The Staircase
New Employee

"Yes alike. If there's anything, don't call me. The correct lecture, yes." Tibetan sir said that afternoon.

"Thank you very much, sir. Honestly, we were close, we didn't have enough money. If it's not the father who dabbles in our piggy bank, maybe my decision has been round to help the father sell in the market."

"Don't. You are still young. Soon I'll bring a new employee to help your father."

"Who, sir?" Sambarku.

"Child around here, isn't it?" Ask dad.

"Please drink the coffee. Banana fritters are over, sorry don't leave it for you." My mom put down a coffee ceper.

"It's okay." The Tibetan man looked at me for a moment, "He knows you, and you know him." Answer the Tibetan.

"Many of whom I know, sir. What's initials?"

"Later to know. I purposely kept it a secret so that when you meet him, you can at once reminisce." Chuckles softly.

"Don't do it, sir. I'll be in town soon. I don't know when I didn't meet him."

"Not to worry, this new employee of mine in the next two three days is already working here. It's just that he's still confused where to stay."

"girls? If he's a guy he can room with me." My idea quickly.

"Turkey." Answer the Tibetan. It means I'm not sleeping alone for the next few days. Good though. I thought in my heart.

As long as I'm in town, mom and dad will be lonely. At least a new friend will cheer them up. It's just that I doubt whether the new friend is at home or not. Not to mention hearing my mother's nagging. But my mother kept her promise. Until this moment mom didn't nag.

Three days later, the atmosphere of dawn remained the same, noisy. Three different sounds were earthy, it sounded in the living room. But among those voices there is another commotion out there, sayup-sayup. No doubt the three familiar-sounding voices were conversing in the living room. The first voice I ever heard, it must have been my father's. I murmured in my heart, my eyes still held firm. The second voice sounded soft and wise, presumably the voice of the Tibetan sir. The third voice sounded like a new adult, heavy, and full of emphasis. Not yet had time to get out of bed, the three voices moved away, the longer it disappeared.

I continued to sleep, not yet energetic to find the three voices even though I knew the first sound a little, but when the eyes were still curious, I was not too sure my guess was right one hundred percent.

The next morning I was rushing to the market, my mother came up to me, "Put your friend's bag in the room, he started staying here tonight." Tell mom. In the corner of the front door was a bag commonly used for campers, full of clothes. I lifted him up with all my might, moved him to my room.

"Whose bag is this, ma'am?" I gasp.

"Mom forgot her name. He said he was your best friend."

"Where is he now?"

"Help your father in the market."

I hurriedly closed the door of the room, following my father to the market. I was so shocked, his body was muscular, sturdy, jet black, what a drastic change.

"Aki," he shouted slowly. "You remember me, right?"

"Dear, is this really you?"

"Yes, it's me. You didn't see it wrong." He answered while approaching me. My father smiled at the two of us.

I embrace Aga, we haven't seen each other in a long time. He greeted me happy, his hands rough, his fingers firmly clutching my fingers.

"Let me sell to your father?" Joking.

Just today at the lapak father crowded buyers, Aga who eager promotion makes visitors glance, lobby each other until finally agreed. Just today also the father's stall there are two young men who help him, me and Aga. You two share your duties, Aga's the promotion, I'm the lobbying part of the buyer, and our father just let us sit around.

"I heard you wanted to go to college, Ki." Aga started the conversation. We are berberes, not yet time to go home but our vegetables have been ludes.

"Yes, Ga. In September we start college."

"I'm so happy to hear that, Ki. Hopefully one day you will be a successful person, yes. Who knows I'll be your employee." I'm chuckling, hissing softly, amen.

We went home earlier than before, my mother was astonished to see us as if we had not touched the market today, "Cock, quick. I'm not done cooking, huh."

Dad pretended, "The market's off today, Rin."

We chuckled softly at Dad's jokes. Since when the market is off, the joke makes the mother almost nag. But I held it when I saw Aga smiling sweetly in front of her, and I stared at my mother attentively so as not to nag.

"There are you guys. Oh, aye. What's your name I forgot?"

"Room, ma'am." Answer Aga quickly.

"Son Aga, don't hesitate, yeah. We are this way, what is in this house is what we eat, I hope you feel at home here."

Aga nodded flexibly, "As long as mom doesn't nag," I nodded. They giggle.

Tonight it was raining very hard, fortunately the roof tile, so it was not easy to leak like a leaf roof. Aga and I pulled the blanket up to the neck, cold. Aga was sleeping next to me, he was staring at Mila's painting, judging it to be the best painting he'd seen for the first time. He said he couldn't paint, if only he could he would paint our friendship. I said that I can't paint either, but my right index finger made Aga shut up for a moment.

"Stay you keep it, Ki? Still intact? It's been a dozen years, you know." Wonder said.

"Yes, Ga. What you have contributed to me is more meaningful, the proof is that I can go to school, thanks to you." We both stared at the Elementary School uniform hung in the corner of the room.

The rain was loud, we both told a long story about childhood in a slightly tightened voice when one of you replied, hah, not hearing.

"Where is he now, Ga?" I asked when Aga mentioned Nina a little.

"It could be that you two are one faculty, Ga." The answer.

"I'm the faculty of Economics, Ga. What faculty is he?"

"I remember him Law, Ki. Not far away, right?"

I remember the row of campuses I went through when the selection was written in the city a few months ago. The Faculty of Law is about fifty meters away from the walls of the faculty of Economics.

"But what semester is he in? Maybe he's my senior, Ga."

"Last year he started college, Ki. Indeed seniormu. But your age is, isn't it, one year older than her." Aga play his eyes, it looks clear because the electric light is bright. Aga had forced me to turn off the lights, but I said he would get used to sleeping with the lights. It felt like sleeping without lights as if there was a black shadow beside me, making me a little scared.

"Wait a minute!" Aga moved from the bed to his backpack, searching for items in the bag.

Again back to bed, "Here's her facebook account, Ki." I stared fixedly at the screen of Aga's phone.

"This is the girl I called the eleventh grade first, Ga. Aye, right. I'm sure this is it. The dimples are the same. But his account name is different from his real name, Ga."

"Name is also facebook, Ga. Not the school attendance list. We're free to make anyone's name." Aga chuckles.