Love Zainab

Phobias

Joseph was immediately taken to the UKS room. Everyone was shocked by the events on the ground. They all wondered why Joseph was suddenly unconscious. Zainab and Sofia looked at each other, most of them could only speculate on the incident.

"What happened to him?." Sofia asked what Zainab had been thinking.

"I don't know either." Zainab shook her head not understanding.

"Is he probably afraid?." Sofia still guessed the answer from some estimates.

"Eitherway. Could be. I must have felt so guilty about him, earlier." Zainab recalled the incident a moment ago. He knew that Joseph was hesitant to enter the race. However, at the moment he gave a nod of his head to convince himself, then he finally agreed to it.

Sofia scrunched her forehead. "Why do you feel guilty? I don't understand what you mean."

"That's not important. We should go to the UKS, make sure how it is now. We're either in or not." There was worry on Zainab's face.

"OK." Sofia.

They both rushed to the UKS room. There was also Mr. Agus and Dimas, and Yusuf had just realized from his stupor. Zainab and Sofia entered the room, and saw Joseph sitting down drinking a glass of water offered by Dimas.

"What happened to you, Mr. Joseph? Why did he suddenly faint?." Ask Mr. Agus full of worries.

Not yet able to answer Joseph, Dimas added to it with another question. "Are you not well?."

"No, I'm fine." Answer's flat.

"Then, why did you faint?." Sofia. There was no way that if Joseph felt fine, there must be something that he did not know. Joseph hid from everyone.

Zainab just silently nailed herself. But not with his heart that now calls for a stronger beat only. Joseph looked at him. Want to know what's implied in those two brown neutrals. He found nothing there, except a scar that was forced to heal faster.

"From childhood I had a phobia with that fish called eel. My memory is still very clear, because every time I see it I am am amused and my brain says that he is kind of a snake species." Joseph felt so educated if retelling during his childhood. "Suddenly, I had a fever at night. Since that incident, I have concluded that I am phobic about eel fish." Joseph laughed a little considering the events that he thought were ridiculous.

"I feel so guilty. Because I just showed the fish right in my father's face." Said Mr. Agus feeling bad.

"Ohh, no sir. Don't feel that way." Joseph immediately refused.

"But because of my actions, then he fainted. Please forgive me." Her request.

"Sir Agus is not guilty of this incident. When I heard or saw the eel fish directly, my brain memory opened the events of childhood, I automatically felt the phobia came back. Fear for no reason that should have probably disappeared, as we get older. But in reality it is still inside me."

"Can't phobias be eliminated?." Ask Sofia curious.

"could. Counseling with psychologists and psychiatrists is an effective way to overcome phobias.

"Of course it must be accompanied by a strong determination, must be able to change the mindset to be more positive and see something that has been feared objectively." Agus added.

Sofia mangosteen mahfum. Zainab was just listening to their conversation. Not a word came out of his vocal cords. Joseph wanted to hear a few words from her.

It was as if understanding Sofia rebuking him for pleasantries. "Zai, don't you want to say something to Mr. Joseph?." That question made Zainab flounder.

"Hm." Zainab continued her sentence long enough. "What do you feel now?." Zainab tried to be ordinary even though her heart was not calm.

"Alhamdulillah has improved, it's just that this body is still a bit limp." Answer it by smiling.

"Rest, to recover soon. And hopefully you can overcome the phobia slowly." The message returned a smile.

"Thank you." His words got a nod of the head from Zainab.

***

At night Yusuf felt his head dizzy, nauseous and his chest tight. Does the panic attack continue? He's having trouble sleeping. Joseph did not tell his mother what had happened to him today at school. He is not a child anymore, who must complain about anything.

"Your mother why Re?." Ask Ms. Tina.

"Where does Rere know, Mom." Rere raises both his shoulders.

Ms. Tina was still thinking hard, but there was still no answer to solve it.

"Ask Yusuf straight away, ma'am!." Rere gave a suggestion.

"It still has something to do with Zainab, doesn't it, Re?."

"Maybe. It could be." Rere devoured the cassava chips in front of him.

"Is Mas Yusuf not in fashion yet?." Bu Tina pulled her lips sideways.

Rere who is now thinking hard, digesting the words of the mother who is actually strange or not right. "Move on time, Mom." Finally Rere confirmed.

"That's the same thing, move on, mode on, an ounce. Yeah tho?."

Rere patted his eel. Since when did his mother understand slang like that. Must be a social media victim who is mistaken.

"Why are you, Re? Pat mosquito?." Ask Ms. Tina.

"Yes, the mosquitoes are slouching." Rere replied as he continued to put large amounts of chips into his mouth.

"Mother go to your room first!." Ms. Tina moved from her seat.

"Hm." Rere replied without looking.

While in his room, Joseph could not say his eyes or body for a moment. Anxious feelings occasionally came toward him. There was still a phobia he felt.

Geck. Geck. Geck.

Chequek. The sound of the door opening turned Joseph's gaze away. He got up and leaned on the wooden bed. Ms. Tina also sat on the edge.

"Subhanallah, your face is pale. You sick?" Tina asked Bu full of worries. He took his son's face.

"No, Ma." Joseph's reply made Bu Tina distrustful.

"If you're not sick, then why is your face pale? Does this still have anything to do with Zainab?." Ask again.

"This has absolutely nothing to do with Zainab. That phobia of eels makes Joseph like this again." Yusuf finally recounted the incident that happened to him at school, to remove the worry felt by Bu Tina.

Bu Tina let out a long breath. "Astaghfirullah, why haven't you told me about it since? If you don't see you, I won't know any of that." Ms. Tina paused her sentence. "What do you feel?." Further.

"Yusuf's head felt dizzy, nauseous, and his chest felt tight." Said telling.

"We went to the doctor!." Bring along.

"No need, Mom." Refuse Yusuf. "I just need a break, and I'll recover tomorrow."

"Well if you refuse. But tell me when you feel uncomfortable and you feel pain." His message was to tell Joseph to lie down again. The middle-aged woman shrouded and kissed her forehead. "May God give you healing." Do it before it really passes.

I don't know what energy is going through his body. That anxious feeling eroded recklessly but surely. In the past, the embrace of the mother was able to dispel all the fears that were on her. She may have asked for it, though her mother would never have rejected it.

Slowly Joseph's eyes closed. The sound of a long needle on a wall clock led him to sleep. The sound of crickets adds to the eight owners of the house. Out there, the mega decorated with stars as the guardian of the sky and the bright beautiful moon. It is possible that they were talking about the greatness of the creation of another God, and never stopped expressing their gratitude to the Creator.

***Connected***