CUTS
Cantoe....

“Isn't in Islam, a man can marry more than one woman?” mala asked with a look as if she was challenging Khalid.

The corner of Khalid's lips was smallly attracted to the girl who seemed reluctant to give up. “Are you ready to be combined? I'm not sure you want to share a husband with another woman.”

“If you don't believe, let's get married now?” mala said loudly as if everything he said was so easy to live.

Khalid looked at Mala as if he could not believe the words that just came out of his mouth.

“What if I marry you and three other girls in this village at the same time, do you want?” challenge Khalid.

“No problem. The important thing is that Mala can marry you. Mala has long liked Brother and the more days Mala's love gets bigger.”

Khalid stared fixedly at the pretty face in front of him. Mala is like a flower that has bloomed with a radiating fragrance. The skin is brown with long waist hair and a sharp nose with thick lips typical of Indian women. Thick, dark eyebrows with long eyelashes and long eyes further add to the value of beauty that she has.

Any normal man without exception Khalid must have had the same judgment when he saw Mala. As of this moment, Khalid's male soul was certainly very smoldering as in front of him stood a sweet girl coupled with the scent of cloves in the basket he held.

“Go home!” Khalid retreated and cut off their eyes. He picked up the coconut again without caring about Mala.

“Why do you avoid?” ask Mala curiously.

“Go home!”

“But Brother hasn't given an answer.”

“Go home! Later you will know the answer at home.”

A beautiful smile re-emerged on Mala's lips as her steps slowly left Khalid. While at the house Keuchik Banta was involved in serious talks with his wife.

“It does not taste good if we ask for a hand while Abu Syik has asked first.” Keuchik Banta gives understanding to his wife.

“We should have asked Khalid a long time ago, Abu doesn't even care about our daughter.”

“Not caring, Umi. But Abu feels bad. Abu does not want Khalid to assume if our proposal as a form of payment bill for their stay.”

“Nobody thought of it that way, Abu alone made up. Now, he's been lured by Abu Syik. What can we do? There's no way we're asking that Ceudah be made second wife. What the villagers say later.”

Without them noticing, three pairs of eyes were hearing their conversation from different places. Cut who had never stolen the talk of the old man now even follow up because of coercion by Putro Tari.

From another corner of the house Khalid unknowingly joined in hearing Keuchik Banta talk with his wife. From inside the room, Ceudah also listened.

“So how, Abu? Umi reckon Abu Syik does not mind if Khalid also married our daughter.”

“Already, Umi. We can't force Khalid to marry Ceudah. He is not the Husna we can force to marry. Khalid has no obligation to follow our will. Husna is more entitled even do not want to go home after knowing will be betrothed.”

“We've just finished this conversation. Abu doesn't want the children or Khalid to hear our conversation. He'll be home soon. It is better to prepare food. She must have been starving after climbing coconuts.”

“Kak Cut to where?” shouting Dance as she came from the window.

“In the meantime, Brother Cut forgot to pick up the item.” lied Cut.

Under a teak tree not far from the shore, Khalid sat staring at the sea. There were a lot of things he had been thinking about all this time.

“When will you take me to town?” Khalid flinched from his daydream.

After a long time, only this time he heard Cut back calling him ‘Abang’. Various expectations emerged especially Cut now sitting next to him without hesitation. Khalid cut off his gaze, he looked back at the sea with a smile on his face.

“Tomorrow we leave, later in the afternoon I will talk to Bang Mayed so that we can join the boat.”

Cut was fixated with strange thoughts and feelings. “Abang want to go also from here?”

“Iya.”

“Why? Brother doesn't want to marry them?”

Khalid stared at the woman who had long filled his heart with frowns. “After you talk you want to know a lot. Don't get too late in the affairs of the people here. Brother brought you here so as not to be taken with that man. Not to interfere in people's affairs here.”

“Cut already said it will not marry that soldier. The important thing is that Cut went home to Abu and Umi. But, what about Brother? Is he just going to leave them? They really hope you marry their daughter.”

“You alone? What do you expect from Brother?” challenge Khalid who makes Cut smile stiffly.

“Bring Cut home! If the villagers here do not know that Cut is sick, Cut must have returned to the city. It's all because of Brother.”

“All this is for your own safety. How many times you have to explain if your relationship can be dangerous for your family. Did you not realize? The rebels are not just brothers. Any citizen who is close to the army will not escape the surveillance of rebel spies. If your relationship is safe, why would the soldier have to disguise himself as a madman just to meet Abu at the shophouse?”

“Hah.... Rendra's a lunatic?”

“Ck...so his name is Rendra?”

Cut swallowed his salivary as he unconsciously mentioned Rendra's name just like that in front of Khalid.

“Cut, you accept that you do not want to marry your brother but not the same army. They are evil. You know, not everything is the same as us. Not all of us are either. But, seeing how Ilham and his family died, friends who had been struggling. How they tortured Halimah. Rape it savagely. What part of your heart can you say if they are good? You may only see the good side when they are on duty in the village. Which is worse when they take one by one the fathers in the middle of the night with the words “We borrow Mr briefly,” on the wife and children at home. Then their husband or father never came back. What is it called borrowing?”

“Not the brothers do the same?”

Khalid breathed for a moment. “Cut, there are many things about us that you do not know. Fighters like us have groups. There are those who really fight for the benefit of Aceh there is also for their own interests in the name of us. Their job is to terrorize citizens, solicit donations for struggle and sometimes they also kill or kidnap. They are often called ‘Cantoei’”

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