
"But, Ma? I like her the same ...."
The mother no longer responded and chose to talk to her other family.
*
*
*
"Baaaim ... are you dirtying the house again?" From a house, a scream from a woman was heard.
The boy, called Baim, was hiding behind his father's wheelchair.
"What else are you doing, Baim?" Ask Syauqi.
"Aim's getting the same floor as the chair, Bi," said the child.
"What?" syauqi asked to increase the volume of his voice because his hearing was not perfect anymore.
"Where is the boy?" Shouted Mother who looked ruffled waist glanced wildly in all directions.
"Already, Mom. Don't be angry with him. He is only a child" said Syauqi, mediating the mother.
"It's because of you! Where does he say the promise of sincere love? After seeing your condition like this he left you who are still struggling in the hospital alone after Humaira filed her divorce suit. Then a year later he just casually showed up again with this kid saying this is your son. Should—"
"Mom," intercept Syauqi.
"Don't you, Mom? She was still so small for such a fussy mother. He doesn't understand and knows nothing. Please don't hurt my son."
"Astaghfirullah ...." Mom exhaled violently for a moment. "I'm sorry Mom. I get carried away with emotions every day because of your son."
"Mom, Baim is Mom's grandson. Didn't you always say you wanted to pet a grandchild? Now, I'm just asking Mom to love her."
"Hmmmff ...." Mother rubbed her head feeling pain in that part. "When did all this end, God? What is the sin of a servant having a grown child but can't be anything?" The mother passed away leaving the father and son in silence.
Syauqi put on his flat face. "Yes, I know. This is a punishment for me. Can't I just accept that punishment?" he murmured in never-ending regret.
'Can I repeat that time? The time where I married a girl named Humaira Fii Jannah. That godly girl I wasted during the wedding, her inner self.
*
*
*
"Assalamualaikum Zah Humaira," said a neat man by installing a national peci on the head commonly called a skullcap.
"Greetings, Ustadz Lutfi. Can I help you?"
"Look, Zah. I just checked out classes at SMP and MA. There are some benches that need to be replaced because they have suffered severe damage. If left unchecked, our children who study here can feel uncomfortable. It could be that they choose another place to look for a boarding house that they think is better."
Ala listened to Luthfi's explanation carefully. "The comfort of children in learning is indeed we need to think about. The problem is they are at home or not at home here and want to move, I don't think that's our benchmark. We have been trying to improve the quality both in terms of facilities and educators, and office staff. If they still feel uncomfortable and move on, yes go ahead. We can't force them."
"Did Ustadz have details of how many benches and tables were damaged?" ask Ala.
Luthfi handed over some of the list sheets that he had. Ala checked carefully, and her forehead was slightly wrinkled. "Why the madrasa level, are you taking the handle? Is not it for the MA level we already have the person in charge of the alias of the principal himself?"
"Oh, look at Zah. He asked me to convey to me because He had business" Luthfi said.
However, Ala caught an unnatural reaction from the look in her eyes. For a moment he was silent and nodded. "Oh, so. Then if the funds are ready, I will inform you. For the MA level, I will contact Ustadz Salman, as the principal."
"Don't Zah. Enough for me to hand it over. Let me deliver it directly to Ustadz Salman. Zah Humaira was already busy, there was no need to add to the busyness of small problems like this."
Ala looked straight at Luthfi. "Hmm, right? Well," he said staring at the man he appointed as Headmaster for Junior High School in Pondok Pesantren.
"All right, Zah. If the funds are ready, call me. I'm going back to school."
*
*
*
In the afternoon, Ala was sitting in a cafe. He is waiting for people who are being trusted to check the validity of information and data that has been provided by Ustadz Luthfi earlier.
However, after half an hour of waiting, the person was not yet present. From the outside, a family walks into the cafe.
A middle-aged man, pushing someone sitting in a wheelchair. On the other hand, there was a small child walking holding on to the wheelchair.
"Well, let's just sit here!" The middle-aged woman looking at one empty table made her reflex towards that location. They had yet to realize the current was next to Ala who was busy with her phone. Chief Baim wildly glanced at all the places in the cafe.
"Baim, don't go anywhere! Don't bother people, do you?" the only woman in the family.
Baim did not press, he moved here and saw the figure who helped him yesterday, apparently sitting alone at the table next to their family.
Baim sat on an empty seat at Ala's table. "Aunty?" sapana.
This made Ala who had since focused on her phone turned to a small figure sitting on an empty bench in front of her. "You?" ala asked with a smiling face. "Yes, his name?"
"Yes" replied the boy timidly.
"How are you doing Baim? Whoa, what a coincidence, who's coming now?" ask Ala.
Baim pointed to the table that was right by his side. Ala's face immediately stiffened to see who was beside her at this moment. His father-in-law's face was so clear to him.
Ala looked at the boy again. Only then did she realize, the little boy yesterday was the son of her ex-husband. Ala looked back at the man sitting on the wheelchair. The man who used the hearing aid, could not see, his face was broken, and his legs were paralyzed was Uda Uqi, her ex-husband.
Ala's heart immediately pounded. He immediately put the cell phone and objects scattered on the table into the bag. Ala gets a panic attack making everything she does go wrong making everything scatter on the floor.
This came to the attention of two elderly people staring at Ala who had been sculpting staring at them with nanar.
"Yumira?" say Father. The man who had been quietly sitting on a wheelchair reacted immediately.
"Humaira, Dad? Where's where?" ask him quickly. His head turned left and right, with a confused face.
Ala quickly picked up the object that had been scattered on the floor put it back on the table. Ala came out of the table she was on, but her hand moved back outstretched to Father and Mother.
"A-Alah, there's business. May you all be in good health wa'alfiat."
"Humaira, why the rush?" ask Dad.
"Yumira?" Mom called him too.
However, the mouth of the man who had been looking for him, as if heavy calling Ala's name.
"Ma-sorry Dad, Mom ... Ala, there's business." Ala nodded and walked quickly away from the place.
"Hu-Humaira's? The humaira? Humaira?" Syauqi's voice was quite high calling out that name. However, there is no truth at all.
Dad holds his son's shoulder. "Look down, he's gone."
"Humaira, why don't you give me a chance to talk?" syauqi said.
"Baim, why are you sitting there?" mother asked to see Baim who himself gawked at the table that Ala had left behind.
"That's a beautiful aunt Aim nolongin same Abi yesterday" said Baim down from the bench he was sitting on.
"So, he helped us?" ask Syauqi back.
"Yes, Bi. Does Abi know that Aunt? She's beautiful, Bi, so is Baim." Baim saw something splattered under the table and he picked it up.