Fragrant For Galih

Ep. 123 About Mariam

It was a month after that time. Erisha and Ali had returned to their village, they decided to return to farming and gardening and sell the crops of vegetables or fruits to the headquarters Indobbat as their food stock. Ali or Erisha are still traumatized to come to town selling their crops. Moreover, Erisha, that terrible experience still stuck tightly in her mind. So for a while they sold it to the suburbs other than Indobbat headquarters. For Soledat, fortunately there was still enough money left for him to open a real coffee shop near his home so that he could still keep an eye on and take care of his sister. Meanwhile, Mariam, a woman who was found almost dying from overdosing on hallucinogenic drugs, is still in Indobatt Hospital. It was not that he had not fully recovered, that he still needed some treatment but that he himself did not want to return to his home. Both of his parents died when he was a teenager. His greedy uncle and aunt took possession of his parents' property after they died under the pretext that Mariam was not old enough to take care of his estate and pretended to be his guardian until he grew up. But the opposite happened, his uncle and aunt could only squander the money left by Mariam's parents and treat Mariam harshly if they did not do what they wanted. Little by little the legacy is exhausted because his uncle is not good at doing business and can only spend money. Even acres of plantation land were sold out to pay his uncle's debts and to satisfy his gambling cravings. Not only that, Mariam's parents' house was also sold by her uncle and inevitably Mariam also lived in her uncle's house which was not as good as hers. There she was treated harshly like a maid. Every day he had to take care of the house from sweeping, mopping, cooking and washing while his uncle's family could only have fun with the money left over from the sale of Mariam's parental assets. Until the money ran out, his gambling-crazed uncle sold Mariam to Lamona. But one that her uncle did not know, Mariam's parents left one more legacy, a small villa in the suburbs with a large yard that is enough for gardening. It was a secret place that Mariam's father had deliberately left to keep watch when such a thing happened. Mariam's father knew that his brother was very greedy, and he feared that he might one day leave Mariam alone, his brother would disturb his son because his wife had already died first then there was nothing Mariam had other than her uncle. Therefore, only Mariam knows about the secret villa.

"For Mariam..." Sapa Fragrance that morning.

"For the Fragrant Doctor." Reply Mariam with a smile.

"How are you doing today? Do you still feel dizzy sometimes? Don't be too forced to work, you can do it slowly." Fragrance Words.

"I feel better and I feel much healthier. I love doing this job, helping to care for someone who is sick is fun. My mind also did not become empty. If I just keep quiet, my mind goes blank and everywhere." Reveal it.

Yes, Mariam decided to stay at Indobbat Hospital to help the nurses and doctors there treat the patients. It was one form of rehabilitation for him after taking a lot of hallucinogenic drugs by force. He is also reluctant to stay in his father's villa. There was no one there, perhaps only a villa manager who came every two weeks to clean it and take care of his garden there. Fortunately his late father had already paid in advance the caretaker with a considerable amount of money and the distribution of garden produce that person cared for before the father died. Mariam also still has a secret fund that is saving the proceeds of the sale of crops in the villa garden that sent the villa keeper to his personal account. Fortunately the account book was stored in the villa so that his uncle could not find it.

"I'm glad you're so much better than before. But Mariam, are you sure you still want to stay here? Ah, I didn't mean to tell you to leave but... Don't you have any dreams for you to achieve? You're young, baby..." Ask Fragrance carefully.

Mariam smiled, then replied...

"My dream was to live together with my father while gardening quietly after my mother died. I want to live quietly with my father and with my son and husband if I have a family. That simple... I just want to live a happy and peaceful life. But after my father died in an accident, my life changed. The sense of security and happiness I felt just disappeared. Especially uncle..." Mariam stopped her speech and Fragrance was immediately alert and clasped Mariam's hand.

"Have not continued. I'm sorry for coming back to make you remember something hurtful." Says Fragrant who felt bad but Mariam immediately shook her head and smiled.

"But I'm grateful after going through all those bad things. I can be here, meet a lot of good people and help people who are in trouble. I don't feel alone anymore and I feel useful here. I'm really grateful, I don't know what I would be if I didn't meet you guys." Mariam said sincerely.

"Ah... What if you occasionally take me on vacation to your villa for one day? I hear the wine and the tin there will soon be harvested?" Said Fragrance while rolling one eye while smiling to melt the atmosphere.

"of course! I'm happy to be there with you Doctor, we can take the others as well. If I'm alone then I can only cry missing my father and mother." Mariam said with a glowing face.

"All right, you agreed. How about we get there before me and my friends get back to my homeland?" Mariam's face was immediately grim.

"Are you going back to Indonesia?" Mariam asked with a sad face.

Fragrant nodded as she stroked the head of Mariam who was much younger than her.

"Don't grieve... Even if it's far away, you can still call me or send me a letter. I'll leave my phone number and address later. After me and the others return, there will be a new person who will replace us. You'll make new friends, you'll know more people and you'll learn more, Mariam." Says Fragrant gently.

"Can't you stay any longer?" Mariam asked with a pleading face. For Mariam, Fragrance was one of those people there who was close to her. So, he would be so sad if one day Fragrant left him.

"I'm sorry... It's already a rule. Ah... Do you really want to be a nurse or even a doctor?" Ask Fragrant when remembering something.

"I want..but can I?" Mariam replied hesitantly.

"Why not? He said you were a good student at your school, you also finished high school with good grades. Why don't you just go to college? Now no one is bothering you. Your uncle and your cousin Lorena are in jail, and your aunt died of a heart attack. Now there's nothing stopping you anymore Mariam..." Fragrance Words. Yes, the good girl was Lorena's cousin, Joshua's son.

"But..."

"You can study in Indonesia." Perfumed speech cuts Mariam's speech which immediately makes Mariam's eyes wide.

"How can you?" Ask Mariam.

"With scholarship. You are smart, you can apply for a scholarship to a university in Indonesia that can accept students from Lebanon. I think where I went to college I could..." Reply Fragrant with a smile.

"really??" Mariam asked in disbelief.

"I'll look for the information, your job is now to study because the entrance exam is very difficult. But I'm sure you can because you're a smart kid. That's if you want to..."

"I want..!!" Mariam quickly replied to Fragrant words.

Fragrant smiled and again stroked Mariam's head like a sister to her sister.

"You can learn slowly, no need to rush. You need to be really healthy first and be prepared to learn. When you're ready, tell me I'll help you." Mariam nodded straight.

"Thank you Doctor Fragrance..." Said Mariam while hugging Fragrance with smiling lips.

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Seriate...