Mahabbah Love Khalisa

40

Dew still soaks the leaves of rice that stretch along the eye looking like a meadow. When the Bondol bird alighted on it, the leaf swayed until the dripping dew fell to the ground. The rice was not yet fruitful so no farmer would shout at the birds. Later when the rice starts yellowing the farmers will be busy installing scarecrows or cans of Eid biscuits to make a sound when swayed to scare the birds.

On the other hand, the sound of rice planting machines is not too strong in the wind. In the past people planted rice by manual means, taking rice seeds and planting them on the ground. But now the existence of rice planting machines makes it easier for farmers to shorten the time.

Azfan stopped his motorbike for a moment on the roadside just to breathe the air around the rice field that felt cold into the cavity of his nose. Finally he came home despite something that stuck in his heart when he left Sleman. Throughout the trip Azfan thought if there were any items left behind but he had checked his backpack 3 times and his belongings were complete there.

Some people who passed the road greeted Azfan and asked him about the news.

After quite enjoying the view of the rice fields Azfan continued his journey home. Azfan had told his mother that he was going home today because he did not want to get scolded. Sometimes Azfan wanted to surprise people at home by going home without telling them as a result of his mother nagging. Usually Azfan's mother will prepare a lot of food if Azfan comes home.

From a distance of 5 meters Azfan can already smell the aroma of goat's guah gule. Azfan got off the motor impatiently and knocked on the door of his house while saying his greetings.

"Mosur." Safa opened the door and immediately kissed the back of Azfan's hand.

"Where's mom?" Azfan stepped in while Safa followed him from behind.

"It's in the kitchen."

Azfan went to the room first to put down his backpack containing several pieces of clothing and important items of his. Azfan only brought a little stuff because the plan he would only stay a week here, the rest he wanted to finish the business of the store.

"Assalamualaikum Ma'am." Azfan hugged his mother from behind, he kissed the back of his mother's hands that always smelled of spices. If it is not certain that the extraordinary hand is scented with candles because the daily activities of Azfan's mother are indeed batik and cooking.

"Waalaikumussalam, have you had breakfast yet?"

"Not yet, deliberately want to eat mother's cooking." Azfan also greeted Galuh who helped his mother cook.

"Good if that's the case, mom cooks the same goat gule pickled your favorite cucumber."

Azfan can't wait to eat his mother's cooking that always makes him want to go home. As delicious as any food that Azfan buys on campus, mother's cuisine always makes him miss the village.

"Where is Marwah ma'am?" Azfan will always ask the whereabouts of people who have not seen the house when he just arrived.

"There's in his room." Mother feeds a spoonful of rice with a goat's gule on Azfan, "less what?"

Azfan chewed slowly feeling the strong and savory scent of cumin from the long-boiled goat bone broth.

"Less a lot." Azfan grinned, his stomach began to rumble but it seems there are still other dishes that are not yet cooked so he still has to wait a while.

"Mas!" Marwah's voice rang out from the front door of the kitchen.

"Hey." Azfan stretched out his arms to hug the youngest.

"Mas lived here a long time, right?"

"Yes dong." Azfan tidied Marwah's long hair that was left unraveled.

"Do you want to tell me if Fan is important to you, Mom?" Mom asked, she remembered last night Azfan said he was going to talk to her about something important. "Don't tell me if you want to go girl, you just want your third semester."

"Can you?"

"So you really want to propose to a girl?" Mother was surprised even she almost dropped the spatula in her hand. Galuh also saw Azfan shocked because all this time his sister-in-law never had a boyfriend.

"Who was Mas's girl, who was invited here at the time?" Marwah follow kepo.

Azfan laughed with satisfaction because they easily believed in his words. That is not what Azfan was talking about.

"Azfan don't laugh yet." Mom handed Galuh a spatula to replace it with frying crackers.

"Mom agrees with her?" Azfan glanced at Marwah.

"Agreed-agreed." Marwah answered with enthusiasm.

"It's not you who's being asked." Sahut. "Azfan, are you serious?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Mom."

Finally the mother heaved a sigh of relief, she was afraid that Azfan would really want to propose to a girl because he did not have enough savings to do that yet. Of course applying for a girl requires a lot of money while Azfan is still in college. Azfan's journey is still long. Mothers do not want Azfan to have likes and good if they want a serious relationship. But for now as a parent, he is not ready.

"This is happy news." Azfan started his conversation seriously. "Papa Khalisa, Mr. Daniel told me to build a shop to sell my own calligraphy."

"Alhamdulillah, how is he good with you?" Azfan's mother's eyes glazed over, although Azfan never said but he knew that his son wanted to have his own shop. "How much does the rent cost per year?"

"Sir Daniel didn't talk about the rent, he said just use it until I was bored, Khalisa and his family are good, ma'am."

"God willing, the help of Allah is so close to Fan." I hugged Azfan and Marwah joined in.

Galuh smiled seeing his in-laws and sisters-in-law cuddling like that, he turned off the stove after frying all the crackers.

"What's Mr. Daniel really like, does he look like Khalisa?" Mom breaks down the hug.

