Dewi was not your average young girl. While her friends obsessed over K-pop idols and viral dance challenges, Dewi’s heart belonged to the age-old tales of wayang, a traditional Indonesian puppet theater art form that uses intricately crafted puppets to tell stories from epics and folklore, often accompanied by a gamelan orchestra. Her room was a shrine to these intricate shadow puppets. She had wayangs of all shapes and sizes, from Arjuna with his flawless charm to Buto Ijo, the ogre, who terrified even the bravest. But what Dewi didn’t know was that her favorite hobby was about to become the wildest and most hilarious adventure of her life.
One evening, after a particularly enthusiastic shopping spree at the Pasar Seni, Dewi stumbled home with a new prized possession: an ancient-looking wayang of Petruk, the clownish servant with a nose as long as her dad's fishing rod. The seller had whispered, "Hati-hati ya, ini bukan wayang biasa..." (be careful, this is not your everyday wayang) before scurrying off as if the wind had threatened to knock him over. But Dewi, blinded by her excitement, barely registered the warning.
That night, as the crickets chirped, something unusual happened. The quiet hum of the neighborhood was interrupted by a muffled giggle. Dewi sat up, heart pounding. Did Petruk just... chuckle? She squinted at the puppet, which now seemed to be leaning forward with its fabric arm raised mid-wave.
“Okay, either I need more sleep or you need to stop drinking coffee at 10 PM, Dewi,” she whispered to herself.
The next day, odd things continued. Dewi would find wayangs in positions she hadn’t left them in: Arjuna pointing accusingly at Buto Ijo, Semar with his pot belly facing away in what looked like mock disgust. And the laughter—oh, the laughter grew. It was always Petruk’s, unmistakably squeaky and mischievous. Dewi’s parents thought she was just going through a phase when she burst into giggles at breakfast for no reason, mumbling about “puppets doing puppet things.”
But one evening, things took a dramatic turn. Dewi returned home to find her wayangs scattered on the floor, mid-battle, as if an epic showdown had just occurred. Petruk was standing victorious atop a fallen Buto Ijo, a tiny paper flag that read, “Gotcha!” in what appeared to be Dewi's own handwriting sticking out of his back.
Terrified yet intrigued, Dewi called her best friend, Lita, who showed up armed with a flashlight and a toy knife. They were determined to end this puppet uprising once and for all. “Alright, Petruk, show yourself!” Lita shouted, wielding the knife with all the authority of a toddler defending their cookies.
Petruk did not disappoint. He wobbled, teetered, and then jumped—yes, jumped—from the shelf, his laugh ringing around the room. But as he leapt, he tripped on the corner of Dewi’s math book and fell headfirst into a glass of leftover cola. Silence followed as the two girls stared at the puppet, now soggy and lifeless in the fizzy pool.
Dewi and Lita burst out laughing, tears streaming down their faces. “That’s it? He was defeated by a soda?” Lita gasped between fits of laughter. The haunted wayang's antics, it seemed, were as silly as they were spooky.
From that day on, the puppets behaved. Dewi swore that every now and then, Petruk would flash a grin or give a subtle wink, but she and Lita decided it was all in good fun. After all, what’s life without a little haunted puppet drama?
And so, Dewi kept collecting wayangs, now with a knowing smile, enjoying their silent stories—both the epic and the hilarious.