MY FOSTER SON

Farewell Sentence

The knees of Kalingga and his three brothers felt weak. Everyone sat down with their hands on the edge of Merlinda's bed.

The crying will no longer wake the woman up, they can only pray, hopefully this is the best for everything.

Now Merlinda is no longer experiencing pain, everything has disappeared with the stopped breathing. Jojo walked with trembling footsteps toward the four brothers who were bowed limp, the woman hugged Kalingga.

"Ikhlas, be patient" whispered Jojo as he framed the tear-filled wet face.

Jojo helps Kalingga stand up, asking the man to be firm and strong, so that his younger siblings do not get sadder.

In turn, Jojo hugged the Kalinga brothers one by one. The woman asked them to be patient, strong and sincere. That all who live will die, and all who are present will return to the owner.

Johnathan approached his wife, hugging and kissing Merlinda in the face. The cry and sadness could not be hidden even though he had said sincerely. He lost the woman who had accompanied him for many years.

They all dissolve in tears and sadness for a while, then Merlinda's return must be taken care of immediately for the funeral to be carried out quickly.

As a child's last request, Kalingga asks Johnathan for permission to have Merlinda return to their home. The house where they all once gathered and knit happiness together.

Johnathan doesn't mind, he agrees and gives Merlinda's children a chance to take care of her mother for the last time.

After taking care of the entire administration at the hospital, Kalingga and his three brothers brought Merlinda home. They prepared the best burial place located not far from the residential complex. Luckily, there was one vacant lot located right next to Abraham's tomb, and they agreed to bury them side by side.

News of Merlinda's death spread to all of their close friends and family friends. People who had known Merlinda came flocking to Kalingga's house to offer their condolences.

In their last moments together, Kalingga and his three younger siblings did not rise from Merlinda's side for a second. They continued to accompany the woman until the funeral was over.

The flower-studded wet mound of soil seemed to be the last place Kalingga and his brother to bury all their dreams of a whole and happy family. Merlinda was gone, the woman who became the first love of four boys who sat around her tomb.

"Rest in peace, Ma. We love you more than you know. Thank you for everything" Keenan said with a smile.

Jojo, Angelina, and Johnathan accompanied them to the end. Although saddened by the loss, they were all relieved because in the end Merlinda no longer had any pain.

Jojo smiled seeing the four men standing up. They all walked together leaving the cemetery area.

"There's something your mom left behind. It's a gift for you" Johnathan said as they reached the parking lot. The middle-aged man with gray hair adorned his hair handed him a medium-sized painting.

The painting of an adult woman running around with four boys in a flower garden illustrates how much Merlinda loves her children.

"Thank you, Mister. Thank you also for being a good husband to our Mama, thank you for being the only solace when Mama lost her entire life expectancy" Kalingga said.

Johnathan smiled and hugged the four men in front of him in turn.

🖤🖤🖤

The funeral procession has ended, their house is now back as quiet as usual.

"Sir, thank you for coming" Jojo told Angelina. He delivered the woman in front of the gate of his house.

"Let me know if you need anything. Strengthen them, this will greatly destroy the feelings of all of them," said Angelina. They hugged before they split up.

Inside the house, Kalingga and his three brothers sat daydreaming in the living room.

"I'll cook for our dinner, you can rest" Jojo said.

A little while later, Kylan and Kai followed. While Kalingga still has no intention of getting out of his seat.

"Darling, get some rest" jojo pinta stroked Kalinga's shoulder.

The man stood up, but not to return to his room. Instead, he took a painting given by Johnathan and installed it on the wall of the living room on top of Kalingga's favorite vase.

After the painting was attached, the two stood up and looked at the picture on the canvas. A feeling of sadness re-emerged filled Kalingga's heart.

Jojo felt the painting, then felt something blocking the vision in his lower corner. The girl fingered the back of the painting and found a tucked paper.

"Darling, did you find anything?" ask Kalingga. Jojo opened the paper and read the contents.

"It's a funeral address" Jojo replied.

"Where do you know?"

"Your mother told me, if she was going to tell you the place where your biological mother was buried after her disappearance," Jojo said. The address of the funeral was complete along with the name of the woman who is thought to be the biological mother of four brothers.

Kalingga frowned, as if trying to dig something into his memory. Just for a moment, he ran up the stairs, then opened the empty room located on the top floor, right next to Kai's room.

"Darling, are you looking for something?" jojo asked confusedly. He saw Kalingga begin to tear apart the contents of the closet.

This room used to be used by Abraham and Merlinda. The largest room among the other rooms. But as you can see, this room is always locked and unkempt. Even Jojo just this once came in and looked at the contents of the room.

Without answering, Kalingga opened the whole closet door and checked the entire drawer.

"Dear, say something. I'll help you find him" insisted Jojo.

"A photograph" answered Kalingga briefly.

Although Jojo does not understand what photos Kalingga is looking for, the woman still tries to find. He found some photos tucked away at the bottom of the closet shelf, he showed them to Kalingga.

"No, not this photo" Kalingga said.

They went back to unpacking the entire room and looking for what Kalingga wanted.

"What is this photo?" ask Jojo. He showed me an old photo that was starting to break down. When he recognizes the person in the photo, Kalingga takes it from Jojo's hand.

"This is Miss Mary. We only met once when I was a kid, Mama introduced her as a distant relative. But next, we met several times without Mama's knowledge, because Papa invited me and forbade me to say it to Mama," explained Kalingga.

"That means ...."

"True, it's likely she's our birth mother. Because as far as I know, Mama and Papa are both single children and have no siblings" Kalingga said.

When Jojo thought that Kalingga would tell his sisters, the opposite happened. The man took a match lying on the floor and burned the photo in his hand.

"Darling ...." Jojo's voice was stuck in his throat. The woman took a long breath.

🖤🖤🖤