One night in 2021, Raka received a shocking call from his friend in the village.
“Your younger brother, Danu, got caught by the police,” said his friend.
Raka was stunned. He tried calling home over and over again, but no one picked up. The next day, his father, Mr. Wiryo, finally explained what had happened.
Danu had a friend named Bimo who worked at a restaurant along the Telaga Arum tourist road. Since Bimo’s motorcycle had an expired plate, he didn’t dare ride it on the main road. Instead, he left it at Danu’s house every day and went to work by hitching a ride with a coworker.
Everything went on normally, until one night around 8 PM. The house was quiet—Mother had already gone to bed, Danu was out having coffee with friends, and Mr. Wiryo had just returned from driving his public transport.
But as he entered the alley, he was startled to see Bimo’s motorcycle being loaded onto a police truck.
“What on earth is going on here?” he muttered.
Without stopping by the house, he immediately rushed to the police station. Not long after, Danu and Bimo also arrived there.
It turned out the whole thing started with two neighbors from a different RT (community unit) but living just a few houses away.
There was Mr. Darmawan, nicknamed “Thanos” by locals for his stern, unsmiling face. And then there was Joko, a young man around Danu’s age but known for being stiff, close-minded, and unfriendly. People often called him “Joker” because he liked to stir up trouble.
Without asking Danu’s family, Thanos had snapped a photo of Bimo’s motorcycle and posted it in the RT WhatsApp group.
“This might be a stolen bike. Its plate has been expired for two years,” he wrote.
Joker quickly chimed in,
“Just report it to the police! Let them learn a lesson for keeping stolen goods here.”
The RT head, without confirming with anyone, contacted the police. And that was why the motorcycle ended up being hauled away.
When Mr. Wiryo arrived at the scene, he immediately told the officers,
“This isn’t stolen. That’s my son’s friend’s bike.”
But Joker cut him off aggressively,
“Explain it at the station, Sir. A stolen bike can’t just sit here.”
Wiryo, with his dark skin, long beard, and intimidating look, already had to restrain his anger. The police, who happened to know him well, tried to defuse the situation.
“Come on, Mbah Wiryo, let’s just go to the station. We can talk it over with some coffee.”
Meanwhile, back at home, Mother was still sound asleep, completely unaware of the commotion.
At the station, things calmed down. Mr. Wiryo lit a cigarette, listening as the police explained the full chronology. Soon after, Danu and Bimo showed up carrying five boxes of duck rice—no one knew where they got the idea. They handed them out to the officers.
After a long clarification, the truth was clear: it was all just a misunderstanding. The only condition was that Bimo had to renew his expired plate soon. The matter was resolved peacefully.
The next morning, Mr. Wiryo went to Thanos’s house. Instead of scolding, he offered advice.
“If you’re suspicious about something, why not ask us first? You’ve got my number, my son’s too. Why take matters into your own hands? As neighbors, we should keep harmony. Talk things through first.”
Thanos eventually apologized. But Joker, the one who fueled the whole mess, never admitted any fault. To this day, Danu and his family avoid greeting him whenever they cross paths.
This whole incident became a lesson in the neighborhood: small misunderstandings can blow up into big trouble when people rely only on suspicion and group chat gossip.
Photo by Agus Karta on Unsplash
