The End of Hope
94 EPS. Why You're Going

Ares looked at the screen of his phone, and tried to contact Naya. The call is connected, but the call has been ignored. The man kept his phone back in his shirt pocket, then turned to Dinda who was sitting quietly while eating the snacks he brought.

He asked, "Din. What do you mean I made it because of. Is there a problem with Naya?"

Dinda didn't answer her brother's question, she just put her shoulders down, with her eyes constantly focused on her phone, and her mouth chewing on food.

"Did you meet Naya?"

Hearing her brother's question Dinda nodded slowly.

"Yes, meet, I come and he's gone" replied Dinda expressionlessly.

"Did she say what to you?"

"Not said anything, just a casual conversation."

"chat what?"

"It's a normal conversation, but Naya's a lot about Caca."

"What did he ask about Caca?"

"Let's not ask him anything. But Brother, calm down, I answered everything, well ... But you don't like Caca, do you?"

"Yes, you know for yourself how Big Brother Caca is."

"So don't ask yourself, same Naya. I'm just guessing, brother, there's something Caca said. You see, Naya is sad."

"It's also a question, but the phone's not picked up."

Ares called Naya again for the number of calls, but then he stopped, because Yoni woke up crying. It was time for him to eat dinner, and take some medicine.

In-house.

Naya sees her phone suddenly ringing, but she ignores it. Naya looks lazy to answer the call, when she sees the ID in her phone screen. Mr. Ares.

After returning from the hospital he did not do any activity, except for his duty as a Muslim. He simply lay down on the bed and let his daydreams float through the sky, thinking of all the possibilities when he married Ares. There are other women who like it, is this going to be a dilemma?

Had he not been married, he would have lived his life like this, there would have been no significant problems that he would have had to face. There will be no great wave of trials, no storm of life, which he must accept as a wife, as well as a mother simultaneously.

However, when he chose to enter the marriage gate, carrying their previous status, it was as if he opened a gate to the vast ocean that was being hit by storms and typhoons!

Naya does not have to get involved with Ares' family, does not have to bother looking after her son, who is sick and has to be hospitalized, no one forced her.

But, Naya herself did not understand, why the little boy was like a magnet that sucked himself to continue to stick to him. After all, after he learns that Raya and Yoni are the children of Nindy, the niece of his best friend, the granddaughter of Rasti, a woman who has been very kind to him. It makes her feel unwilling that someone else will be her mother.

He felt called as if he was the one who had to take care of the two of them, deliver the two girls to adulthood, and enter the gates of their respective households. Tucked away in happiness, when he thought well that maybe God, who had chosen him to take the place of their mother, could love them as much as his own son.

There were no tears streaming down her cheeks, just coming out, as she lowered her head and saw her flat stomach. If indeed he was destined not to have children, maybe God's intention is, giving the two children to be his children as well.

The problem is, at this time he knows, that there are other women who like their papa.

'Should I give up again or should I fight to keep the children?'

'If these children are the children whom God has entrusted to me, do I have to give in only for the sake of the woman whom I cannot bear to hurt? Should I apologize to Caca if I marry the man she likes?'

Finally Naya grabs the phone that is constantly ringing, she already thinks that Ares will question, why he left the hospital without telling her, even though he has promised to take her home.

But when Naya just shifted her phone screen, the call stopped.

He thought that Ares might be taking care of Yoni, until he decided on his call. He must be careful in his attitude, must not show clearly that he wants to be his wife.

Naya contacts her father, after waiting for a while Arez does not call her back.

"Hello, dad. Assalamualaikum." said Naya as soon as the phone was connected.

Naya asks the news, and the situation of her parents and also asks about Nuriya. Naya doesn't usually call at night like this, because she usually calls her father when she comes home from work between noon and afternoon.

Budiman then asked this unusual question to Ada Naya.

"What are you calling these nights, is there a problem, you're okay, right?" asked Budiman from behind a cell phone, his voice was soft and attentive to his son.