"Attent." Azfan reached into the phone in his pants pocket, he typed the name Daniel Alindra in the search field on the internet. Daniel's photo immediately appeared with his complete biodata. "This is Mr. Daniel, and this one is Ms. Alisha or familiarly called Ica."

"They look richer than the rice paddies here Fan."

Azfan laughed at his mother's words, "do you know what a rich man looks like?"

"I think this is it." Azfan's mother pointed at the faces of Daniel and the others on Azfan's phone screen.

"Later Marwah wants to go to Mas Azfan's new store huh?"

"Yes the same as the others."

"Oh yes Nduk, call Safa, your husband and Agam to eat together." Pinta mom on Galuh.

If it is a normal day they rarely eat together at the table because of different eating schedules. But when there is Azfan they use the dining room more often because Azfan is rarely at home.

"Oh yes Fan, can you not accompany Mr. Dhe Tris to send batik to East Java?" Mom took rice for Azfan then 6 other dishes. He has memorized the portion of each including the youngest Marwah who again doyan-doyannya eat.

"When's Mom?" Azfan plucks crackers that are still hot because they have just been lifted from the frying pan.

"Lusa insha Allah, pity your Mr. Dhe if you send it alone, so you can change the strings."

Azfan nodded. It is good if he can go all the streets for free because he never went far even though a long holiday.

*******

Khalisa threw his body into a king-size bed in his room that was all white. At first glance, the room is like a hotel because Khalisa does arrange all the items to look like a hotel. All that Khalisa do so that every day feels like staying at a hotel while at home.

"That's a damn thing." Khalisa inhaled the scent of his room, he missed the room in this house.

"Circe!"

Khalisa opened his eyes waking from a sleeping position hearing Zunaira's voice. His youngest sister would certainly never let him calm down even though he had gone through a tiring journey from Yogyakarta.

Khalisa stepped in to open the door, he immediately changed the look of his tired face with a big smile.

"Circe!" Zunaira slammed into Khalisa's arms until it made Khalisa's body goosebumps and almost fell backwards. Zunaira's stocky body makes Khalisa no longer strong carrying his sister. "Cece when is it?"

"Just now." Khalisa kissed Zunaira's cheek.

"Zunai wants to sleep with Cece tonight."

"okay."

Zunaira pulled Khalisa's hand out of the room, "Mama made Ce corn pudding, it smells good."

"Oh yeah?" Khalisa and Zunaira went down the stairs to the kitchen on the first floor. "It sure tastes good too."

Although Ica admits that the cuisine is not very tasty but Khalisa, Azmal and Zunaira will praise their mama's cuisine.

"Zunai, Cece will still be tired until it should be a break Cece first." Ica sees Khalisa and Zunaira coming into the kitchen.

"It's okay Ma." Khalisa approached his mother who was grating cheese. While Zunaira climbed into the kitchen island chair saw a box of yellow pudding there.

"Zunai can't eat this Ma?" Ask Zunaira.

"May you love." Ica replied, he took a spoon to Zunaira. "Bismillah first."

"The design of the clothes that Khalisa sent at that time still needs to be replaced, no Ma?" Khalisa washed his hands to help his mother smooth the corn using a blender.

"Well, Mama likes it." Ica continued grating the cheese to beautify the look of the pudding. Ica wants to make three more servings of pudding to be delivered to the home of her parents and in-laws.

"Thank God if you like me."

"Where on campus? you're getting more settled there, aren't you?"

"Kok Mama knows?"

"looks." Ica smiled widely, he was happy if Khalisa liked his own choice to study at UII.

"Aunty Zayaan said that too."

"Say what?"

"Say that Khalisa seems to be at home there because Khalisa looks fat."

The blender makes Khalisa's voice not too clear so Ica asks Khalisa to repeat his sentence.

"Zayaan said that?" Ica noticed Khalisa, "no really."

Khalisa smiled, surely his mama was comforting himself, although it was disrespectful he did not matter at all if others commented about his physique.

"How much do you weigh now?"

"Fifty."

"It's normal baby, Zunaira is now forty, the doctor told me you have to monitor every food that goes into Zunaira's body because she's only 6 years old." Ica lowered her voice so as not to sound Zunaira.

Khalisa filter the mashed corn into a container before mixing with other ingredients.

"Oh yes, how is the development of Azfan store?" Tanya Ica, a few days ago Daniel had a chat with Azfan on the phone, Azfan said he had just arranged some calligraphy on the wall.

"It took him a while to open the store because he made all his calligraphy one."

"And you can't rush it either."

"I hope that with Azfan starting his own business, in addition to not being tied to other people his finances can also be more stable."

"Did he pay all his own tuition?" Ica put the pot on the stove and added sugar, coconut milk and sweetened condensed milk.

"It seems like that, but fortunately Azfan was able to get a 50% scholarship so it is not too heavy because we all know that tuition is not cheap Ma."

"God must have made the way easy for His servant to try."

Khalisa smiled at his mother at a glance, he always got calm every time he chatted with his mother and papa. They never yell at their children, let alone scold them. Instead they speak with gentleness from heart to heart.