Behind Aisha's Veil

Cry

Aisha opened her eyes, faintly heard the boisterous sound of the person teaching outside her room. He slowly gathered his consciousness, remembering that he fainted shortly after Abah breathed his last.

"Honey. Finally you realize," said Alvian who apparently had faithfully accompanied him who fainted.

Aisha did not answer, she just tried to get out of her sleep.

"Honey. Rest, your body is very weak."

Aisha saw her husband. Until no tears came back, but he immediately wiped it.

"I want to teach alongside Abah."

Alvian saw the deep sadness in his wife's eyes and voice, and nodded as he tried to help her stand up.

After helping his wife to wudu and wearing a veil, Alvian then memapah Aisha out of the room.

With a weak body and staggering Aisha walked on Alvian's boat to approach the body of the father who had been lying stiff in the middle of the house.

Aisha saw many mourners who came and prayed, as well as the students who took turns to teach.

Zainab went straight to her sister, crying and helping Aisha to sit next to Ummi.

After sitting down, Aisha immediately hugged Ummi who looked even stronger.

"Remember Abah's message. He wants us to be sincere and pray for him" whispered Ummi trying to calm his daughter.

Aisha wiped her tears, and then saw Abah's body in front of her.

Aisha took the Qur'an and taught it solemnly, albeit occasionally with tears that dripped on their own.

***

The mourners came back and forth, the atmosphere of grief was very thick, where everyone not only family and relatives but also all the students and the surrounding community felt sad and very lost.

Aisha continued to teach, she stopped when her mother-in-law came over.

Mom hugged Aisha tightly. He asked his favorite son-in-law to be patient and let the father go.

Meanwhile.

Zaidan accidentally runs into Anita who is busy carrying medical equipment and drugs that Abah uses to be stored back in the health care room.

Anita who tried to dispel her sadness by doing the activity was shocked to see Zaidan in front of her, directly bowing her head.

"Let me help."

Without waiting for a response, Zaidan immediately took the cardboard in Anita's hand carefully so that they did not touch, after which he immediately walked leaving Anita who was still standing glued.

He finally followed behind him to keep some of the remaining items still in his hands.

Arriving at Zaidan's destination to store the cardboard on the table, he then saw Anita who entered the room with a santriwati accompanying him.

"Thank you." Anita also kept the item in her hands without looking at Zaidan beside her.

Zaidan gave a small nod, then will go straight away.

"Don't forget to eat and take her stomach medicine" Anita said suddenly slowly.

Zaidan stopped his steps. At first she was shocked from where Anita knew of her recurrent stomach disease, but then she remembered if it must be her brother who told her.

"What medicine was taken?" anita asked again while busy removing some medicine from the cardboard.

Zaidan then remembered if he had forgotten not to bring the medicine.

"No. I forgot," he replied as he kept his back to Anita.

Anita then walked to the drug supply, looking for gastric medicine for Zaidan.

He returned to the table, keeping the medicine on it.

"This. Drink before you eat."

Zaidan felt Anita had comforted him in the midst of his sadness at losing the figure he admired.

***

Aisha forced herself to see Abah interred, with her husband continuing to remit her as she walked to the family cemetery still in the Pesantren neighborhood.

All Abah's children accompanied his departure, all trying to toughen up and sincerely release the father.

Aisha saw how her father was mummified, with a weak body helpless and supported by the husband, she tried to make love.

The tears of all Abah's children again broke when Ahmad shouted the Adhan with a hoarse voice holding back his cries, it is clear that Abah's eldest son tried hard to keep completing the Adhan in the midst of his deep sadness.

Along with Ahmad who was good to the top, Aisha fell down sitting limp, because now she knew if the time for the land to be lowered.

Ahmad approached his sister, hugging Aisha tightly, whispering while crying sobbing.

"Ikhlaskan dik." Ahmad and Aisha seemed to strengthen each other, they cried sobbing as soon as the ground was lowered.

***

Aisha only regained consciousness after fainting for the second time, the last she remembered she was unconscious in her brother's arms.

"Silver. You're sober." Zainab and Lela held her hand.

Maryam, Siti and Anita who were also there were relieved to see Aisha who was conscious.

Anita then checks on her best friend.

"Your body is very weak, it seems you should be infused."

Aisha did not reply, she just fell silent looking helpless.

Alvian who was called by Siti directly checked the situation of his wife. He looked worried at Aisha's weakened condition.

"I'll take the infusion" Anita said as she left the room.

____

Ummi held Aisha's hand, occasionally wiping her tears, she read the Koran held in her right hand.

Aisha listened to the chants of the verse her mother read, in her heart following Yasin's letter she was reading. The same letter that was also being read by the santri sounded boisterous inside the mosque in front of their house.

Aisha tilted her body to the mother, looking at her left hand with an infusion needle and also held tightly to her mother. He closed his eyes, but the tears did not stop breaking out by themselves and soaked the pillow underneath.

Aisha then opened her eyes to hear her mother finished teaching, she then saw the mother covered her face with the Koran, long enough that when it was opened she saw the face of Ummi who was wet with tears.

Seeing that her tears were breaking again, she pulled Ummi's hand and kissed him for a long time while crying as she pleased.

"It won't like seeing you like this." Ummi tried to calm down.

"Sorry Ummi, but Aisha can't stand it, Aisha isn't strong." Aisha continued to cry as she held Ummi's hand with the face she put on the pillow.

Ummi understood how much his daughter felt about losing her father, she knew exactly the closeness between the two, far beyond the closeness of the other children, so it was only natural that Aisha was so very sad.

"Aisha has missed Abah so much now Ummi." Aisha's voice choked withholding her cries.

"Son." Ummi stroked his daughter's head.

Alvian, who had just arrived because he finished his studies, was shocked to find his wife who was crying sobbing.

Several other people who had also just finished studying came to see Aisha's condition trying to calm her down.

"The dead are tormented by the cries of the living." Ahmad rubbed his sister's head.

Aisha instantly stopped her crying.

"Cry on, but naturally. There is no harm in crying over the passing of someone we care about, it is humane and it is not forbidden in our religion, he said, what is not allowed is excessive crying to lament with words as if not willing to God's provisions to blame His destiny, such a cry that makes the dead get torment."

"Remember Dik. Tears are halal. What a haram word." Ahmad advised his brother.