The Clock Chimes

A Short Story by Subardjo (1946)

It’s silent in the house…

Suwarni is singing. Her voice is soft and calm, opening up the stillness. She walks slowly, the melody flowing from the depths of her heart—the tender rhythm of a mother. Delicate.

Suwarni is putting her child, Rianto, to sleep. Her voice swirls in the air, soothing the little mischief at her breast. The tiny chubby hands lie still now and the legs that once kicked now rest quietly. Rianto is quiet, only his eyes blinking softly as they gaze up at her—her face always clear and gentle in his sight.

His eyelids narrow, and finally he drifts off, enfolded by his mother’s loving affection.

Suwarni gazes down at her child. Her heart swells as she cherishes the sight of his tiny plump form. His hair, dark and soft, adorns his little head like a crown, framing his face that resembles a doll’s. His small lips meet in a delicate pout, and hands and feet are shaped sweetly. They make her laugh, those tiny limbs flailing in delight, as he babbles sweetly…

The small body lies tranquil, breathing steadily, bathed in his mother’s gaze. Tenderly he surrenders in her embrace, as if he truly knows he is his mother’s very soul, protected and cared for in boundless love.

With a tender heart, she slowly presses her lips to Rianto, her firstborn child.

God is just, she muses. He creates humanity in the tender embrace of woman.

The clock chimes. The sound is clear in the silence. The young mother’s heart stirs, her thoughts awakened. She remembers her husband. It’s been more than a month since he left to answer the call of the motherland, to fulfill his duty to the country. But he hasn’t come home, even though his comrades in arms have all come home. Her husband has not returned. He was captured by the enemy. That’s what his friends explained.

Suwarni moves over to the clock. The time is half-past three. The sound of the clock always awakens memories for her.

Especially during the times when sorrow overcomes her heart. Now, like a newsreel memories from the past flicker through her mind. She thinks first of her childhood. Her parents are living on a plantation because her father works there. She often goes with him to the rubber grove and her heart is filled with happiness. She plays freely, searching for the rubber seeds scattered among the trees and dry leaves. She races against the village children to see who can collect the most. She often wins; her hands are quick, and her eyes sharp.

The atmosphere on the plantation is cool, quiet, and calm. But at the time, she feels happy, surrounded by her parents’ love. That silence remains deeply imprinted in her heart to this day, a passion. At the age of six, she goes to the village school. She remembers clearly how every morning she walks past the plantation owner’s house. Every time she passes, she hears the striking sound of the Westminster clock ringing through the window. Clear, calm, and cheerful, breaking the silence of the rubber forest.

One day, her mother becomes unwell. It became more serious. For days, she sits close to her, watching tears stream down her cheeks as she looked at her. She cries too out of worry.

Her mother goes into labor. But her newborn brother can not be helped. Her mother leaves her… forever. That day as she is led by her father to the grave she walks past the large house. She hears the sound of the chime through the window—murky, dark, and gloomy…

After her mother passes away, her life changes. She often has to listen to sharp words. Cruel hands are frequently applied to her head. She is afraid of her stepmother, and sometimes she spends whole days wanders through the rubber plantation. Her education becomes chaotic!

She is lucky though. One day her mother’s brother arrives from the city. Her uncle asks her father to send her to school in the city and her father agrees. Even though it’s hard to leave the silence of her homestead, she agrees to swap it for the busyness of the city. There she experiences a new life. Her uncle and his wife treat her as their own child, loving her with all their hearts. Perhaps it’s because she reminds them of a female relative who passed away. Because of this good care, the sadness caused by being separated from her father and mother fades.

In her adoptive parents’ house, there is also a Westminster clock. Its chime is the same as the one she heard in the past. It’s that chime that evokes memories of her mother, as if calling from inside the quiet, peaceful rubber plantation. Because it brings back memories of her she loves to hear the clock’s sound. Whether she’s sweeping, eating, or even engrossed in study, she pauses for a moment when the chime sounds. Its clear, calm sound breaks the silence…

After she graduates from elementary school, she enrolls in high school. There she meets Sutanto who is in third grade. Sutanto is a young man who is always cheerful and happy, very mischievous, but kindhearted. Suwarni remembers her friendship with Sutanto. The young man introduced himself to her as a joke. But she does not return the joke; she remains calm and silent, as is her nature, even though she’s attracted by Sutanto’s cheerfulness. After that, Tanto stopped teasing her and is always kind to her, asking if there is anything she’s struggling with at school. It was algebra that always gives her grief. Sutanto explained everything she didn’t understand clearly. And if she doesn’t grasp it, he explains it again, and again. A countless number of times, with a patience that the cheerful, mischievous young man has never shown before.

Suwarni smiled as she remembers this. The wild Sutanto submits to her. The young man’s mischief gradually fades, submerged in her calm, quiet nature, influenced by the nature of the girl he loves.

Since then, the sound of the clock has grown sadder, bringing to her memories of her mother. At the same time, the sound has more clearly shown her the happier times that followed for her.

It has now been a year and a half since she became Sutanto’s wife. The time has truly been filled with happiness for her. Her path through life has led through a garden filled with blooming flowers and fragrant scents. Then, one day, a shimmering light shines through, adding to the beauty of the path she has traveled. Her first child is born. Like a golden chain, strengthening the bonds between husband and wife, as they navigate the oceans of life.

The clock chimes—clear and deep, full of memories. Suwarni gazes down at her son. Rianto is asleep, calm, a rose still in bud, smooth and red.

“I genuinely give you up to go and fight, my dear, to be Rianto’s pride, the pouring together of our two souls,” she whispers. Slowly, she walks to the bed, and gently lays the child down. Then she sits down close to him. There is silence…

Pantja Raja Magazine Year 1, No. 14, 1 Juni 1946

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Author: Subardjo was born April 16, 1925, in Jakarta. His early education began at the Electro Technische School, Djakarta, where he honed his technical skills, and then continued to Secondary Agricultural School in Ungaran, Semarang. His career began in the transportation sector at a railway company, before moving into agriculture on a plantation in Purwakarta. He then joined the Indonesian Shoemakers’ Association Cooperative (IPSI). During the independence revolution, Subardjo was a member of the Army Information Division II, where he served as a junior lieutenant. Source: Gema Tanah Air: Prosa Dan Puisi. 1948. Dikumpulkan dan dengan kata pendahuluan oleh H B Jassin [Echoes of the Motherland: Prose and Poetry. 1948. Collected and with a foreword by H B Jassin], Fourth Printing, Djakarta, Dinas Penerbitan Balai Pustaka, 1959, pp. 157–160.

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