FATE AND DESTINY
18. I CAN COOK

"Wake up! It's noon! What time did you sleep last night? Until this hour I have not yet woken up!" Pekik dariyah the mother saw her son was still sleeping at eight in the morning.

"Ssttt! Don't scream mom. Alika wake up! Sahut Tajudin while closing the door with a panicked expression for fear that his wife will wake up.

"Appaahs! Afraid of your wife waking up you say? Lookie! What time is it? Wake wife! Teach him not to be lazy!" Shouted from the face of the tajudin and then stepped away to the kitchen with his regret.

Tajudin only sighed harshly hearing the scolding from his mother. Tajudin went back into his room to wake alika at his mother's command. Tajudin wanted to teach alika cooking. So that if later the occupants of the house do not exist, he can take care of himself in his own way.

"Alika! Alika wakes. Alika!" The tajudin whisper gently awakens the alika.

"What's up, brother?" Sahut alika with his hoarse voice while stretching his hands and body that feels sore.

"awake. It's noon! I told you to get up!" Tajudin who is sitting next to Alika.

"Well! Mom told me to get up? What is it? What's wrong?" Alika asked in surprise and immediately sat up next to Tajudin.

"You tuh! Ask one-on-one. Don't be on a train!" Sahut tajudin with a soft tone."I won't scold you. You're not wrong anything. I just want you to wake up early like everyone else. That's it," said Tajudin gave an explanation to alika so as not to be afraid to face her parents."Comeup! We take a junub bath first so that our bodies are holy!" Tajudin rubbed alika's head.

Alika who just answered with a nod followed the steps behind her tajudin towards the bathroom and shower together. Alika used a covering cloth to bathe with her husband because the door of the madi room that does not use the wall but only the guardrail. After finishing with the ritual bath alika changed to use her kimono towel so that her entire body was covered so as not to become the naughty gaze of the tajudin sisters who were gathering at the house. Tajudin's brother, who was named Wardiyo, was still in the house. And tugiyo who got the wife of one village lived in the house of the wife's parents. Tugiyo came to his mother's house only one week twice just to look and gather together from morning to evening. They all gathered in the kitchen. Alika and tajudin just joined them after finishing wearing clothes. After Alika had started to join, darun tajudin's father who saw alika join him chose to go to the garden because he did not want to see his city's daughter-in-law.

"Where are you, sir?" Tanya wardiyo who sat on the floor with a mat.

"You go to the garden! Lazy at home the air is getting hotter like the air in the city!" Sahut Darun while taking his sharp tools to find firewood in the garden.

Alika who understands herself being insinuated just quietly down does not want to talk anything afraid of mispronouncing. Everyone who knew the father's answer was insinuating alika just fell silent and everyone glanced at alika.

"Alika! Join here. Don't stand there!" Said wardiyo dilute the atmosphere with her wide smile.

"Yes sis!" Sahut alika while stepping closer to wardiyo and sitting next to him.

"Haha! Kakang ojo njiot chance maraning boy ayu! (sister do not take the same opportunity beautiful child )" said tugiyo who understand that wardiyo steal the opportunity to be close to alika.

"Maha..." Laugh all at once when you hear the words tugiyo.

"eeee.. I didn't take a chance. I just think of Alika as my sister. Don't mind her!" Sahut Wardiyo does not want to occur misunderstanding with tajudin.

Alika who heard their chatter was just a smile. Alika did not dare to reply to their chatter for fear that her speech would be a warm atmosphere that had become cold.

"I can cook. But for the usual cooking cooked by mom I can't!" Alika with her flat face.

"You don't want to be taught to cook village cuisine?" Eni asked herself.

"Indeed, it'll teach you how to cook?" Sahut alika asked eni the sister-in-law.

"Yes, you will know for yourself. Let's start cooking for lunch together!" Tell eni who has been told by her mother-in-law to teach alika to cook so that she is not always in the room all day.

"Come brother!" Sahut alika enthusiastic.

Alika then followed in her footsteps from behind. Eni headed to the garden in front of the tajudin house to pick young cassava leaves and pick young papaya to make a potluck. After you finish picking everything now eni towards the kitchen and peel all of it and then cut it with the size of the dice. Cassava leaves that have been separated with its stalk and wash it clean and then boiled on a burning wasp. Now all the ingredients have been boiled until cooked and set aside so that the water is filtered.

"Well. Now just cut the cassava leaves until it shrinks. Then we prepare the roof!" Said eni painstakingly teach alika to cook typical village cuisine.

"What's the spice, brother? Let me prepare!" Sahut alika is excited to cook together.

Dariyah who saw alika eagerly cooking became astonished. Because for a month more than he never saw his son-in-law struggling in the kitchen like a woman. Tajudin and wardiyo smiled knotingly seeing alika eagerly learning to cook. Not long ago alika and eni have finished cooking but the stove has not been turned off. Alika shouted enthusiastically calling the men to taste the results of her cooking.

"Soak! Can you taste my cooking? Afraid of less!" Shouted alika enthusiastically calling her husband and her sisters-in-law.

"Is it ripe?" Asked Wardiyo and the others while stepping over to alika.

Tajudin tasted it first. Tajudin nodded his head while putting food in his mouth. Also with cardiyo and tugiyo. The three of them did not expect that alika cuisine could be as delicious as that, even though alika had just learned to cook such dishes.

"Waaah.. Alika is seriously you cooking?" Tanya Wardiyo was astonished by the face that did not believe in alika.

"Yeah brother. It's me cooking! Sis eni just boiled all the ingredients. But I'm all the ones who cooked it up!" Alika with a big smile.

"It feels so good!" Said Wardiyo did not expect to alika the city girl.

They are all happy with Alika who is good at cooking. Alika is not a lazy girl like her in-laws say. He's good at cooking just the city cuisine he used to cook all this time. Dariyah the mother-in-law who wanted to make fun of her daughter-in-law was not able to do because there was nothing to make fun of her. Tajudin always showed his smile wide when he witnessed for himself that his wife could cook. But because no one invited him to teach himself that is what makes alika always silent in her room.

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