GITA AND MAR
019. Becoming a Mar

Mar follows where Chika takes her Teddy Bear. The first night at Harris' house he couldn't even sleep well. Waking up many times dreaming the same thing; falling off a bridge. He always flinched when a woman screamed as he pushed Samsul. The voice of the woman was not foreign. Feeling that he will not be able to sleep well again, he took a bath when the sky was still dark. At least on the first day of work as Mar he does not want to bad luck and get the tantrums of his boss.

“Mbak Mar why, anyway? He said for a moment yesterday. I was left long ago. Though I have a fever.” Chika stopped in the dining room and sat back in her chair.

“I have a need at home. My son...You know my son, right? Jay...”

“Mas Jaya with Hasan? Yes, tau .... Kan, Madam Mar is weird. By the way, I'm like Papi on the phone. Pake me-me.” Chika chuckled, putting Teddy Bear on the empty chair next to her. “Mbak Mar has breakfast?” Chika pointed at the empty bowl in front of her.

Mar pulls up a chair and sits next to Chika. Flipped his plate and directly smeared a piece of bread with his favorite peanut butter.

Maybe so decketnya with Chika, Mar already used to eat or breakfast together. Pretty ... There's my favorite peanut butter brand.

“Tumben Mbak Mar to eat together. Eat some more bread. Ordinary he said if not breakfast rice, Mbak Mar not konsen work.” Chika raised the cup filled with milk and gulped down its contents.

Mar was already gaping with a cup of bread ready to enter his mouth as Chika spoke. His hand went down. “Which one is it? Can I have breakfast, can't I?”

Chika laughed a little. “Yes, can be. I like it instead. Today Papi leaves. I can't have breakfast with me. Tumben, anyway. Today did not woo me either.”

“What wood?” Mar chews with eyes around. Worried that Surti or other employees showed up to see Mar who was so relaxed.

“The usual wood,” replied Chika casually while pointing at the cereal box.

Mar responded by pouring cereal into Chika's bowl. “Ngerayu? Wishing what?” Re-raised the cup of bread after putting the spoon in the cereal bowl.

“While every day I tell.” Chika pout.

“Yes you, right, a lot of stories. Mbak Mar forgot which one.” Mar chews his bread casually with his legs swayed. Hope that Chika wants to tell me more that she's that relaxed.

“Ck, Ma'am never listened. That, you know .. moving house. I, right, always tell stories every morning Papi must have wooed me to move from here. And I always don't want to. I like this house. Kan, Ma'am Mar himself said that my room was Mami who made it. But every day Papi moved. Why move?” Chika looked at Mar with her mouth full. Expect answers from Mar who is trying to understand the content of the story.

Why should I move? I don't know either. Should Mar know?

Mar finished a cup of bread while thinking. His mouth chews with his hands against his chin.

“The bottle is good, Mar? Not adding anymore? All the rice,” Surti satir who entered with an empty tray to lift the cutlery that has been used.

“I don't usually eat rice early in the morning. This bread is enough. Too many carbo in the morning even make sleepy.” Mar replied Surti casually. His voice was small squeaking, but his tone was authoritative. Making Surti who was already insinuating intent instantly made a serious look. “You know why Mr Harris took his son away? All this time I was pretending to know. Because as a senior in this house..” Mar again deliberately hung his sentence. He just had to wait for Surti who was talking to connect the speech.

“As a senior you can assign the wrong info? Meaning so?” Surti glanced at Chika who ate her cereal voraciously.

Mar stood up to help Surti clean up the dining table. Deliberately stay away from Chika who is not paying attention to them. “Yang yesterday-yesterday I came from, sih.” Mar avoids Surti's gaze. He whispered to Surti that the topic of the conversation should not be heard by Chika.

