Mahabbah Love Khalisa

79

Khalisa's view is blank on the rose-studded navel with a photo of Renata smiling at the end. It's like a nightmare, Khalisa wants to wake up soon. Wasn't the last time Khalisa fell unconscious in Renata's room. He must be unconscious by now, right? But unfortunately it's real.

All living creatures will feel dead. The series of prayers continued until Renata's coffin entered the tomb and was covered with soil and sprinkled with roses. A prayer Khalisa could not utter. When relatives Renata and Jaya say prayers, Renata's immediate family can only clench their lips.

In his childhood, Khalisa often helped serve food for the congregation who worshiped at the Renata house. Even when Khalisa was 3 years old, he remembered the moment he was carried by Jaya while worshiping together. But now Khalisa can't help. They had indeed lived with differences for many years but there was certainly a boundary between the two that could not be interfered with.

Some people whisper because among them, only the Renata nuclear family is Muslim while the other one believes in Renata. They were concerned for Renata because of the circumstances.

“Hopefully everyone who has died can rest in peace. In the name of the Father." The prayer was the conclusion of Renata's funeral.

Cloudy looks hanging in the sky of the city of Banyuwangi as if to feel the sadness of driving Renata to his final resting place.

One by one the mourners left the tomb and prayed for Renata's family to be given fortitude.

Khalisa swiped the photo of Renata once again. In the photo Renata looks happy with a sweet smile. A smile that is always shown to his grandchildren.

Khalisa should be able to make his own salty vegetables.

Khalisa shook his head strongly in light of Renata's words when he came home from the hospital at that time. Khalisa can't make his own salty vegetables, can't. Although Khalisa likes chicken cooked with salted vegetables but maybe after this he will not make it again. The food always reminded him of Renata.

Khalisa looked up at his hands to feel the drops of water more and more. Khalisa felt someone's hand holding both of his arms and taking him away from there.

It was Azfan who guided Khalisa into the car before the rain got heavier.

"Let's stay at Mas' house." Khalisa dropped his head on Azfan's chest after they sat in the passenger seat. Khalisa needs a new atmosphere hoping to forget this sadness. Although sometimes Khalisa enjoy the sadness that sometimes comes to his heart. But this time Khalisa can no longer make a protracted sadness.

"Haura is going to Bantul?" Azfan's voice sounded so soft.

Khalisa nodded his eyes shut, he had never been able to sleep well for the past 3 days. Khalisa did not attend the funeral home because he avoided disputes that could occur at any time with Kafa.

"I'm ugly, right?" Khalisa brought his face closer to Azfan, his dark eyes proving that he had been crying for a long time.

"Why would a woman as beautiful as Haura dare to say such a thing?" Azfan cupped Khalisa's cheek staring fixed on the wife's pale face due to lack of sleep. Khalisa also refuses to eat heavily to this day. Khalisa only eats apples and bananas. "Will we leave today?"

"Yes." Yeah." Khalisa buried his face in the chest of Azfan's field, he wanted to self-medicate by going far away from here as fast as possible. Even though it hurts, Khalisa will take it wherever he goes.

"Yesterday Papa said Rindang came to the funeral home but he did not stop by the house because he knew Haura needed time alone." Azfan just told it because before Khalisa more silent so he did not want to disturb the wife.

Khalisa almost forgot Rindang, he did not give a message since he arrived in Banyuwangi even though Rindang is currently in need of support and guidance.

"Papa also said that Rindang was wearing a hijab."

Azfan's words made Khalisa raise his face, "oh huh?"

Azfan nodded, Daniel said everyone who knew Rindang was shocked to see the girl's appearance was much different than usual.

"Alhamdulillah, may Rindang be Istiqomah, we must help him."

"Yes dear." Azfan again approached Khalisa in order to sleep during the trip to the house far enough from the cemetery area.

Khalisa just got something happy and sad. When Rindang said he wanted to embrace Islam, how happy Khalisa was because the person closest to him finally got guidance. But a few days later Khalisa also lost the Ama. The saddest thing for Khalisa was that he could not pray for Renata. His heart was so sore, Khalisa also would not be able to find a cure from the pain.

"Khalisa, are you sure you want to go back to Sleman today?" Ica looked at the firstborn with worry.

"Yes Ma, I want to stay at Mas Azfan's house because since we were married we have not been there, it is not fair because Mas Azfan and I have been here several times."

"I've sorted out Non Khalisa's stuff." Renata approached Ica and Khalisa in the living room after he packed the items that Khalisa would bring.

"Thank You Bi Mar." Khalisa said with a faint smile.

"Khalisa Samperin Grandma first, he said to make sambel teri for Khalisa bring." Khalisa moved from the sofa to the kitchen to approach his grandmother.

Khalisa hugged his grandmother who was busy stirring sambal on the frying pan.

"Granny stinks of onions, don't hug."

Khalisa laughed letting go of his embrace, he peeked at something inside the frying pan. Khalisa immediately sneezed because he inhaled the smell of chili that was so stinging.

"That's sneezing, don't whip."

"Thank you Grandma and Grandpa are here."

"Later if Khalisa has a holiday, invite Azfan nginep at home."

"Yes Nek." Khalisa also misses his mother's hometown whose atmosphere is almost like the village where Azfan lives in Bantul. But because Khalisa is always busy, he has not been to his grandparents' house.

Actually Ica had asked her parents to stay here with her but they refused because they could not leave their place of origin. Instead they often stayed at the house of Ica and Daniel or vice versa.

