LOVE SONGS OF LOLOBATA

ONE MORNING

That night the phone rang. Not from Bray like the previous nights but from an unknown number. I refuse to lift. Disappointed, I put it back on the table. I'm waiting for a call from Bray, not the others. Could it be that Bray is pranking me with a new number? Masabodos. I've committed to myself not taking unknown calls. Bray knew that. I'm lazy to waste time serving insurance sales, pranksters and people who have the potential to cheat over the phone.

Soon the phone of the same number came back ringing and I immediately refused again.

A minute later there was an incoming message from a green application with a phone handle.

"Assalamu'alaikum's chat. Fifa. It's Arfa. Please pick up the phone for a minute!"

Spontaneously I immediately pressed the green phone handle button.

"Where are you going, Arfa?" manya curious.

"long story. Now I live alone in the forest like the Lili people."

"Why ...?"

"Don't talk on the phone. Sa wants to tell a lot but this is borrowed from friends and is almost out of battery. We'll meet tomorrow morning by the river near the old house."

"What time?"

"It's dawn."

Tuuut connection disconnected. I called back no answer except for a notification from the phone provider that the number contacted was out of reach.

The next day after dawn I hurriedly packed our breakfast ration bread and mineral water in the kitchen. Wearing training pants and a hoodie jacket I walked towards my old house. Deliberately went to sleep without waking Santi. But it turned out that my bodyguard knew of my departure and followed me from behind.

I stopped the step. Santi is like that too.

"There's no need to control, Santi. It's still morning."

"I was assigned 24 hours to look after Miss."

"I just want to take a quick morning walk."

"I have to come along to make sure Miss is safe anytime and anywhere" he replied firmly.

Well, how is it? Although the situation for a few days was safe, Santi remained in charge of escorting me. If there was anything with me today, his career would have been ruined. It would be unwise for me to forbid him from doing his duty. In the heart there is actually a guilt of being caught meeting a boyfriend secretly without telling Bray. I'm just afraid Bray knows he's going to the police and they're coming to Arfa's arrest.

"alright. I want to meet my little friend at the place where we used to play together by the river near my old house. You can take control but keep a safe distance so as not to disturb our privacy."

"Ready, Miss."

I opened my mouth to tell her not to report this meeting to Bray but to stop. Santi is a paid guy Bray. I realize my mistakes multiply when I say that word. I have no bad intentions. When I get home, I'll tell you about my meeting with Arfa. But for now I want to meet him as a best friend without any intervention from Bray.

It's still a little dark. The road to our old house looks bright. I had to be careful because the road was narrowed and almost covered by tall reeds. No more people doing morning activities in the river. Most villagers already have wells or water pumps in their homes. That's why this road almost no one ever goes through. Wild grass and trees thrive.

"Hi, Fifa." Arfa waved his hand. He waited for me while sitting on a big rock where we used to sit waiting for baba who was catching fish and mama who was washing clothes.

Arfa's appearance looked shabby and skinny. His curly hair was left long and messy. It looks the same as the Lili people I once met in the forest.

"Hi, how are you?"

"Good."

I handed him some bread and a bottle of water. "Surely it hasn't had breakfast."

Arfa smile. He grabbed the plastic bag I was carrying and checked what was inside.

"Ngana is like Dutch noni now. Breakfast bread every day?"

"No. That's the bread given by mama Yos for example because I ordered the cake to him for a meeting of the people later tonight." I hid the facts a little. Though the bread was sent from catering PT XY yesterday afternoon specifically for my breakfast. Mama Yos is the name of one of the office catering cooks.

"Did Mama Yos also take orders in addition to cooking for PT XY?" asked Arfa with a sharp and somewhat cynical look in her eyes.

"Yes. Eat up! Sa deliberately brought this for ngana because he knew during his stay in the forest ngana certainly never met bread. Mama Yos is good at making bread and cakes."

Arfa still looked at me sharply. Hungry led him to take a piece of bread and eat it with gourd.

I sat on the big rock next to Arfa. As usual, my hand was always taking small stones and throwing them into the river.

Plung, sound and splash of river water when the rock touches the surface of the river water is so beautiful. At the place of the fall will form circles and sparks of water that glow around the circle. I don't know. I always liked that simple view.

"Why not work on the island of Obi?" ask me directly on the question that for days settles in the head.

I nodded in understanding. The reason for leaving the island of Obi is quite reasonable. Unfortunately, I did not dare to ask about the theft allegations addressed to the group of workers who fled from the island of Obi. Pretending not to know. I hope he shares more stories.

"Aren't you going back to work at PT XY?"

"Tara. Better stay in the woods."

"Sa can help talk to Hisham and Firdaus to receive more."

"Tara. No more business with the mining company. No longer fit in with them."

It's been. The story does not go on the theft charge. I don't have a word to dig up more information.

"What about college?"

"Forget over! It's useless."

Arfa looked desperate. Poor thing.

I again threw a stone as big as a fist into the river that produced a splash of water quite high.

We are both silent. I wait for a lot of stories to flow. Arfa is doubtful. Not sure if I'm trustworthy enough.

"Deya moved to Vedas. Ngana know?" Move the topic to another problem.

"Know."

"He must be disappointed and ashamed."

"It's his own fault."

"Yes. It's his own fault." I said justifying Arfa's words. Just to entertain. On the other hand I could feel how embarrassed and disappointed Deya was. Fortunately I was not in the village until I was not the target of their family's anger.

"Sa has paid the family debt and interest according to ngana's advice. The money's up. Now it has to start living from zero again. I used to live together in the forest. But things have changed. We have different fates, Fifa. Ngana is now a rich girl can inherit from the family of the deceased baba. Getting closer to the director of PT XY. There's no way to live in the woods anymore."

I saw a jealous look on his face. For that I tried to offer help, "Can anyone help me? Want to work on a pepper or chocolate plantation owned by the baba family in Sulawesi?"

"Tara."

"Would I lend you some money to buy your own plantation?"

"Tara."

"The rumors of the forest resin have begun to decrease. Many coconut farmers also switch to looking for resin because the price of copra is plummeting. It's hard to improve your life by just working as a resin collector."

"Sa doesn't care. Sa came back home just to marry you, Fifa."

"where can. From the beginning sa su said only consider ngana best friend. Ngana can't marry Deya because she doesn't love. Sa can't marry ngana because she doesn't love."

Frustrating. I threw the stone back into the river throwing off the annoyance at this situation. This time the stone was bigger than a fist. The water splash it caused was higher.

Suddenly Arfa brought her face closer to mine and looked at me sharply, "If you don't want to marry me, don't marry anyone! Not with the one who betrothed grandma in Makassar. Nor with Firdaus." he threatened to make me shudder in horror and stand dodging.

Sorry why I didn't tell Bray. I was afraid to see Arfa's face turn violent. His eyes were red looking at me with a threatening look.

"For that reason why did Firdaus shoot us at Baba's tomb?"

Arfa smiled faintly.

"The type of poison on his arrow is the same as the poison that killed the baba."

Arfa turned her face. Now I'm not afraid anymore. The silence of Arfa makes my blood hotter. I boldly pointed at Arfa with a loud voice and stern eyes.

"Where would you like to meet in this deserted place to be killed as well?"

"Kill it! Ngana knows I would love to be able to quickly meet baba in the afterlife. Just kill it if it's to be satisfied."

"Nobody wants to kill ngana. Look at! Tarada weapons here. Sa miss. Want to see you." she replied quietly without daring to look at me. There are no guns around.

"Sa love pe ngana, Fifa" he said.