Ranums

GERBERA FLOWER

The day has changed. It rained very hard outside tonight. A strong wind whistled, the sound of lightning sounded replying to each other. The air feels cold and humid.

Ranum and Chen returned from the hospital. They ran small in the front yard, immediately entered the house. “Thank you for driving me.” Chen smiled.

Ranum nodded, busy taking off his shoes. After the second shoe had slipped off the leg, Ranum went to the kitchen, pouring whiskey into the glass. Chen followed Ranum. “Can I have a glass?” Chen asked.

Ranum. “Think of your son.” Ranum downed the whiskey in his glass.

“Seleven alone will not affect this baby.” Chen forced.

Ranum shook his head, opened the refrigerator, poured milk into a glass, Ranum gave the milk to Chen.

Chen shakes. “I'm tired of drinking milk. I want your bourbon.”

“It is better to stop your efforts to persuade me. I won't give you a whiskey for a drop.” Ranum put the whiskey bottle into the glass cabinet, then locked the cupboard. “I'll be to the backyard. Order something for us for dinner.” Ranum took the beer from the refrigerator then stepped into the backyard.

Five minutes later Chen came to the backyard approaching Ranum, Chen sitting next to Ranum. Ranum immediately turned off his cigarette, flicking his hand into the air so that cigarette smoke quickly decomposed. “What's up?” Ranum asked flatly.

Chen shakes. “Why would you accept me in this house? I've been troubling you for almost seven months. I'm not helping anything in this house.”

Ranum drank the beer he had in his grasp. “I have no answer to your question. But if you're bored and want to get out of here, I won't forbid. All this time you helped me to clean up this house. That's more than enough.”

“As long as I stay with you, I never see you close to a woman. Why?” Chen looked at Ranum.

“I have a wife and also a child, why am I looking for another woman? And why do you have to ask like that?” Ranum was confused by Chen's question.

“You have a child?” Chen surprised.

Ranum nodded.

“Then where is your son?”

“Together with his mother.” Ranum took his beer again.

“Actually where and why did they leave you? Never once have I seen you visit or visited them.”

Ranum smiled. “I visit them every week. I don't have to tell you about that, do I?” Ranum returned Chen's gaze, smiling.

“Now where do they live?”

Ranum shrugged his shoulders, looking back at the flowers in his backyard.

“Then you met them where?”

“Macam.”

“Macam?” Chen surprised. “I didn't hear wrong?” Chen continued to ask.

Ranum. “They are dead.”

“Means the time you said you hurt your wife was right? You killed your wife?” Chen closed his mouth.

“Aiguo Wu.”

“Aiguo Wu?” Chen's confused.

“I killed Aiguo Wu's father. Aiguo Wu did not accept my actions and then he paid someone to kill me. But the killer always failed to find me. Maybe out of annoyance or to send a message to me, he killed my wife. My wife was pregnant with our child.”

“So that's why you attacked Aiguo Wu's villa in Violin Islands?”

Ranum nodded.

“Then why did you say that you hurt your wife?”

“Because actually the killer was after me. I should have died, not my wife. It makes no difference to me killing my wife.”

The back yard of Ranum's house was empty for a moment. A few minutes later the courier who delivered the food arrived, Ranum took the food, then put it on the dining table.

“I'm sorry I talked about your wife.” Chen looked at Ranum.

Ranum nodded, scooping his food.

Ranum took an umbrella, stepped out of the house. The drizzle makes the atmosphere of the housing complex a little rhythmic. Ranum headed to the complex park which is about 700 meters from his house. Ranum sat on the bench of the park, looking at the expanse of land filled with trees and flowers – flowers, making the park look colorful even at night.

A little boy running – little run under drizzle. The little boy bowed, stroked the flower – flowers in front of him, then kissed the flower. The little boy smiled looking at the flower bed before him. Ranum smiled seeing the little boy play – play in front of him. Ranum got out of his chair, approaching the little boy.

