Fall of Dream Pesantren (Move WRITE)
More than Friends
The morning dawned, the morning sunlight through the window of Ammar's room. The heat is felt up to the skin of the deepest layer. Ammar's eyes slowly opened. His hands covered the rays that shot towards his two eyes. It stretches his muscles. The warmth of the morning pampered him.
“Ahh . .” says Ammar while stretching hands.
Somehow he felt very lazy to move in this morning. Because it is Sunday now? He saw the calendar next to his closet, his schedule empty today. There is no schedule of lectures, filling seminars, and other things that concern him. There is only a sholawat ceremony that is routinely held every Monday night with village youths.
Ammar decided to go back to sleep, his body was very tired after filling organizational seminars and lectures in a row in two different places last night. He turned on the fan and flopped on the soft mattress. He took the time to look at the clock first, still at six in the morning. He set the alarm at eleven o'clock in the afternoon so as not to miss the Duhur prayer congregation at the local musalla.
Before going to bed, Ammar caught a glimpse of the news that yesterday happened on television. Whether news about sports, politics, economics, national, to international. Once enough was felt, he began to close his eyes slowly. He had not been late in his dream, Mother knocked on the door of his room.
“Shortly, Bu.” Ammar answered as he walked towards the door.
Ammar opened the door to his room.
“Mother please buy tempe, Nak.”
Ammar was surprised, rarely did Mother wake him in the morning just to buy breakfast side dishes. He thought, There must be something strange until Mom told him to.
“Good, Bu.”
Ammar took out his bike immediately. He felt lazy to walk towards the tempe seller's shop which was right at the end of the alley. Even though the distance of his house and shop is only tens of meters. He rode his bike to get there. Closed up. He decided to search the street next door. Closed too.
After looking for a stall that sells tempe to all corners of the village of Candi, he also found a small stall near the mosque. He asked the shop owner about the presence or absence of goods ordered by Mother. Apparently there isn't either. It was the last stall in the village of Candi. The rest, just a warkop and a goods store.
Ammar did not intend to look for tempe outside the village because it did not taste according to Mother's tongue. Tempe made by the surrounding residents has its own characteristics in taste.
“Forced to buy tempe in next village.” Gerrutu Ammar.
As the wheels of the bike were about to turn again, there was someone who suddenly patted Ammar from his right side.
“Eh you Yes, ngagetin people only. How are you?”
It turns out that the person is Galih, Ammar's childhood friend. Ammar did not expect to see him after almost ten years of not seeing him face to face. Now he can see that face again.
“You changed a lot.”
“You are still the same as you used to be, cf. Matt. Always looks simple.”
The two old friends hugged each other for a while and talked about their past. Ammar used to be messy, never dressed neatly, and hair that was always long, now turned into a neat person and care about appearance. Plus his hair is always shaved neatly.
Unlike Galih, his appearance had not changed since ten years ago, before Ammar became a santri. He still likes to wear black pants and long-sleeved white shirts. Her hair was always thinly shaved with bangs that expanded like waves on the high seas. The bracelet on his left wrist is still worn. He said the bracelet was his father's gift before he left the house.
“Sad I know Azmy's news is gone. Especially after seven days your father died.”
Ammar. He just remembered about his little sister Galih. If Azmy is still alive, of course, his age is not much different from Sinta, Galih's younger brother. It had been ten years since Ammar left for college, he had never seen the face of Galih's sister.
“Just relax, the important thing is not to forget doain both your parents aja.”
“Now what do you work for, Lih?” Ammar is curious about Galih about his busy life lately.
“Nerusin the late Father and Mother.”
“Herbal medicine lines mean?”
“Ya, so.”
Galih's father and mother died when he was seven years old. At that time, Sinta was still a toddler who was two years old. His father and mother had an accident while returning from Lombok to do research on some herbs that were there. The ship that was boarded by both parents was hit by powerful waves until it was uncontrollable.
After the tragedy of the sinking of the ship, Galih was taken care of by his grandmother Ammar. Sinta who is still a child certainly does not know what really happened to her parents. He only considers Ammar's father and mother as his biological parents. For this reason, Galih and Ammar are like a very familiar childhood brother and friend.
Once Sinta's age was enough to accept the fact that Ammar's father and mother were his adoptive parents, Galih told him about the incident ten years ago. It is not easy to accept such a harsh reality, but Sinta seems to understand that it is called the will of God. No one can change it.
Not wanting to continue to trouble the Ammar family, Galih decided to quit school after finishing his aliyya education. He also welcomed the happy desire of Sinta to become a santriwati. He was so excited when he heard his sister say that.
“Your father's garden is getting wider loh.”
“Emang yes, Yes? I haven't been there in almost a year.”
After his father died, Galih was the one who fully guarded the garden. Because Ammar and Galih were two friends who rarely met, Ammar gave all the processing rights of the garden to Galih. He and Sinta occupy a small house belonging to the Ammar family in the northern end of the village while Ammar and his mother occupy the house in the middle of the village.
Galih and his sister no longer inhabit the house of Ammar. They lived in their own home after Galih was fifteen years old. Her father's long-closed herbal store is now reopened with a new owner and atmosphere. The name Galih is slowly becoming known among the public and is well known as an expert in herbal medicine. The store was never empty of buyers.
“What are you looking for, Mar. How did you look confused just now?”
“It's mother pingin tempe, but the stock is already on abis.”
“Nih I just bought, tempe Mbok Jum, favorite mom for sure.”
Having grown up in the Ammar family, Galih considers both of Ammar's parents as his own. Moreover, Sinta who can not be separated from the grandmother who had been babysitting her. Of course Galih knows what his mother Ammar likes. Therefore, he preferred to give the tempe he had just bought.
“No what, cf?”
“This is you, still ask. Just take it, it's been awaited noh.”
“I said goodbye first, yes. Poor mom.”
“Don't forget to stop by ..!”
They were both separated, Ammar pedaling his bike with all his might, hoping that mom would not wait for him too long because of the chat just now.
