Free Mountain of Fire by Radhika Puri

references to Priestess Aini in their story about Taufan that night. The villagers knew that Taufan was Petuluk, but they had not heard a word about how their grandmother was now an important priestess in the tribe.
    She waited till Agus got back, took a deep breath, and told her mother everything.
    â€œWhat does your Ibu have to do with all of this?” asked Fitri.
    Ibu sighed. She knew she would have to tell her children one day. Perhaps the time had come. Ibu went to her tiny bundle of things she had taken with her when leaving the house, and took out a diary.
    The pages were faded, worn with age, but the writing was clear, written in a strong hand.
    â€œThis was written by your grandmother. My father gave it to me when I was much older. She wrote everything in this diary during the time she was in our village, after leaving her tribe.”
    â€œHow old were you, Ibu, when she left and went back?” asked Agus.
    â€œSix,” Ibu said. “I barely remember her.”
    Agus tried to picture what it would be like if his mother left them. He decided he did not want to think about that at all.
    Ibu continued, “She wrote about why she left her people and why she went back. She could not stay away. She missed her people too much. She could not adjust to the way of life here. The Petuluk, you know, don’t even have electricity. Besides, she felt... different. Like she had to do something back home. Something she was needed for.”
    Ibu paused, staring at the pages.
    â€œThe last few entries are about the two of you,” Ibu said. “She talks of two grandchildren. The girl would be like her, would have her ability to connect with nature, to understand things. The boy would have something wrong with him but be gifted with a special connection with the Merapi and be ‘quick-footed’ on its slopes. Then she writes that one day, the two of you would find something ‘valuable’ and bring good fortune to the village.”
    â€œHow could she possibly know that, Ibu?” Fitri asked.
    â€œWell... she had a strange gift, my father said. She always seemed to know things. The Petuluk people are often like that. That’s why people think they are strange. I think people in our village must have thought that too. Maybe that’s why she could not fit in and didn’t like it.”
    Fitri was quiet. She still hadn’t told her mother about the dreams, but now was the time. The old woman she had seen sitting under the tree in her dream – that must have been her grandmother. She told her mother everything from the beginning, the twirling under the tree, the “monster” chasing her and the eruption.

    Ibu listened quietly, but did not seem very surprised. “Yes, the tree fits,” she said thoughtfully.
    â€œWhat do you mean?” Fitri asked. “Is it a particular tree I was dreaming about?” “I’m not sure. But the banyan is a sacred tree for our people. I think it is special for the Petuluk also. I have heard some stories about a special place in the mountains where the priests go to understand things. But no one is sure, because no one has actually been there.”
    Fitri asked the question she had been waiting to ask, “Will we ever meet her?”
    Ibu shook her head. “The tribe is isolated and I hear from Pak Eko that your grandmother is now a priestess. That is a very important position in the tribe and it is a great honour for a woman to get it. I would love to see her again but I don’t think we ever will.”
    Agus ran and gave his mother a big hug. She affectionately tugged his hair.

    Fitri said, “Pak Eko knew about all of this, Ibu. He knew I’ve been having these dreams. He asked Agus and I if we wanted to be the Guardians of the Merapi.”
    â€œGuardians of the Merapi, good gracious!”
    But before Ibu could say anything else, Ayah walked into the hut with Pak Andersen and another man. It