“And you said that Mr. Harris was traumatized because he didn't stay here long his wife had an accident and died. You said yourself that Mr. Harris thought this house was unlucky. His wife asked to stay in this area because she wanted to be away from the noisy city. Mr. Harris is obsolete even though his office is far away, but still commutes every day. If you are a senior just talk about pretending to know, then I believe who else?” Surti was already standing with a tray full of dirty cutlery.

“Don't ngibulin me like a kid, Mar. Do you forget or pretend to forget that there is a dishwasher? I just go in these dirty dishes and I can do another one.” Surti heads towards the kitchen with Mar still following him.

“Maybe Mr. Harris is still hit because his wife was in an accident..” Again Mar hangs a speech with a wise-ass face with his hands touching Surti's shoulders. Waiting for further words from the mouth of his co-worker. But Surti just silently raised an eyebrow.

“Then? You have no intention of connecting my talk?” Mar clucked disappointed.

“Because his wife had a cycling accident shortly after they stayed here. Don't tell me you're from sharing information with me.” Surti had already arrived near the dishwasher and started to take down one by one the dirty dishes from the tray.

“I just ngetes you. You are attentive or not to the family of the place where we serve.” Mar took his hand off Surti's shoulder.

“Udah, ah. We do not need to be too ngusilin family. We just want our wallet on this date only contains photos 2x3.” Surti finished moving all the dirty cutlery into the machine and turned it on.

“Not ngusilin family people. But care about the family we work for. That's different, Surti. You have to differentiate.” Mar pretends to poke dust off Surti's shoulder and goes past from the kitchen.

Then, there is no other choice for Mar but to carry out her duties as a babysitter for Chika. Mar walks into Chika's room and learns everything inside quickly. Not a difficult thing either. He followed and asked the girl what she wanted. Shower in shower or bath tub. Because Chika has just recovered from a fever, Mar rejects the girl's desire to shampoo and play water for too long. Mar also drew along while listening and responding to Chika's storytelling. Not infrequently replace Chika who became his listener.

Then, half a day there was nothing strange other than Chika who repeatedly said, "I like Mbak Mar like this. Now I want to talk and know a lot. I like there's temen.”

Because of the many things Chika wanted to tell, she who used to take a nap shortly after lunch, this time fell asleep during the afternoon. Mar corrects the location of Chika's blanket with half a daydream.

“It turns out that lonely people talk more because usually lonely people do not realize that they are lonely.” Mar closed the door to Chika's room slowly. Intending to go straight to his room wanted to break down. “Not hard, anyway, take care of the kids. But yes. Move on.” Mar muttered alone as he went down the stairs.

Mar's desire to lay down the body before the afternoon seemed to be delayed because his name had been shouted for two minutes by Agung, the house security guard. The cry was only heard after Mar's step into the kitchen at the back.

“Mar! Why long? I have been screaming since. This is your son coming to nyariin.” Agung stood at the back door with Jaya next to him.

Mar was approaching. “Jaya! What was? You ...” Mar saw a dirty Jaya shabby sweatshirt as if something had just spilled.

“Hasan beaten Aunt Mona for drinking water. Because Hasan was crying I told Aunt Mona I was going to report to Mom. I was watered using mi kuah.” Jaya pointed to her dirty part of the shirt. “Hasan also got flush. Hasan and I are going home, Mum.” Jaya rubbed her eyes. Do not want to cry in front of Agung or a foreign mother figure for him.

Who is Aunt Mona? Samsul's sister? Goddamn bum! If I have to bend over I'm sorry to your body, Mar. You can win, but you can also lose and get battered. All for your children.

“Gung, I went home for a while to nengokin my children. It won't be long.”

Mar did not wait for Agung to say yes or no. I don't think about it too soon or long. He put on the first sandal he got at the door and went to take Jaya out through the front gate.

Imagining a malnourished skinny baby being hit just for spilling water and imagining an adult dousing food into a child's body, that's not what a normal human would do.

I'm sorry, Mar. Sorry if after we return to each other's bodies you do not have Samsul again. Maybe I'm here to save your kids.

To be continued