Rainbow for Aqila
A Promise

"May I speak with Naufal for a moment?"

"Sure sir, please"

Aqila's heartbeat raced twice as fast, her father wouldn't mess with Naufal right? He's not gonna hit Naufal, is he?

"Don't su'udzon, Om Arya can't make her future son-in-law battered" Aqila stared cynically at Kirana who was whispering in her ear, somehow her cousin knew what she was thinking or not, his gaze too clear?

"No need to be nervous, only I know" Aqila was lazy to respond to the words Kirana who was sitting next to her at this time

His eyes seemed more focused on the presence of both Naufal's parents and someone who seemed to be Naufal's siblings due to the resemblance in some parts of their faces

"How can I be so sure? We have only met a few times and started from the accident, how I was sure to accept him as my priest, even I felt I did not know him very well" Aqila said in her heart, he actually does not understand his heart now

"What makes you so sure you chose Aqila as your partner?" The first question that comes out of Papa Arya's mouth when dealing with Naufal

"Little, my heart chose it"

"Do you love her?" Naufal chuckled for a moment and replied "Married should be more than love, this heart does not belong to us, then who knows if the word love is still stored someday"

"I say this not because I don't love her, but the reason for love is not a mere reason for marriage"

Papa Arya was stunned to hear Naufal's statement, the mindset of the man was the same as him when he decided to marry Mama Intan

"He's sick, do you accept that? Did you promise to be with him when he fought? It'll be so troublesome for you"

"I knew it and I accepted it, accepted everything that was in him and promised myself to always take care of him and have a great responsibility for him"

"You're right, once you're together the responsibility for Aqila is on you, but it's not like I'll just shut up when someone hurts my daughter"

"Then why has he been silent all this time when he had to fight alone, he was forced to mature by circumstances, he struggled to get attention and care, have you ever seen that? Have you ever seen him cry and complain when someone treats him badly?" Papa Arya's heart flinched, he lowered his head and returned his gaze to the starry night sky

"I know I failed to be the hero who protected him, I felt guilty every time I saw him in pain or shed tears, I wondered what God created his heart from? Until he can survive so far, I don't know what difficulties he went through, he always lied to me using his happy face so that I don't worry about him, he said, but I subconsciously treated her differently"

"You know what he told me? She said Aqila was just tired, Aqila just needed a short break so that Aqila's heart was ready to budge again, how could I not feel like a failure when she said that with a smile instead of a tear"

"I really don't know how tired he was to endure all this, unknowingly creating such an impenetrable distance between us, that he hid the dangerous disease in his body"

"Om no need to be sad, I promise to take good care of him and put out a genuine smile not to make others feel okay, but indeed happiness from the bottom of his heart"

"Fulfill your promise son, embrace him and guide him into a good person, counsel him with gentle words when he makes a mistake, do not beat him or raise his voice in front of him"

"Every eye was closed in pain as his brother slapped him for a mistake he had accidentally made, eyes full of wounds when he heard the scolding and loud snapping, I immediately felt a failure in myself especially when I found out that it was due to his illness, that guilt became a shadow that continued to follow me. His eyes looked disappointed but not the slightest bit of revenge implied from his beautiful eyeballs"

"I keep saying that if time could turn back, I want to be the hero he always relied on and be the first to share his joy"

"It's not too late, but it's hard to make it as happy as it used to be"

"I once promised him to be the rainbow that came after the storm and the long rain of his life" Naufal also turned his head up to look at the stars that make up the various constellations

Papa Arya patted Naufal on the shoulder slowly making Naufal turn his head and look towards the figure who considers himself a failure to be a hero for one of his daughters

"Don't be a temporary rainbow, but a beautiful rainbow forever, color your life with happiness and lead it to be better"

"Sure, I'll do that"

"Actually I haven't agreed with Aqila's choice before seeing you, let alone Rian often saying you're having a bad impact on Aqila, I've even blatantly told her to stay away from you"

"I know that humans are the most intelligent creatures to lie and have many masks on their faces, what om and others saw from me and Aqila was one of the masks that we used though it was not in line with our hearts"

"If one day the boredom comes to you, or the love starts to wear off, or Aqila starts to..."

"Don't worry about it all om, it should be Naufal who was worried what if it happened to Aqila?"

"Women are difficult to understand, but keep trying to learn to understand"

.

"So when did it start?" asked Papa Arya, now they are back together in the family room

"How about one more month, because one more week our son Hasan is getting married"

"Well, is this not burdensome for Abi Umar and his family?"

"It's faster to see them married than to fall into adultery"

"We will also help with the preparations"

"What is the concept of marriage that Aqila wants?" Ummi Sarah asked Aqila in a soft voice

"It's simple that there's no need for a fancy wedding, which is important, right?"

"However, marriage is a major event that is worth remembering throughout life, of course, must have a good impression and will be unforgettable by us"

Abi Umar nudged Naufal's arm, giving a code that suddenly made Naufal's heart beat

"What dowry do you want?"

"Anything that does not burden you" Naufal nodded in understanding, it turns out that Aqila is not like the family of most business people who dowry even up to billions