Seekor monyet mendekat saat mobil kami berhenti di pinggir jalan menuju pelabuhan Kuala Langsa. Monyet itu berlagak peminta yang pasrah. Matanya tampak memelas penuh harap.

"Maaf ya, Nyet. Kami lupa beli makanan," kata saya begitu kaca mobil terbuka. "Lain kali kami akan bawa makanan banyak. Sabar, ya." Tidak biasanya kami merasa begitu bersalah pada monyet yang baru kami kenal itu.

A monkey approached as our car pulled up by the side of the road to the port of Kuala Langsa. The monkey pretended to be a resigned solicitor. His eyes looked hopefully pitiful.

"Excuse me, Nyet, we forgot to buy food," I said as the windshield opened. "Next time we'll bring plenty of food." We do not usually feel so guilty about the new monkey we know.

Monyet itu menatap tajam ke wajah kami, secara bergantian. Tak seorang pun di antara kami yang berniat turun dari mobil. Fauzi, yang bertindak sebagai sopir, memilih pergi dari tempat itu, sembari mencari lokasi parkir sekaligus spot yang bagus untuk berselfie ria.

Mobil melaju, dan berhenti di sebuah papan yang sudah disulap sebagai tempat duduk, bekas lapak berjualan. Dari arah pelabuhan, mobil kami parkir tepat di sisi sebelah kanan jalan. Rupanya, monyet yang tadi berharap makanan mengikuti kami dari belakang. Saya yakin dia belum makan (atau karena rakus?) sehingga mau saja mengejar mobil kami. Dia berada tak jauh dari posisi kami.

The monkey stared intently at our faces, alternately. None of us would ever get out of the car. Fauzi, who acted as a driver, chose to leave the place, while searching for parking spots as well as a good spot for selfie.

The car drove, and stopped on a board that had been conjured up as a seat, a former stall selling. From the harbor, our car parked right on the right side of the road. Apparently, the monkey who had been expecting food followed us from behind. I'm sure he has not eaten (or because he's greedy?) So he could just chase our car. He was not far from our position.

Dia mungkin saja masih berharap ada sisa makanan untuknya. Tapi, benar-benar tak ada makanan dari kami untuknya hari itu. Harapannya mulai memudar ketika melihat kami yang turun dari mobil tidak menenteng apapun kecuali handphone. Setelah merasa bahwa harapannya mendapatkan makanan tidak kesampaian, dia meloncat ke dalam sampan nelayan. Kebetulan ada tiga sampan (bahasa Aceh: jalo) yang ditambatkan di alur.

Kami perhatikan tingkah monyet itu dengan seksama. Cara dia meloncat ke sana ke mari mengingatkan kita pada karakter Gollum (alias Smeagol) dalam film The Lord of The Ring, terutama saat adegan mencuri ikan di kolam markas pasukan Mordor.

He may still be hoping for some food left for him. But there was absolutely no food for us that day. His hopes began to fade when he saw us who got out of the car did not carry anything except mobile phones. After feeling that his hope of getting food did not come true, he jumped into a fishing boat. Incidentally there are three sampan (Acehnese language: jalo) which is moored in the groove.

We noticed the monkey's behavior carefully. The way he bolted back and forth reminds us of the character of Gollum (aka Smeagol) in The Lord of the Ring film, especially during the scene of stealing fish in the pool of Mordor troops' base.

Di atas sampan itu, hasrat sang monyet menikmati makan sore terpuaskan setelah seekor kerapu kecil yang ditinggalkan seorang nelayan berhasil diperolehnya. Dia merobek ikan itu dengan kasar dan memakannya dengan lahap. Kami memantau aksi tak biasa itu dari jauh. Biasanya, monyet hanya makan buah-buahan.

Ikan kerapu kecil itu tak dihabiskannya. Dia membuang satu bagian ikan yang dirobek tadi ke dalam alur. Kami menduga, monyet itu sudah kenyang. Namun, sejurus kemudian dia kembali memeriksa seisi boat seolah mencari barang miliknya yang hilang. Di bagian bawah papan kayuh, dia dapati seekor kepiting bangka (di tempat kami, disebut bieng cakah). Dia sempat kesulitan memegang kepiting karena beberapa kali, kepiting itu mencakar dan mencoba menggigitnya. Setelah kaki kepiting itu dipatahkan, sekali lagi, dia makan dengan lahapnya.

Above the canoe, the monkey's eagerness enjoys a satisfying afternoon meal after a small grouper left by a fisherman successfully acquired. He ripped the fish roughly and ate it with gusto. We monitor the unusual action from afar. Usually, monkeys eat only fruits.