"Khalisa want to try?"

"You." Khalisa mangosteen-mangut welcomed a feed from his grandmother, sambal with crispy anchovies blending perfectly evokes Khalisa's appetite that was lost in recent days.

Grandma hoped that Khalisa's grief would not drag on even though she knew how close her granddaughter was to Renata. Just as he was close to Khalisa. Their relationship is very close to each other.

"Khalisa wants to compress the eyes first." Khalisa opened the refrigerator and took a cold spoon prepared by Mareta to compress his eyes. It was hard for Khalisa to open his eyes wide due to crying too much.

"Call your husband to try the sambel as well." Pinta Grandma after turning off the stove. He was assisted by an ART to move the sambal into the container.

Khalisa rushed towards the second floor to call Azfan in the room, he was still walking while compressing his eyes with a cold spoon.

"Mas." Khalisa opened the door and found Azfan struggling with his laptop.

"Nothing, compressed so it's not too swollen." Khalisa sat next to Azfan, "there is a special mask under the eyes but Bi Mar already prepared cold spoon so it must be used."

"I just checked the email, there were four invitations to study, he said they knew me since the MTQ competition in Turkey aired on YouTube and television."

"Alhamdulillah, the more that know Mas Azfan." Khalisa smiled proudly at her husband.

"I'm not used to performing in public so I haven't answered their email yet."

Khalisa rubbed Azfan's back, unwilling to force her husband to fulfill the invitation. Khalisa will support any decision Azfan as long as it is good for them.

"Grandma calls us to lunch, yuk." Take Khalisa.

Azfan closed his laptop before exiting the room with Khalisa. They will go to the airport at 5 pm, stop by for a while to the apartment and then leave for Bantul according to Khalisa's wishes to stay in Azfan's hometown.

******

The moon shines brightly in the middle of the stars that are studded in the sky of the city of Bantul. Unlike the overcast Banyuwangi, Bantul that night was very bright.

"I'm sorry, I must be tired of having to drive here." Khalisa went down first before Azfan opened the door.

Azfan came down and took down the suitcase from the trunk containing Khalisa's clothes. Azfan did not bring clothes because in his house love there are some clothes of his.

"We can take a break here, baby." Azfan knocked on the door and said his greetings, he had told his mother this afternoon that they would come home from Banyuwangi.

"Mosur." Someone answered the greeting and the door opened, Marwah smiled broadly at the arrival of Khalisa and Azfan. Marwah kissed the hands of the two and invited them in.

"How come you haven't slept?" Khalisa rubbed Marwah's hair.

"Waituin Mbak Khalisa sama Mas." Answer Marwah.

"I'm sorry I made Marwah wait."

"Mother." Khalisa kissed the back of his in-laws' hands, "sorry we got him so bad."

"Nothing, you must be tired right, want to eat first or immediately rest?" Kirana returned Khalisa's embrace. He told Marwah to go to bed so she wouldn't be late for school tomorrow.

"We ate on the plane, ma'am, just take a break." Azfan also kissed his mother's hand.

"You hope Khalisa is steadfast in the face of Allah's provisions, Khalisa can definitely get through this." Mom patted Khalisa's back gently.

"Thank you, Mom." Khalisa parsed his embrace and smiled knotfully. "Oh yes Ma'am, this is sambel teri Granny Khalisa make." Khalisa thrust a box containing sambel anchovies made by her grandmother on Kirana.

"Thank you, tomorrow Mother's breakfast time." Kirana took over the box.

Kirana asked them to rest immediately because it was almost midnight, they also had a short journey from Banyuwangi.

"That new bed sheet smells." Khalisa murmured once he entered Azfan's room which was not too broad even arguably narrow and there was only a single bed and a wooden cabinet in the corner of the room. Khalisa thought whether the mattress was enough for the two of them.

Azfan closed the door smiling to see the bed so neat, surely his mother had replaced the bed sheet with a new one so that Khalisa could smell the aroma.

"This mattress is inshaa Allah enough for both." Azfan understood the meaning of Khalisa's gaze fixed on the mattress in the room.

Khalisa smiled widely, is it not good if a bed is getting narrower. That means their sleeping greetings have no chance of being far apart.

"Haura put me on the edge of the wall."

They change clothes with more comfortable ones before going to bed.

"There's only one lamp here." Tukas Azfan because in the apartment or house Khalisa, his room has two types of lights, namely sleeping lights and room lights so they can arrange it when they want to sleep. "Haura wants the lights turned on or let go?"

"Was no problem with either?" Khalisa should put her husband first, she can accept whatever Azfan's choice.

"No problem, I can sleep in the dark or the light."

"Yes, it's dead."

Azfan turned off the lights and stepped carefully up to the bed.

Khalisa mendelik, why is it so dark there is not a bit of light that enters the room. This room has no windows.

"Mas." Khalisa whispers.

"Why baby?" Azfan changed his position to face Khalisa.

"It's so dark."

"Yes because the back of the rice field house so there is no light from outside."

Khalisa was silent, he could not close his eyes because it felt the same way—dark.

"I'm living it." Azfan came back down from the bed to turn on the lights.

Khalisa let out a sigh of relief after the room came back bright, he apologized to Azfan for making him go up and down the bed.

"May my Haura stay here." Azfan hugs Khalisa's tiny body.

"Definitely at home." Reply Khalisa because Azfan house has a beautiful view and make it feel at home for a long time here.