Michelle Kadarusman - Girl of the Southern Sea

First published in Canada and the United States in 2019

Text copyright 2019 Michelle Kadarusman

This edition copyright 2020 Pajama Press Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free 1.800.893.5777.

The publisher gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for its publishing program. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) for our publishing activities.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Kadarusman, Michelle, 1969-, author

Girl of the southern sea / Michelle Kadarusman.

ISBN 978-1-77278-081-9 (hardcover) | 978-1-77278-164-9 (epub)

I. Title.

PS8621.A33G57 2019 jC813.6 C2018-905918-4

Publisher Cataloging-in-Publication Data (U.S.)

Names: Kadarusman, Michelle, 1969-, author.

Title: Girl of the Southern Sea / Michelle Kadarusman.

Description: Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Pajama Press, 2019. |Summary: A 14-year-old girl living in the Jakarta slums who longs to be a writer sees an opportunity to raise money for school fees when she survives a minibus accident and the locals begin saying she has magical good luck. But when the crowd turns against her and she discovers her fathers plan to marry her off to an older man, she must summon courage and conviction to write her own story. Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: ISBN 978-1-77278-081-9 (hardcover)

Subjects: LCSH: Poor children -- Indonesia Juvenile fiction. | Authors Juvenile fiction. | Teenage marriage Juvenile fiction.| BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Social themes / Homelessness & Poverty. | JUVENILE FICTION / Social Themes / Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance.

Classification: LCC PZ7.K333Gi |DDC [F] dc23

Cover ImagesFragoso Marin Fotografia, bayualam, Rosapompelmo/Shutterstock

Cover and book designRebecca Bender
Author photographMicah Ricardo Riedl

Manufactured by Friesens
Printed in Canada

Pajama Press Inc.

181 Carlaw Ave. Suite 251 Toronto, Ontario Canada, M4M 2S1

Distributed in Canada by UTP Distribution

5201 Dufferin Street Toronto, Ontario Canada, M3H 5T8

Distributed in the U.S. by Ingram Publisher Services

1 Ingram Blvd. La Vergne, TN 37086, USA

For girls all over the world,
fighting for the futures they deserve

arak (ARR-ak) | An alcoholic spirit made from the fermentation and distillation of fruit or grain.

Bapak (ba-PA, the k is usually silent) | Father or mister.

batik (BAH-tik) | A technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to cloth. The origins of the technique are from Java in Indonesia. Batik garments play a central role in ceremonies and traditional garments worn by both men and women.

Bubur (bu-BOOR) | An Indonesian congee, or rice porridge, usually made with white rice, chicken and flavored with spices. It is a common breakfast food.

Dangdut (dung-DUT) | A genre of music that is a mix of Indonesian folk, traditional, and popular music.

Dewi (DAY-we) | Princess or Goddess.

Ganja (GUN-ja) | The Indonesian and Hindi word for cannabis or marijuana. The term is also used in many countries around the world as a slang term for cannabis.

Hijab (HEE-jub) | A head covering worn in public by some Muslim women.

Ibu (ee-BOO) | Mother or Mrs.

Jaga (JUG-a) | (Also, penjaga): a caretaker.

kebaya (ke-BY-ya) | A Javanese traditional blouse/dress combination worn by women.

lumpia (LOOM-pia) | A fried spring roll commonly found in Indonesia. It is a savory snack made of a thin pastry wrapper with a filling, usually made up of noodles and vegetables.

martabak (mar-TA-buk) | A stuffed pancake (either sweet or savory) which is a common street food all over Indonesia.

Nyadran (NA-dren) | A traditional Javanese customplacing flowers or food offerings on ancestral gravestonespracticed to welcome the fasting month of Ramadan. The origin of the tradition is traced back to Javas earlier Buddhist-Hindu culture.

Ramadan (rum-a-DAHN) | A holy month of fasting, observed by Muslims worldwide.

rupiah (roo-PEE-ah, both singular and plural) | the basic monetary unit of Indonesia.

sambal (sum-BAL) | A hot relish made with vegetables such as peppers and chillies or fruit and spices.

sarong (SAH-rong) | A traditional cloth worn by women and men throughout Southeast Asia. A sarong is made from batik cloth or printed cotton and shaped in a large rectangle. A sarong can be wrapped to create a variety of styles of dress. It has multiple other uses, from curtain to baby sling.

Jakarta, Indonesia

The Chant

T hree things a girl from the slum is told never to do.

Never go out after dark.

Never walk alone.

Never disobey your father.

Still, I am walking alone after midnight through a tangle of dark alleys. I have to find my bapak and bring him home. I move quickly and carefully through the inky darkness, willing myself into a thin shadow or a wisp of smoke. Lucky I am skinny and small. I wear a hoodie and hunch my shoulders like the boys do.

The slums are dark but not quiet. The humid night air is filled with noise. I hear bottles smashing and men laughing. The sounds echo and distort as they bounce off tin walls.

Its surprising the ordinary things that run through a girls mind when she is scared. Everyday things, like a fried banana recipe. Flour, sugar, butter, egg...bananas! Flour, sugar, butter, eggbananas! I repeat the recipe in my head like a chant because it cheers me up and drowns out the sound of my heart pounding in my ears: Flour, sugar, butter, eggbananas!

Stay here, Bapak had said before he left. Stay here and mind your brother. I will be home soon.

Please dont go out tonight, I pleaded. Dont leave us alone again. I gripped his arm. Im scared. What if those boys come to hurt us or steal from us?

Bapak jerked his arm from my grasp. Do as youre told, he said. Go to sleep. Nothing will happen.