Ok, before I begin this final chapter in Suhendra's saga, I just want to thank everyone who has been reading it from the beginning. This has become a much larger project than I imagined, but I have loved every second of it, and hope that you have all enjoyed the journey so far. If you have NOT read the previous pieces of the Epic yet, I will link them below for your convenience:

 

• The Epic of Suhendra Part 1 - The Newly-Conscientious Objector

• The Epic of Suhendra Part 2 - Did We just Become Best Friends?

• The Epic of Suhendra Part 3 - Insults and Injuries

• The Epic of Suhendra Part 4 - To Dust you Shall Return

• The Epic of Suhendra Part 5 - Parting is (Ten Years of) Such Sweet Sorrow

 

And now on to The Epic of Suhendra Part 6 - Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells your Story:

Suhendra stared at the man, slack-jawed. This was Sudiroprojo? The oldest living man in the world? He didn't seem special - he wasn't some great King, or a fierce warrior, or a brilliant scholarly priest - he was just some guy in breezy clothes standing on the beach with a goblet of palm wine, relaxing. But if this was truly him, then this was the end of Suhendra's journey. If Sudiroprojo couldn't help him find eternal life, then Suhendra was truly doomed... eventually. In the way that literally every human is doomed.

"You are Sudiroprojo?" Suhendra managed.

The man laughed. "That's what they call me. And you are...?"

"My name is Suhendra, Raja of the Kingdom of Doebi."

"And what brings you here, great King?" Sudiroprojo replied, his tone that of slight mockery.

Unfortunately this was not the question to ask Suhendra, because he walked the man through his entire journey and spared no details, from his beginnings as a great tyrant, to his fight and reconciliation with Guntur, how his rule changed, his depression about death, he and Guntur fighting the Monster of Ponderet and building a great temple to Cozmera, their fight with the Gajah Syurga, Guntur's death, the ten years of searching Suhendra had just done, and finally his journey here from the Garden of the Gods.

He looked at Sudiroprojo. "So, can you do it? Can you help me find the secrets of everlasting life? Teach me to be like you, and to never see death?"

Sudiroprojo took a big sip of wine, staring out over the ocean, letting Suhendra wait in anticipation. Finally he spoke.

"Suhendra, there is no permanence. Do we build a house to stand forever? Do we seal a contract to be binding for all time? Do two brothers divide an inheritance to keep it forever?"

Sudiroprojo took another sip of wine. Suhendra looked around, confused. Was that an answer? he thought, looking at the Ferryman. The Ferryman just shrugged, he was just as confused as Suhendra.

"Ok..." Suhendra tried, "but you survived the Great Flood. And were given eternal life by the Gods. That seems pretty permanent to me. How did that happen?"

Sudiroprojo smiled, and offered Suhendra a goblet of wine. "Now that," he began, "was a long story."

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"Many, many, many years ago, the world looked far different than it does now. There were no great oceans going out into the distance - though there were smaller lakes, ponds, and rivers - instead the entire world was a paradise, kept watered and beautiful by the Gods. Imagine the garden you passed through to get here, but endless in every direction. It was beautiful, and man wanted for naught.

Unfortunately, this meant that humans were... enjoying themselves. A lot. And they multiplied and multiplied to numbers henceforth unseen. With no predators to threaten them, no diseases to cut them down early, and no starvation to keep them in check, we spread across the world. And we were happy.

The Gods, however, were not so pleased. You see, there were so many humans running around that the world was loud. Very loud. And smelly. Even from Tanah Tuhan the Gods could hear and smell all of the humans running around on our world. This was an annoyance to many Gods, but they weren't going to do anything about it... until Ponderet got involved.

You see, Ponderet was still fuming that her first plot to destroy all of humanity failed. She saw humans as nothing but constant reminders of her husband's infidelity, and she hated them. But she too seemed content to just simmer in her rage. That is, until the only thing on Doebi she cared about died.

She had a pet snake, a massive beast of a serpent, that lived in the land of the mortals, enjoying life but not harming them. One day, however, a group of humans set out to cut down a tree to make a fire to keep them warm for the night. But when they started chopping away at the tree, they noticed that it began to bleed. It was a giant snake! Ponderet's snake, to be exact, although they did not know this. Rejoicing, they chopped away at the lethargic snake, who was too tired and full of food to move, until it fell over dead. The men carried the giant snake back to their camp, where they roasted it on a fire and had a feast.

This was the last straw for Ponderet. These smelly humans had gone too far this time! Secretly, avoiding Teç and those close to him, she began to plot with the other Gods who were annoyed at how loud and annoying the humans were. They resolved together to clear them out once and for all, by flooding Doebi until no humans were left alive.

And it would have worked, too. Luckily for us, Sqreteq - the God of Navigation and Safe Travels - was not as on board with this idea as Ponderet thought. He liked the humans. So he quickly went down to see his friend Sudiroprojo to warn him. He instructed him how to build a massive enclosed canoe that could fit him, his wife, his children, their servants, and all the animals they could find, and ride out the flooding.

