"Where is your destination, Namboru?" asked the driver.
"Parbaba, Amang", said Inang, "Please remind us once we get there".
"Alright, Namboru", answered the driver.
In a few minutes, we were already inside the mini bus, moving nicely along the smooth road toward Parbaba.
It took about half an hour to reach Parbaba from Simanindo.
Oh no, we were taken passed the intersection where Inang and I supposed to get off.
"Can you bring us back to that intersection, Amang?" asked Inang. The driver refused to do so.
We were a bit upset, but luckily, a becak came toward the direction we were heading off. We got into the becak and it brought us up until we reached the house of Opung Lumban Na Hot's. Lumban Na Hot is about 1 km toward the east from the main road. Most likely, Inang and I would walk from that intersection till we got to Lumban Na Hot, but, since we got off passed it, and ended up in a becak, we asked the becak driver to bring us up to Lumban Na Hot.
Opung Lumban Na Hot was out side when we got there. She probably heard the sound of becak approaching her house. She was waiting for us and many others, that day, even before.
At home, we already met Opung's children who came from Perantauan, diasporic places. Toward evening and night, some more relatives would be arriving too. I knew some of them, relatives who were closer to me in kinship such as Opung Depok, both of them, grandma and granpa. They live in Depok, West Java. Bou and KelaRafael and their daughter Betseyba. The rest were not that familiar to me but sure they all related to Sihaloho Clan.
The next day, we all were headed to Binanga Borta since one of Manihuruk's family member passed away. The mother of the one who passed away is the sister of my great grandpa. That's why Sihaloho Clan members must attend the Adat event to honor the one who passed away and also, in particular, Manihuruk Clan. Sihaloho folks are their hula-hula, the ones who give them blessings according to our Batak cultural ethics and rules.