"I'm good, dad .., what if I marry you. Did you allow me toinka?"

"Depending, who's the man who's gonna be your husband? I wouldn't allow that man to be like your old husband. Or there are other women who like it too, because later it will be a problem for you Naya."

'Well, dad, there are other women who like it too, but I feel like I have to fight for it. Oh, my God, help me'

"Dad, actually ... "

Naya told all to her father, about herself and Ares, from the very beginning of her meeting, how a seemingly perpetual destiny dragged her along, in strings of verse after verse like verse in a song. Until finally he decided to establish a relationship that is more than just a friend, more than just naming his meeting with the term coincidence.

Ares and himself had agreed to tell Budiman after their conversation this morning.

"Dad, am I in too much of a hurry or do I have to get to know her more deeply? Dad, sometimes I'm still sad when I see him, but if I'm separated from him I'm even sadder."

'Am I too naive to think that I am a person whom God willfully trust, to keep the child as my own child, too, because I will not have a child from my own womb?'

"No" Budiman replied calmly from behind the phone. "You know him enough. You just have to convince yourself that you can really enter a new chapter of your life with a man who already has such a big child. Maybe the problem you're facing won't be easy this time."

Hearing advice from his father, Naya again said the intention of Ares who wanted to immediately marry him as soon as possible. All for his son. But what about Caca who openly warns Naya not to approach Ares let alone hope to be her husband.

Budiman thought that his son had been traumatized about such a thing until he laughed a little and said that Naya should trust and leave everything to Ares.

"Tell me honestly what you're talking about with that woman, and let your future husband decide, let him face that woman. Naya, you just trust her enough." The voice across the phone paused for a moment due to coughing.

"For if you think of your story, you know that the man will not carelessly give his son to a woman who cannot adapt to his son. It's free to just marry for yourself. What's-her-name? E.." - E..." The word Budiman is interrupted again.

"Ares, father." said Naya with a smile.

"Well, yeah. Ares, the man thought of his son. If he thinks of himself, he's probably been married a long time, try to think again." Back coughing.

"Why do you keep coughing?" ask Naya.

"Your father had coffee in the neighbor earlier, so go home again and again." said a voice that was also heard from behind the phone.

"Be careful, dad."

"Oh yeah you have to pray a lot for your brother, he wants to go to university this year, he's still taking exams to get scholarships, help your brother pray, let father and uncle, lightly finance his college."

"When did Ares come here? Dad wait. But you know why his name is like that, like the name of a bule, an outsider, so?"

Naya laughed at her father's words. Indeed, the Ares family, or one of its eyes is indeed a descendant of a land from another continent.

"Hehe, indeed father, he had only become a Muslim family after he was ten years old."

"Oh, so he converted. If so you must take good care of him, because God's trust is not just his son, but his father." Budiman laughed again at the end of his sentence. And then continued after the laughter stopped.

"Nadiah. If you really think that's God's trust, people like them, need guidance from people like us."

"But fathers, sometimes they are much better than people who have embraced Islam since birth."

"Because they study Islam in earnest, unlike people who know Islam from birth, who tend to underestimate the teachings of their own religion."

Eventually the conversation between father and son ended, after agreeing that his father would soon enter into a marriage contract, as Ares expressed his willingness to become Naya's husband.

Their marriage process may require more readiness and time, given the distance far enough for them to travel back and forth repeatedly, to do ta'aruf, application, or marriage contract.

-

Budiman at that time thought that it would be better if he went to where Naya was because people like Ares would be busy working and he also wanted to get to know more about his family life.

"Why is this sudden, sir?" ask Nuriya.

Budiman invited his wife to get ready, and they would depart the next day, to the city of Batu where his son was.

"So how many days are you going to leave tomorrow?"

"A week's leave may be pretty mama."

"Have you talked to Naya?"

"Yes, not yet, let it be a surprise for him, if you want to wait until his son is healed, yes, long. If for example later it is healed, it is impossible to be brought here, if Nanya wants to go back and forth here mending us who go there all the way Ma'am."