They finished just in time. As soon as they began to feel the rain, they all piled into the canoe, and closed the hatch. Within an hour, the rain had turned into a downpour. By nighttime, the downpour was like a waterfall. All the Gods watched on in horror as men, women, and children across Doebi were swept underwater, only to surface face-down. Even the Gods that had agreed to this wept as they saw the horror that they had helped to unfold. Within two days, the last humans, paddling on the surface of the water, could tread water no more, and fell beneath the waves, only to rise again a few minutes later, completely still. All of humanity sat on the surface of these new waters, joined by the corpses of every animal imaginable. Then, after three days, the rain stopped. The world was quiet once more. Humanity, it seemed, was gone. And as the Gods looked over the great plain of water, bodies strewn as far as the eye could see, they continued to weep, horrified at what they had done to their people.

Once the rain had stopped, however, Sudiroprojo threw open the hatch and looked around. The world he knew was gone. Instead, in every direction, as far as the eye could see, was water. He sailed onward for a week, looking for land. When he found none, he was content to drift, and released three birds. The first bird he released was a thrush, which returned after a day, so he kept drifting. Then he released a second bird - an owl - but it too returned. Finally, he released an eagle, who never returned. Then he knew that he was near land. He opened the hatch, and in the distance sighted a mountain cresting above the waves - the only land high enough to survive the floods. He headed straight for it.

Making landfall, Sudiroprojo made his way up the mountain with a cow to give sacrifice to the Gods as thanks. The Gods sensed this immediately - someone, somehow, had survived! They all rushed to the mountain, where they found Sudiroprojo with the cow. He sacrificed it, and all rejoiced, and joined for a feast. All except Ponderet, who saw what was happening and descended in fury. One had survived, and she would not let this stand. But as she approached Sudiroprojo, ready to strike him down, Teç rose to stand in her way. He was then joined by Sqreteq, and Cozmera, and eventually all the other Gods who stood between Ponderet and the object of her anger. They had all seen the waters, the bodies - they had all made a horrible mistake, and this would end here. Screaming in frustration, she returned to Tanah Tuhan, having failed once again.

After the feast, Cozmera approached Sudiroprojo, and made him a promise. If he and his wife were to work to repopulate the world, and fill it again with humans, then she could promise them the gift of keabadian and ensure that they would never see death. Sudiroprojo agreed, and as the floodwater receded to the level we see today, he and his wife got to work."

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"And that brings us to today," he finally began to finish, "and with more than enough people in the world now to do the reproduction on their own, we have retired to a lifetime of eternal relaxation. That is how we received eternal life."

Suhendra stood up excitedly. "So it is possible, then? I can be given the gift of immortality!"

Sudiroprojo shook his head. "You don't understand - I was given this gift through a communion with all the Gods - who would call an audience for you, and what could you give them that they do not already have?"

But Suhendra begged and pleaded with Sudiroprojo, going on for almost two hours. Finally, he relented.

"Fine," he sighed, "perhaps I could be persuaded to call an audience with the Gods for you. And maybe, for someone like you, they could agree on an acceptable trade. But first, you must do something for me."

Suhendra smiled, awaiting his task. Whatever it was, he could handle it - he had to.

"What you must do," Sudiroprojo continued, "is stay awake."

"W... what?" Suhendra stammered.

"Just what I said - stay awake. I want you to sit here, on this beautiful beach, alone with your thoughts, for five days. If at the end of the five days you have remained awake, I will call the Gods together for you."

Suhendra couldn't believe it - all he had to do was stay awake? He had been awake for the last three days travelling through the mountain pass, the garden of the gods, and across the waters of death. Now, after ten years seeking his goal, all he had to do was not sleep? This was going to be too easy.

Suhendra smiled, and happily accepted the offer. He found a nice comfortable spot on the beach and sat down, wine in hand. And as he sat there, listening to the calm lapping of waves against the shore, a gentle breeze keeping him perfectly comfortable, he felt happier than he had in a long time. He closed his eyes to just breathe in the experience...

And opened them again with a start as Sudiroprojo shook him, shaking his head and looking at him pitifully. Suhendra was annoyed, and confused - was this part of the test? Why was he shaking him? Then he looked around - why was he surrounded by five bowls of porridge, all cold and a few of them beginning to mold?

He demanded that Sudiroprojo explain, and he did. "You fell asleep almost immediately," he reported sadly, "and slept for five days straight. I had my wife make you a meal for each night that you slept."

Suhendra couldn't believe it, he wouldn't believe it. He hadn't come so far to fail because he fell asleep! He rushed over to the Ferryman, and collapsed in anguish. The nearly destroyed prow of the canoe was now fully repaired. It had happened. He had failed. He had lost his last, best chance at immortality.

Sadly, he bid Sudiroprojo goodbye, and began heading to the boat. But before he could, Sudiroprojo's wife had an idea, and whispered something in her husband's ear. He smiled and nodded, and in a moment she had left and returned with something pink and leafy.

