“Why the sudden interest in Parangteritis?” is part of a writing assignment for the travel lit class I took at the Writers Centre. I haven’t finished it, but I wanted to share a piece with you to test the waters. Read it and let me know your thoughts. I welcome all feedback.
“Why the sudden interest with Parangteritis?”
my mom asked whilst helping me put last-minute items in the 46L backpack.
I shrugged before adding “It’s just, you know, I have never been there”, while simultaneously taking out the things I would never need from the backpack.
Outside, the car was waiting to take me to the airport; there wasn’t enough time for a ramble about my decades-long fascination towards the mysticism surrounding the most visited beaches in Indonesia, outside of Bali. Nor about the Sea Goddess that thousands make the pilgrimage to from every corner of the country yearly.
She gave me one last disapproving look and hugged me goodbye with two pieces of advice: a motherly “be careful!” and a Parangteritis-specific one, “don’t wear anything green!” Reminding me about one of the most famous and widely believed myths in Indonesia.
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