
Alan spurred his car through the paved road that looked empty. Every day he would go to the office alone without the driver.
The only driver he had was Mr. Yono, but since Kimi school, Pak Yono was only in charge of picking Kimi up.
Alan prefers to support his own car in order for Kimi to be there to guard.
Alan rubbed his face rough, still ringing Mayang's face in his memory.
*****
Alan had just returned from an event outside the city. That night was almost past midnight. Alan was alone driving his car to the hotel where he was staying when he saw a woman being dragged by two men to a narrow alley between the neatly lined shophouses.
The woman screamed and pleaded to be let go. Alan slowed down the car. She knew the woman was in need of her help, but she was already feeling very tired and was not wanting to get into trouble.
Alan decided to ignore it and had started to step on the gas to increase his speed, when the voice of the woman's screams in fear for help.
Alan stopped his car and got out of his car. He took a baseball bat from the trunk and then stepped towards the direction of the sound.
"Hey, let go of the woman" she said loudly after being close to them.
"Who are you?, don't interfere in our affairs if you don't want to die" replied one of them.
Evil grins were clearly visible from their faces. Then one of them took a dagger tucked in his waist and walked toward Alan.
Alan dodged, then swing the baseball bat towards the man's nape. Instantly the man fell down.
Huh!, Just a drunken bastard.! . Mumbled.
Alan stepped forward to approach the one man who was still holding the woman. In the man's hand was a dagger used to threaten the woman.
Alan should not be rash, could be intent to help the woman even reproach her.
"Take the woman off, or I'll call the police" Alan said.
"Before the police get here you and this woman are dead in my hands, hahahaha....!".
His laughter sounded smirking. The smell of alcohol came from the man's entire body.
Alan realized he was dealing with a man who was drunk. When the man let his guard down, Alan immediately swung the baseball bat towards the shoulder and the man's head alternated until the man staggered to the ground.
Alan immediately helped the woman and asked her to run away from the place before the man could get up again.
Alan took the woman to his car. He looks so fucked up.
The hair and clothes he was wearing seemed random. The corners of his lips and temples were bleeding. Maybe he had a chance to fight and make two men hurt him.
"Sorry miss, where is your house?, let me drive you home" Alan asked after the two got into the car.
The woman did not answer, only sobs came out of her mouth. Alan quiet. He didn't ask anymore.
Maybe this woman is still in shock, I better let her calm down first. But where I'm going to take this woman, there's no way I'm taking her to a hotel with that kind of situation. I could be the one accused of raping her.
Alan snorted in annoyance. He doesn't know what to do.
I shouldn't have helped him. Trouble me only.
Mumbled wailing.
The woman looked at it from behind the spy. Still crying and curled up in the back of his car.
"Miss, I'm sorry I have to go home, so where's your home so I can take you home".
There's no answer. The woman was still crying in her seat.
Alan stopped his car and turned to look at the sobbing woman in front of him.
"Do you not have a house Miss?", he said in a slightly high tone of voice.
The woman raised her head and looked towards Alan.
"Where's your house?" asked Alan again.
Half the woman replied.
"Master, help me, don't leave me alone",
then her crying voice sounded more and more stupefied.
Alan only looked at the woman confused. He doesn't know what to do. The only thing he knows is he just wants to get to the hotel and get some rest. So that's what he did then.
Alan gave the suit he was wearing to the woman so that people do not suspect seeing the situation of the woman and drove back to the hotel.
"What's your name miss?", asked Alan later when the woman had calmed down.
"Darling", the woman replied briefly.
"Where's your house, lady, let me drive you",
"My house is still two hours' drive from here, sir. I just got home from work and was going to my parents' house. But I did last night and I missed the last bus to my place of residence" he said, sobbing occasionally.
"When two drunk men came up to me, they were being disrespectful to me and I slapped one of them and they got angry.
They dragged me into an alley beside the shophouse, and made a mistake on me until you finally helped me".
Alan listened to the story of the woman named Mayang. He saw the woman who pricked in front of him was clingy.
There are no lies there. Her face looks aweful with her full lips. Her nose is pointed with full rounded eyes complete with pliable eyelashes.
It is fitting that the man was tempted to do what he did not, besides being beautiful this woman also has a fairly insane and full body.
If only his body had not been covered in the suit I had given him earlier,surely at this time I will die to hold the jakun who rose and down resisted the desire to see his body half-opened because of his clothes that had been torn because of the depraved treatment of two men earlier.
"Alright lady, then make it early in the morning I will take you. Now clean your body and change your clothes. You can wear my clothes for a while because I don't have a woman's shirt for you".
That night finally Mayang, the woman he helped was sleeping with him in the hotel room.
Alan chose to sleep on the sofa and let Mayang sleep in the bed.
It did not take long Mayang was asleep in his sleep. Alan who was still busy with his lap top moved from his seat to grab a drink. At first glance he saw the woman who was currently sleeping in her bed.
His face looked sweet and held sadness. It seems like he is facing such a heavy burden.
The face reminded him of Mella, his wife who had died in an accident.
The woman's body curled up in the cold under the blanket. Without him knowing Alan stepped forward to fix Mayang's blanket that was revealed.
When he realized his actions, Alan immediately stepped away from the bed to the sofa, and continued his work until the early hours of the morning and then he slept.
*****
In the morning when Alan and Mayang were up and taking a shower, they rushed to breakfast after booking through the hotel service.
"Miss, where did you work before?", asked Alan to open the conversation.
"I work at a club Mr, last night when you helped me, I just came home overtime to replace my friend" Mayang explained.
"Why do you want to work at a club, isn't there a lot of striped-nose guys who could have been indecent to you" said Alan.
"I have to be sir", replied Mayang lirih.
"My parents are dead, and I have to support my only sister. I've been trying to find another job, but that's all I can get".
"You want to get out of that place if you can get another job?", Alan said later.
Mayang just nodded his head.
"Well, you can work at my house as my babysitter if you're willing. It just so happened that his old nanny had been out a long time".
Alan took out a piece of paper, then wrote down an address on it.
"This is my home address, whenever you're ready, come to that address. I really hope you'll take it".
alan said as he handed the piece of paper to Mayang.
Tin,tin,ttin...
The sound of the car horn shocked Alan. I don't think he's almost at work. During the trip, he just daydreamed Mayang's face. The shadow of Mayang's face made him unable to concentrate today.
Why does Mayang's face always haunt me, why can't I forget it.
What the hell is going on with me. That Mayang was just a nanny, a very young girl. Where I might fall in love with her. And even his age was younger than his sister.
Alan scratched his head that was not itching. After the departure of his wife two years ago he was never close to any woman. His life was empty and numb.
But after his accidental encounter with Mayang his heart began to fill up again. I don't know what made him fall in love with that woman.
Maybe it wasn't love, maybe it was just compassion and pity that I felt for her.
Humans are sometimes proud to acknowledge their feelings. Even when God's intervention works, they are still often evasive. And God has a secret behind Alan's encounter with Mayang.