Wajo

Two old acquaintances walk by an artificial river, reminiscing about a long-lost mutual friend. Years ago, local police took that friend, Wajo, into custody for protesting the construction of a reservoir over his farm land; he was never released. Originally written in Indonesian by Tjak S. Parlan and published in InterSastra, this short story uses vanishing as a metaphor to reveal the myriad ways that forced development damages both natural environments and the people who live off them.

Steeped in the language of beauty and loss, “Wajo” has a transportive quality that takes its reader to the same habitat whose loss the story laments. It demands to be read as a photograph that points to the absence preserved within its frame.

— Raaza Jamshed for Guernica Global Spotlights

We walk along the reservoir, talking about an old friend.

Every now and then, we pause for a moment and look at the expanse of the water where, in some parts, water hyacinths cover the surface. The weed scatters quietly in the peak of the dry season. The late afternoon wind blows stronger, cold and dry. At times, your pace quickens, so I