The small grouper was not spent. He threw away one part of the torn fish into the groove. We suspect the monkey is full. However, after a while he returned to checking the whole boat as if looking for his lost possession. At the bottom of the paddleboards, he found a crab (in our place, called bieng cakah). He had a hard time holding the crabs for a few times, the crabs clawed and tried to bite her. After the crab's legs were broken, once again, he ate his heartily.

Segala tingkah polah monyet itu kami abadikan dengan ponsel. Dia seperti sudah terbiasa menghadapi kamera. "Si Ben nyan sep jago akting ka," kata @iamgepe yang memotret monyet itu dengan kamera Sony yang ditentengnya.

Kami memang sengaja datang ke hutan mangrove Kuala Langsa, sore itu. Bagi saya, ini adalah kali kedua saya berkunjung ke sana setelah kunjungan pertama tahun 2007. Banyak hal sudah berubah.

Hutan mangrove ini hanya berjarak sekitar 5 kilometer dari pusat kota. Kami berkendara melalui jalan yang tembus ke arah pelabuhan Kuala Langsa. Jalannya sudah beraspal mulus. Kami pergi ke sana menjelang Ashar, sehingga banyak menjumpai muda-mudi berseragam sekolah lalu-lalang di jalan. Umumnya mereka pergi berkelompok, atau bersama pasangan. Di sejumlah spot bagus, mereka tak lupa mengabadikan kebersamaan mereka dengan berselfie ria.

All the whims of the monkeys we had with the phone. He was used to facing cameras. "Si Ben nyan sep jago akting ka (like a professional actor)," said @iamgepe who photographed the monkey with a Sony camera that he took.

We had come to Kuala Langsa mangrove forest that afternoon. For me this is my second visit there after my first visit in 2007. Things have changed.

This mangrove forest is only about 5 kilometers from the city center. We drive through a translucent road towards Kuala Langsa port. The road has been paved smoothly. We went there before Ashar, so there were many young uniformed schoolers passing by on the street. Generally they go in groups, or with a partner. In a number of good spots, they do not forget to immortalize their togetherness with selfie.

Awalnya kami ingin melihat penangkaran kerapu. Teman kami, Fauzi, seorang dosen di Al Muslim Bireuen, punya tugas penelitian tentang usaha budidaya ikan kerapu. Dia butuh data awal sebagai bahan penelitian. Setelah tanya ke sana kemari, lokasi budidaya kerapu bisa dicapai dengan menaiki perahu ke arah laut. Jaraknya sekitar 5 kilometer, dengan ongkos sekali naik perahu Rp10.000 per orang, itu pun harus dari TPI.

Kami ke sana menjelang sore, sehingga tak banyak waktu yang kami punya. Lagi pula seusai magrib kami sudah harus berangkat pulang ke Banda Aceh. "Untuk ke sana, kita harus jadwalkan waktu secara khusus, tidak boleh buru-buru seperti ini," kata @iamgepe ketika kami sudah kembali masuk ke dalam mobil.

At first we wanted to see a grouper breeding. Our friend, Fauzi, a lecturer at Al Muslim Bireuen, has research assignments on grouper fish farming. He needs initial data as research material. After asking around, the location of grouper cultivation can be reached by boarding a boat towards the sea. The distance is about 5 kilometers, with a one-time boat ride Rp10.000 per person, it must be from TPI.

We went there in the afternoon, so there was not much time we had. After all, after sunset we had to go back to Banda Aceh. "To get there, we have to schedule time in particular, should not rush like this," said @iamgepe when we were back into the car.

Bahkan niat berkeliling di dalam hutan mangrove itu pun urung kami lakukan. Padahal, ingin sekali kami menyusuri kawasan hutan bakau yang disebut terlengkap di dunia sambil mencandai monyet yang jadi penunggu tetap di sana.

Dibilang kecewa, ya jelas kecewa. Tapi, tingkah polah monyet bangka di atas sampan nelayan membuat kami sedikit lega. Kami pulang dari sana menjelang magrib. Kami berharap akan kembali lagi ke sana, ada janji yang harus ditunaikan: janji pada seekor monyet.

Even the intention to get around in the mangrove forest was our undo anyway. In fact, we really want to explore the world's most complete mangrove forest, while marking the monkeys who are so keepers there.

Arguably disappointed, yes obviously disappointed. But, the behavior of monkeys on the boat of the fisherman made us a little relieved. We came home from there before sunset. We hope to be back there, there is a promise to be made: a promise to a monkey. []