have passed
The sun has changed

The storm will pass
The storm will pass
The storm will pass
The storm will pass

Not long after the song is over, your vehicle finally has the chance to move. That’s a sign for you to end your wandering thoughts today. Or, well, until you hit another traffic jam, at least.