In the end, my wife ordered food through an app. We had planned to eat a Palembang specialty, empek-empek. Before long, our meal arrived. We devoured it right there inside the bus. Soon after, the bus set off toward Jambi. This time, the hot air stung once more throughout the cabin. Some passengers at the back were shouting, because they grew increasingly uncomfortable inside the bus. The driver and his crew simply stayed silent. This time, the driver came from Aceh while the conductor came from Medan. So it was the conductor who did most of the interacting.
The stretch between Jambi and Palembang did not take the Putra Pelangi bus very long to cover. By late afternoon we were entering the city of Jambi. After that, the bus set off again toward Pekanbaru. Toward morning, the Putra Pelangi bus reached Pekanbaru. Once again, passengers were asked to have breakfast around the Putra Pelangi depot. This time, the place and the food on offer were reasonably clean, and so was the bathroom. Evidently, the Putra Pelangi drivers were accustomed to stopping their buses at that depot . For that reason, the roving vendors had already gathered near the depot, as soon as the bus pulled up and parked in front of it.
After that, the next target city was Medan. This time, the journey was almost comparable to the Banda Aceh–Medan distance. So it was certain the bus would arrive the next morning at the Putra Pelangi depot. During the trip, my younger sibling began calling from the hospital to say that Brother Syamsul had been admitted to the ICU and HCU. I already had a premonition that this was not a good sign. I hoped we would be able to reach Banda Aceh on Monday, 25 October 2021. The next morning, 24 October 2021, the bus pulled into the Putra Pelangi depot.
I stepped off the bus and gathered all of our belongings. Then I went to the bathroom to prepare for the dawn prayer. Shortly afterward, word came from Banda Aceh that Brother Syamsul had departed, leaving behind the people he loved. Holding back my sobs, I said that we had reached Medan and would set off immediately for Krueng Mane. After that, we searched for a vehicle that could take us to our hometown.
His body was to be brought home from Banda Aceh. We would travel home from Medan. It was estimated we would be able to see Brother Syamsul’s body one last time. I learned that there was a Hiace departing at 7 a.m. My younger sibling tried to help arrange our journey home. In the end, at 7 a.m. we set off straight for Krueng Mane. The driver pushed the vehicle at tremendous speed. He understood our situation, having heard it from my sibling, who is also an L300 driver. We desperately hoped to see Brother Syamsul’s face one last time.
We were blessed, because the congregation performing the funeral rites was willing to wait for us at the grave. After our tears flowed, we laid Brother Syamsul to rest in his final resting place. This was the most heartbreaking grief of the entire Touring Indonesia Harmoni. A beloved one had gone ahead of our whole family. He had even worn the Touring Indonesia Harmoni jacket. He had so badly wanted to go touring together on the NMAX he had just bought. In the end, that hope was extinguished along with his passing that day.
We stayed in our hometown for seven days. I received word that Nyak Ver had also departed from Merauke. Our plan was that, once our affairs in Krueng Mane were settled, we would return to Surabaya to collect Nyak Ver and ride home together once more to Banda Aceh. Over those seven days, guests came and went in a steady stream to pay their condolences. Even the leader of the Touring Indonesia Harmoni team, together with friends in Banda Aceh, visited us in Krueng Mane.
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