Jakarta, August 26th 1967, 08:13 AM
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[Door knocking three times]
[Door opening]
Gandaria
Mr. Setjadi? Come in! Come in! Please have a seat. Coffee? Tea?
[Sofa squeaking]
Servant
Just tea, Sir. No sugar.
[Sofa squeaking]
Gandaria
Oh, very well. Asri! Bring him a cup of tea! No sugar! Ah, yes. Good morning, Mister... Mr. Setjadi, isn't it? I don't want to get it mixed up, you know. Hahaha!
Hamba
Yes, Sir. It's Setjadi.
Gandaria
Ah, blessings, blessings. I was afraid that I've called you by the wrong name. There were lots, Sir, whom Mr. Erik talked about. There were... who were there? At that time? Mr. Bedjo, Mr. Tjandra, Mr. Malik... I couldn't even remember your name being mentioned. Only your face, I reckoned. But I do remember how Mr. Erik recommended you the most. The overachiever. The most trusted.
Hamba
Mr. Erik was just being nice, Sir.
Gandaria
Ah! And humble as well! Hahaha! Good news! Good news! Well, Mr. Setjadi, have you talked again with Mr. Erik?
Hamba
I wouldn't be here this morning if we didn't.
Gandaria
Ah, correct! It is, rather, my impoliteness, to ask things with obvious answers. Hahaha! Oh, do you smoke?
Hamba
I do, Sir.
Gandaria
Ah, good. I have a friend then. Do you find cloves agreeable?
Hamba
Those are, in fact, my kind of cigarettes, Sir.
Gandaria
Wonderful! We have the same taste as well. Truly! I was only looking to hire you a moment before, and apparently we now can be smoking friends. Hahaha!
[Bare footsteps approaching]
[Ceramics thumping wooden table]
Asri
The tea, Mr. Setjadi, Mr. [NAME REDACTED]
YOU ARE READING
As We Waited for the Servant: Forgive Me, Father, for I Will Sin
Historical FictionAt the end of the 70s, a year after the mass killing of communists in a Southeastern nation named Indonesia, a shadowy division from the military recruited a new soldier to be a spy.
