Page 57 - B. Ing_Antologi Cerpen Xl-6

the baht float freely after its foreign reserves dried up.

The crisis quickly spread to other Southeast Asian
countries, including Indonesia. In a matter of months, the

rupiah’s exchange rate to the US dollar
plummeted—from around 2,600 to 4,000, and by January

1998, it reached 17,000.

The crisis immediately eroded people’s

purchasing power. Prices for basic necessities
soared—flour, eggs, butter, milk, and other baking

ingredients we depended on. Our once-busy bakery

became quiet. Many customers who used to buy our
bread regularly now had to choose between buying rice

or just sampling sweet bread. Things got harder. More
and more people could no longer afford our products.

And it wasn’t just our customers—our employees

began to leave one by one. There was nothing we could

do. We couldn’t afford to pay their salaries anymore, and
the increasing rent burdened us further. Slowly, the

bakery we had once been so proud of began to crumble
under the weight of the uncontrollable crisis. My mother

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