"Yes if you want it like that" said Nuriya realized her husband's thoughts were a little strange but there is a point as well.

-

Naya almost fell asleep when her phone rang again. This time he received his call. There was a voice saying a greeting, very excitedly from behind the phone, signifying the person who has a voice not yet sleepy.

"Naya, are you sleepy? Sorry to interrupt," asked Ares when he heard the voice of Naya, who was already weak from drowsiness.

"Yes, so tomorrow we'll talk to him."

"You're here tomorrow, right?"

"If I'm still needed, I go there. But if Yoni's on guard, there's Caca for example, yeah I'll work again, like always."

Hearing Naya Ares's words becomes unpleasant, if she says she needs Naya, then she gives nothing to him, but if she says she doesn't need Naya, she actually needs to talk. Or maybe it's more than just wanting to talk, but longing. Ares misses Naya. He even wanted to see her right now. Get rid of tiredness and fatigue just to meet him.

Okay, so what about the kid?

"Naya, thank you yes yesterday you were willing to take care of Yoni, until the afternoon you must be tired. Sorry for interrupting your break." Ares said full of guilt.

"What's wrong, sir, because no one forced me, so don't thank me" replied Naya flatly.

"I also apologize on behalf of Caca if there is an omkngan or Caca attitude that makes you offended, because Caca is a spoiled person."

Hearing Ares's expression, Naya smiled faintly. But of course that smile of his could not be seen by Ares.

"Well, I understand Caca. No problem sir, I can understand. I think Caca's attitude is natural, especially for people who love each other."

In her tone, Naya shows jealousy, and is caught clearly by Ares, but she does not expect that Naya will be brave enough to say it. He knew Caca would behave inappropriately, towards Naya. Otherwise, it was possible that Naya would return to avoid it.

During this time Caca did show his efforts to attract the attention of Ares, even frankly saying that, he loves Ares and wants to replace Nindi at his side. Unlike Naya who once said that a mother will never be replaced in the heart of her children. From Naya's words it shows that she has no intention of seizing Nindy's position in her children's hearts. But it is precisely with this humility, which makes Ares more like him. It's just that time, even until now, he hasn't said about his feelings openly, because seeing Naya's cold attitude even seemed to be away from him.

"What do you mean you said you loved each other?" Ask Ares later.

"No meaning whatsoever. Naturally, as a family love each other." Naya ketus said.

'Maybe Caca told Naya about her feelings, ck! That boy's'

"Naya, Caca is a Tantenya child, but if you mean, I'm the same Caca, love each other like the feeling of love between men and women, it's wrong." Tandas Ares firmly.

Ares went on to say, "I respect him as a family, but I never liked Caca as a man. So, don't get me wrong, Nay!"

'Really?'

"Is that why you came home before I came, you want to avoid me again? You used to avoid being sad and now because of Caca?"

Deg. Suddenly nervous. The person he was talking to was not there.

"Yes." Yeah." Said Naya trying to be honest with all the feelings held in her mind, actually she was a little embarrassed to admit it. His heart began to thump. The confession just came out of his lips.

"Let's see you now, I'll go there?!"

"Eh, no need sir. Yoni's time wants to be left alone, there's no one, right?"

'yes. No one's guarding Yoni, it's for you, Nay!'

"Let's just for a minute, Yoni's still asleep, he can't get up. I'm just putting the sisters in here" said Ares.

"Don't what do you want here? I'll be there tomorrow, if you want to work, unless there's Caca or someone else is watching."

"Don't you like Caca, or are you jealous?"

"So. Why should I be jealous? we have no relationship, so I have no right to be jealous of him."

"I want to go there so you won't be sad anymore."

"No, we have nothing to do, so you don't have to come here."

"What if we start a good relationship now. I have talked to you before, right? Naiya ... I like you, and I want you to be the mother of my children."

Boom! The voice from across the phone was like a voice that exploded in Naya's heart. The words of Ares were as if they had just been heard by Naya.

seriated