Mission Jessy

Confession of Ms Rahma

That night they had a special guest, Tarisa, Evan's mother who came to visit with David.

Various types of food have been served at the table and Tarisa has not ceaselessly praised the cuisine of Bu Rahma which he said tastes like in a five-star restaurant.

After finishing with the main food menu, Evan invites David and Melva who are still crashing to the terrace. Ms. Rahma brought some sandwiches that Melva had asked her mother very often.

"Mel, how do you eat that weird thing?" chirps David.

Melva still opened her sandwich pile, eating each piece separately. Bread first, cheese, then followed by saryur, meat and cheese second.

Evan was stunned to realize what he had just seen.

Meanwhile, in the middle room, Ms. Tarisa was chatting with her iron, Ms. Rahma. The two look familiar even though they have met twice.

"I'm grateful Mel got a nice guy like Nak Evan. I didn't expect that Ms. Tarisa would agree that Nak Evan married my son."

"Kok Bu Rahma said that, anyway.. Evan is a good boy, Mom. Since childhood, he never once defied my wishes. Starting from choosing a school, a job even a wife. I intend to match Evan with another girl before. But the girl died in a horrible way and I was worried about Evan's condition. But it's a good thing he met my mother's son and went back to being the Evan I knew."

"Maybe that's their way of life."

Tarisa took a sip of her tea, "Bu Rahma was right. I used to be with my husband, too, hehe.."

The two return to tell each other memories of their past.

"I was sad to see Evan fail to enter the National Intelligence Agency at that time. I really want him to be an agent who serves the country. But it seems like fate says something else and wants him to become a great programmer. He made it into his dream company, MicroChip when he was twenty. It was the first time I felt proud to see him work at a prestigious company like MicroChip. I can't imagine what it would be like for Evan to lose his job." Ms. Tarisa looks very sad. "Oh yeah, I heard that Mel's father also worked there first. Is true?"

"Oh yes, but it's been a long time."

"Did Ms Rahma never hear from him again or see him?"

Madam Rahma shook her head. "My husband just left me and Melva. We never knew about him again after that."

"I'm sorry, Mom. I know how hard it is to raise a child alone. His father Evan also died a few years ago of illness. From then on, Evan became a poor man and David was his only friend. He had a lot of trouble without his papa, but fortunately I was able to keep him and steer him back on the path he should have."

Ms. Rahma patted Ms. Tarisah's back gently, as tears began to look well in her eyes.

"Son Evan's a great kid. Although he was very young but he was very brave and responsible. Ms. Tarisa must be so proud of Nak Evan."

Ms. Rahma understood very well how her iron felt. They both struggle to raise their children as single mothers. And there is nothing more painful for a mother to see slumped by things they cannot fix as parents.

"What about Mel's dad, Mom?"

"He left about ten years ago. We don't know where he is. But two years later we heard that he had died in an accident."

"Nine years ago? Where's?"

Madam Rahma nodded. "We don't know where it is."

"So Ms Rahma also doesn't know where Mel's father is buried?"

Madam Rahma shook her head with a face full of sadness.

*****

That night Evan came late to the house of his future father-in-law because of Melva. She even had to come empty-handed because the girl ate all the chocolate she was going to give Jessy.

"Hi, Van! Coming in!" Tomi Abraham, who had been waiting for Evan, immediately took him to the dining room.

There was already a beautiful straight-haired girl who was eating a sandwich with double cheese. But there was something strange there, he ate the sandwich separately, bread first, cheese, vegetables, meat then cheese second.

After being full, the girl just looked at Evan for a moment and then said, "Jess to the room first, Pa? I want to rest because the day after tomorrow there's a race."

After that Evan could no longer see him because his father reported that the girl had died of an overdose. But the girl's adorable gaze and habits were always lingering in Evan's mind.

******

As usual, that morning Melva who still did not want to talk to Evan, returned to swimming practice. His mother did not expect that her daughter who was very afraid of the pool water suddenly turned diligent swimming.

Rahma called Evan and asked him to talk at the dinner table.

Ms. Rahma handed over Melva's birth certificate to Evan.

"What is this, Mom?"

"Mel's real self. All the school documents since Mel's father left have been faked. Because I know very well there are many people like Nak Evan who are looking for Mel."

"What really happened, Mom?"

"Mel's father left ten years ago because he didn't want Mel's life to end. About two years after he left us, I heard that he died in an accident. I don't even know if it was an accident or if someone intentionally took his life. I thought it was over but it wasn't. Therefore I brought Mel to move house and school because I do not want bad things to happen to Mel like his father. But what's going on? Mel was also a hit-and-run victim."

Rahma could no longer hold back her tears. His sobs began to sound heartbreaking and made Evan unable to ask many questions that he had arranged neatly in his mind.

"Would you like to go back to your room?"

"Religious. Evan's son needs to know who we really are."

"There's no need to hurry, ma'am. I can wait until Ms. Rahma is ready."

"I keep the file that Nak Evan was looking for in a safe place. But only Mel can crack the key word."

"But how do you know about that file?"

"We've been married for almost ten years. So I know very well the contents of my husband's head."

"Then do you know, why did Mr. Tama choose to take away the document instead of returning it to MicroChip or hand it over to the government? Wouldn't it be easier than having to be a MicroChip fugitive like this?"

"I'm sure there's something big she wants to protect. My husband is a very dedicated and respectful person. Although sometimes loyalty to the company is actually misinterpreted and utilized. My husband has worked for over fifteen years at MicroChip and has made a huge contribution to MicroChip. But look! What did they do to us?"

"We have to open the document to find out why. No one else can find it before we know what it is. If not, then everything Mr. Tama sacrificed would be for naught."

Evan rushes to see Melva at the pool and is shocked to find that the girl is able to hold her breath long enough in the water. Jessy's breath-hold technique was used in every race she took part in. Although Melva's movements have not been as good as Jessy's because of her bone and muscle injuries, her breathing technique is still just as good.

*******