The Whore That Gus Azam's Wife
Stella and Santriwati on the Night of Takbiran

“Allahuakbar Allahuakbar Allahuakbar, Laa ilaa ha ilallaahu Allahu akbar. Allahuakbar hilkham”

The sound of takbir continued to roar that night, Azam also Stella had enjoyed the atmosphere of the cottage accompanying umi Fatimah along with Zaidan. Maryam will come one day after. Given that Maryam had lived with her in-laws outside the city and it was not possible for them to come on that day of Eid as well, surely the airport was also closed for a while.

That night umi Fatimah looked at her photo together with her husband, there was also a sense of sadness and loneliness that perched in her.

Azam saw that, he immediately approached umi Fatimah and hugged the middle-aged woman, “Abi was calm in nature there, umi” muttered.

Umi Fatimah nodded, wiped her tears and smiled at her son, “Iya, umi is still not used”.

Only so, then the two looked at each other's portrait of Abi David while chanting prayers in their hearts, hoping that Abi Daud had the most beautiful place at His side.

Stella along with some santriwati who did not come home was busy preparing ketupat to welcome the Eid al-Fitr tomorrow.

“You do not come home every year like this?” Stella asked them.

They all nodded, agreeing to Stella's question with a wistful look.

Ah, Stella knows it must be hard for them to deal with. Surely they also miss the atmosphere of the house on this beautiful day.

“We're just kids thrown in here, madam. Usually we will instead stay in the room at night like this, while telling stories and spending time together, strengthening each other with each other.

Stella was pitying, of course.

“Dad and my mother hated me so much, bringing me here not because they wanted me to be someone who was successful in religious education and everything else. They just don't want to take care of me at home” muttered someone else.

Although not all but, Stella clearly knows that what faced by the children in front of her is not an easy one. At such a young age, they have to lose the true love of their family once they dream of. Grateful, they were able to survive the situation and study in the cottage diligently.

We can know together, no, in this old and old age, some of these young people will choose to ruin their future by doing negative things in order to attract the attention of others to them.

Stella was grateful, so grateful she was still saved from the harshness of the world.

“Already, you do not need to be sad anymore. Life is indeed a lot of tests but, Allah SWT will not test us beyond the limits of our abilities. Keep the spirit and hopefully you will be successful people in the future and prove to the world that you are able to reap each of your dreams.

From now on, if there are big events and you can't go home, while I'm here, we can do a lot of things together, like now” Stella said with a smile, encourage them.

They all smiled as they wiped the tears that started to dry up, “Thank you, ma'am Stella. May Mbak Stella and family healthy-healthy always” said one of them.

“Amiin. I also thank you for giving me a valuable lesson today” Sahut Stella.

Secretly Azam saw it from a distance, staring at the wife who easily joined the santriwati there. The man even heard their conversation from where he was standing.

“Ehm” Azam cleared his throat, giving all of them an intrusion that he had come. Just contact all the santriwati immediately stand and look down on the arrival of the child of the owner of the boarding school.

“No need to be stiff so. You can relax when you talk to my wife but, act this way with me” Azam said.

“Mas, what's up? Is there something I can help you with?” Stella asked her husband.

Azam shook his head, he gave his best smile to the wife, “No, I just want to see if you're done?” tanyakanya.

“Alright, then I will wait for you inside. You guys just continue chatting, sorry to interrupt” said Azam then leave them after saying hello, “Assalamu’alaikum”

“Wa’alaikumsalam warahmatullahi wabarakatuh” Answer them simultaneously.

Stella sees the tense faces of the santriwati suddenly turn calmer after Azam leaves them.

“Are you guys that scared with him?” Ask Stella.

“No mbak, we just so sad with gus Azam” Reply one of them.

Stella simply smiled and nodded as she fixed the burning firewood inside the furnace, making the rhombus within it churn along with the boiling steam of water.

“Do you know what ketupat means? Why are they always there on Lebaran day?” Murmured Stella random, asked the santriwati there.

Nil, it turns out they were shaking slowly. Stella thought they would answer as her husband had said a few days ago.

“Say my husband, this ketupat is a combination of two meanings namely ‘ngaku lepat’ and also ‘ngaku papat’ where ngaku lepat means ‘admit error’ while ngaku papat means ‘four actions’. Anyone know four actions what are?” Stella asked them.

One of them has a hand up, “I know, mbak” he said with enthusiasm.

“What is it?” Ask Stella.

“Luberan, melted, lebaran and laburan” Reply quickly.

“Through once, anyone can explain it?” Ask Stella to the others. He felt he was teaching in the open just like now.

“ ‘Luberan’ means abundant, if ‘leburan’ means is melting sins, then ‘lebaran’ it means a wide-open forgiving door, and the last one is ‘laburan’ which has the meaning of purifying yourself” replied someone else.

Stella gave her two thumbs up with a big smile, “That's you know, did you guys lie?” he asked with squeaky eyes, teasing the santriwati in front of him.

“Not really, we just forgot. After Stella explained it at the beginning, we remembered” Said someone who had answered the four actions that Stella questioned.

Stella laughs amusedly at the panicked face before her, “It's okay, I trust you guys. Then what about the rice and also the yellow stew used in ketupat?” Ask Stella again.

“That vine stands for ‘jatining nur’, which means true light or conscience, while the contents of the rice itself symbolizes our passions as human beings, if combined it will be a human meaning that must resist lust using conscience” said one of the others.

Stella nodded, the boarding house did not fail at all in educating the students who were in it. They are well taught by competent teachers who teach there.

The woman smiled as she found a smile on the faces of the girls before her. Meanwhile, on the other hand, Azam smiled at the interaction of his wife with the sisters.

Yes, the man where possible to leave his wife alone in the open with a pregnant condition? The man was just a little away, creating comfort for his wife as well as the santriwati to chat.

What about the santriwan who stays at the lodge?

They were with Zaidan at the mosque to proclaim the takbir that night.