"This is my final gift to you, Suhendra," he began, "and while it may not be eternal life, it is a secret of the Gods."

He handed Suhendra the plant. "This is the tumbuhan hidup. Eating even a small portion of this flower will shed the years off of your body like a heavy burden. It may not be immortality, but if you ration this carefully, you could live for hundreds, even THOUSANDS of years."

Suhendra was elated. This was exactly what he was looking for. Literally, he went looking for this exact plant half a decade ago! He thanked the couple profusely, and joined the Ferryman back on his boat. He would wait until he got back to Sarawak to partake of this great gift - he would share it with all the elders of the city, and together they would be young again, and could build the greatest civilization the world had ever seen.

He arrived back in the garden of the gods after a day of travel, then spent another day walking back through the mountain passage - this time, there were no hantus to try and deceive him. As he reached the entranceway he was greeted once again by the snake warriors, who nodded to him as he passed. Then, as he turned around, he watched them walk through the doorway, and the passage disappeared. It turns out that when Cozmera said that no mortal would ever be coming back to the Garden of the Gods, she intended to make sure of it.

But it did not matter - Suhendra had the flower, and he was finally happy. He made his way out of the jungle, back to the shore, across the sea, and back to the land he knew. Finally he was less than a day away from Sarawak, where he would return as King, and help bring the gift of youth to his people. Then he looked down - he was filthy! That was certainly not a way for a King to appear. Then he spotted a cool pond, and decided to take a bath. He removed his clothes, and the pack with the plant, placed them next to the water, and waded in.

He was immediately shocked to feel something squirming under his foot in the mud. He pulled it out - it was a snake, not a venemous one as far as he knew, but a serpent nonetheless. Normally, as it was a servant of Ponderet, he should have killed the snake on the spot. But he was feeling forgiving today, and he looked at the snake - it was old, scarred, and wrinkled. It would do no harm to anyone. Tossing it out of the water, he lowered himself into the pond, and began to bathe.

He spent far longer in the pond than expected, and emerged feeling refreshed and ready to return to Sarawak. But as he began to put on his clothes, he screamed in shock - another snake had crawled into his things, this one much younger than the one before. He grabbed it and threw it into the jungle, and reached for his pack. Then he stopped dead in his tracks. Inside the pack, he didn't find the flower he was expecting - he found an old, scarred, wrinkled snakeskin, freshly shed.

Suhendra panicked - emptying everything out of his bag, scarfing down the scant edges of the leaves the snake had left, even licking the inside of the bag, but nothing happened. He couldn't believe it, he had done so much, come so far, but his quest - so very close to being finished - was now a complete and utter failure. He fell to the ground, and the Great King of Doebi wept.

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Eventually, Suhendra returned to Sarawak, and the people were elated to have their King back. They didn't care that he would die someday - welcome to the exclusive club that includes every human ever besides two people on an island across the waters of death. And for Suhendra, his quest was complete. It may have been a failure, but the door for him was now forever closed - the passageway to the Garden would not open, even if it did the Ferryman would not take him back across, and even if THAT happened Sudiroprojo would not be able to give him eternal life. Now, the Great King would have to come to grips with the idea that he too would one day die.

And he began to find that peace, and for the first time since he buried Guntur in the ground, Suhendra began to live again. He returned to being a fair, just, and good ruler to his people. He found a wife, got married, and had children. He never again went on a quest for immortality, instead beginning to enjoy the life he already had.

We don't know the first person he told his story to, the story of Guntur, his death, Suhendra's quest and its failures, but that person began to tell others that the King had a fantastic story to tell. Soon, he was telling groups of two or three people, then two or three dozen, then two or three hundred. Everyone began to learn the tale of Suhendra and his quest for Eternal Life.

Then, one day, while passing through a small town far south of Sarawak, he happened across a man telling a story to a group of children. He gasped - it was his story. They were saying his name, and though they did not know him, they knew of him. He thought back to one of his first conversations with Guntur - that immortality came from people remembering his name, his story, and the good deeds he did here on Doebi, and smiled. His old friend was right. In the end, they had found their immortality.

Suhendra eventually died, many years later, and he too came to be in Tanah Mati, the land of the dead. He walked to the great mountain, opened the door at its base, and came inside. He made his way past the hundreds of tables filled with men and women covered in dust, and sat down at one with a single free spot. He turned to the man next to him, a face that he knew all too well. And there, in the land of eternal dust, Suhendra and Guntur turned to each other once again, and smiled.

"And that, kids, is the story of Suhendra. He was a great man, a great ruler, and an inspiration to all who heard his story. The story of a man who, despite all odds and obstacles placed before him, would not give up on his quest until the very end. Then, despite his failures, he found a way to live in peace with his situation, continued to be a great King, and spent the rest of his days in happiness. And though many, many, many years have passed since his time, we are still speaking of his name, and tellying his story. In that way, he finally found the immortality he had spent so long searching for. The end."

The children were overjoyed with the story, and then they, like many before them, rushed out to tell all of their friends this great new story. And so it would be, from now until the end of time.