A Shadow in the Stars

Perhaps a distant shadow among the stars can teach us something. For Timah Langit, seeing a figure in the sky was more than a strange sight. It was a sign that she had to learn, give, and help.

Her story is funny, unusual, and bursting with colour, yet it carries a tenderness that warms the heart. Come meet Timah Langit and discover the wisdom held by a shadow in the stars.

Hi. The villagers call me Timah Langit.

I didn't choose the name. My life chose it for me.

Even as a child, I was a little unusual. By the age of five, I was already sitting in front of the television watching space documentaries and asking questions even Nenek Kuntum couldn't answer.

“Why don't the stars fall on our heads?”

“Why does the moon follow us home?”

“Why don't aliens come down and eat nasi lemak?”

My mother shook her head and rubbed her face.

“This child… if her head isn't in the clouds, it must be in orbit.”

From then on, the family called me Timah Langit. My head was always somewhere above the clouds instead of looking straight ahead.

When people called me, I was slow to answer. But the moment a space documentary narrator spoke, I appeared in front of the television as if summoned.

Once, at a food stall, the whole village was enjoying WWE wrestling. Everyone was shouting, the tables were shaking, and one pakcik was even doing his best impression of The Rock.

Meanwhile, my fingers were itching to switch over to the Space Of Universe documentary. Somehow, I managed to change the channel.

The entire restaurant went silent.

The television narrator declared:

“The universe expands in silence…”

Everyone looked at me.

A pakcik at the front asked, “What planet is this child from?”

My mother pulled my ear until it turned red.

“Timah… are you asking to be body slammed?”

The habit followed me into adulthood. While everyone else was busy scrolling TikTok, I kept watching Space Of Universe until the neighbour couldn't tell whether the house contained a young woman or a NASA scientist.

One night, I saw something that made my heart feel as though a tiny drum were beating inside it.

A shadow floated high above me, shaped like a person dancing slowly among the stars.

I closed my eyes.

Opened them again.

It was still there.

I whispered to myself.

“Ya Allah, please don't let that be a balan balan.”

Suddenly, Amir Lintah appeared behind me. He was the neighbour who earned his nickname because he stuck around whenever no one needed him.

“Timah, why are you standing stiff as a pole?”

“Go home, Amir. I'm conducting scientific research.”

“Research on what? There's nothing there.”

“That's because you're looking at the earth. I'm looking at the sky. Go home.”

Nenek Kuntum, who had somehow appeared in the doorway, tapped her cane against the floor. Her voice was slightly hoarse.

“Timah. Do you remember the stories passed down through our family?”

I frowned. Whenever Nenek began a strange story this way, it was guaranteed to be long.

She continued.

“The old folks used to believe that when something appears and leaves your heart full of questions, there may be something in your life you haven't noticed yet. Don't be too quick to fear it. Look at what you might learn from it.”

I looked up at the sky again.

Amir Lintah whispered.

“If your life changes, maybe you'll stop getting angry with me.”

I glared at him.

“Amir, I swear, if you don't keep quiet, I'll throw you into orbit.”

The shadow returned over the next several nights.

Strangely, whenever I saw it, I found myself thinking about Nenek Kuntum's hands. Ever since I was little, those hands had helped people throughout the village. She massaged aching bodies, cared for pregnant women and stayed beside anyone who needed help.

I began to wonder why I had spent so much of my life searching the sky for answers when there was still so much on earth I had never learned.

I wanted to practise massaging Amir Lintah, but since he wasn't my mahram, I massaged the neighbour's cat, Joyah, instead.

Joyah seemed to approve of my technique. Her tongue even lolled out. She must have been comfortable.

Nenek Kuntum watched me for a moment, then came over carrying a bottle of Cap Kapak medicated oil.

“Timah, if you're genuinely interested, don't go teaching yourself. Caring for people is something you need to learn properly.”

I looked at her.

“You mean you're going to teach me?”

Nenek nodded.

“If you're willing to learn. Massage requires knowledge. Caring for someone in pain requires care and skill. And helping bring a child into the world is an even greater responsibility.”

My mouth fell open.

“You mean… I might become a midwife?”

Nenek grinned.

“You may be a child of the sky, but your feet still need to touch the earth.”

Amir Lintah joined in, entirely shameless.

“If you become a midwife, I can help.”

I answered quietly.

“Amir, it will be enough if you manage not to faint.”

On the final night the shadow appeared, its shape seemed clearer.

It moved slowly in the distance.

I still didn't know what I was actually seeing. Perhaps it was nothing more than clouds and light. Perhaps I had simply spent too long staring at the sky.

But that night, I wasn't afraid anymore.

Instead, I thought about everything Nenek Kuntum had taught me. About hands used to help others, the patience needed to care for someone and the responsibility that comes with knowledge.

I laughed softly as my eyes began to sting.

Inside, I whispered.

“Okay, I understand. I've spent all this time searching for something far away among the stars when there's still so much here on earth I haven't learned.”

The next morning, I began studying properly with Nenek Kuntum.

Massage.

How to ease pain safely.

How to care for pregnant women.

And how to assist with childbirth, learned slowly, carefully and under proper guidance.

Not everything came easily.

Sometimes I got things wrong.

Sometimes Nenek Kuntum smacked my hand and grumbled.

“Timah, people aren't curry puff dough. You can't just press wherever you like.”

I quickly pulled my hand back.

“Yes, teacher.”

Amir Lintah called from outside the house.

“If you need curry puffs for practice, I can help.”

Nenek and I shouted at the same time.

“QUIET, AMIR!”

Little by little, I became more skilled.

Not because the shadow had given me powers.

Not because the sky had handed knowledge down to me.

But because I had finally been willing to learn something that had been close to me all along.

In the end, Timah Langit was no longer just the girl obsessed with space documentaries.

I became a village midwife loved by many.

Amir Lintah still stuck around, though now as my unofficial assistant whose main responsibilities were carrying things and not talking too much.

Joyah still appeared whenever she spotted the medicated oil.

And whenever I finished helping someone, I would look up at the sky with a small smile.

I still didn't know what the shadow among the stars had really been.

Perhaps I didn't need to know everything.

Sometimes something enters our lives not to give us an answer.

Sometimes it is enough to make us stop, look at our lives again and choose a better path.

Inside, I would say softly.

“Thank you for that sign. You came at the exact moment God had chosen.”