“Hai.” Both of Ranum's knees touched the grass, greeting the little boy with a smile.

“Hai.” The little boy smiled, his hands nimbly twisting the flower stalks he had picked.

“What do you do night – nights like this? It is raining right now.” Ranum patted the little boy.

“I want to see – flowers of this beautiful flower.” The little boy smiled, his hands poking flowers at Ranum. “This is for you.” Continue the little boy.

Ranum smiled. “Thank you.” Ranum rubbed the little boy's head. “You sit there with me?” Ranum pointed at the park bench.

The little boy nodded slowly. Ranum took the little boy in his arms, they were sitting on a park bench.

“Where do you live?” Ranum asked.

“Disana.” The little boy pointed at a house.

“That's your house?” Ranum pointed at a house as he had captured it from the little boy.

The little boy nodded. “That's there, next to it, next to it again that house.” The little boy pointed at the house in turn.

Ranum laughed a little. “Alright, alright.” Ranum only agreed to the sentence of the little boy even though he still did not understand the meaning of the little boy. “Whose name?” Ranum asked.

“Kaitlyn.” The little boy nodded – nods.

“Your name is beautiful like your face.” Ranum smiled looking at the little boy. “You know what flower you are holding?” Ranum asked.

The little boy nodded.

“The flower's name is gerbera. Please hold this umbrella for a moment.” Ranum gave the umbrella in his hand to the little boy. “Wait a minute here.” Ranum ran small, taking a few gerbera flower stems of various colors.

Ranum sat back on his stool, grabbing the umbrella from the little boy. “Beautiful not if they are combined like this.” Ranum smiled, his hand held up some gerbera flowers. “If combined like this, this flower can symbolize the simple beauty of a very happy life. But if you separate them, then the meaning will be different again. For example, this red one.” Ranum separates one stem of red gerbera flower. “This red one means such deep love. While the white one has the meaning of purity or purity. Well this yellow one means cheerfulness just like this orange one. If the latter, the pink one has the meaning of admiration.” Ranum shows one – by one the flower.

“Why does orange and yellow have the same meaning?” The little boy asked confusedly.

Ranum smiled. “This orange one is usually placed in the yard of the house or made a bouquet of flowers for people who have just married. While this yellow one, usually given to people who are going through a difficult time in their lives, so that the person can cheer back when staring at this yellow gerbera flower.” Ranum smiled looking at the yellow gerbera flower. “Are you sad?” Ranum asked the little boy.

The little boy nodded, putting on a sad face.

“This is for you.” Ranum gave all the flowers.

“Thank you.” The little boy smiled, adorable.

“What makes you sad?” Ranum asked.

The little boy looked down. “Do you have a person like my mother?” The little boy spoke softly.

Ranum looked at the little boy, confused. “Sorry, but I don't understand what you mean.”

“I mean like my father has my mother.”

“Oh, you mean a couple?”

The little boy nodded.

“I used to have it, but now the person I have like your mother is no more.” Ranum smiled looking at the – flowers that were in front of him.

“Is he not there because you beat him often?” The little boy asked with an innocent face staring at Ranum.

Ranum looked at the little boy. “Of course I wouldn't do something like that. Why are you asking such a question?” ranum asked.

“Every night when my mother went into my room to accompany me to sleep, I saw my mother with new wounds on her body or face, not infrequently also her eyes look red as if they had been crying. He always said that it was just an accident when he was cleaning the house and his crying was caused by not being able to withstand the pain he was experiencing. But just as I was passing through my parents' room, I saw my father beating my mother with his hand until she fell on the floor. I was afraid to see it so I decided to go to this park.” The little boy was sad.

Ranum embraced the little boy. “Sometimes adult life will be very difficult for you to understand. I understand very well what you are going through. But believe me, all will be well – is fine.” Ranum smiled. “Come I'll take you home. Your parents must be worried about you right now.” Ranum rattled the little boy's hair.

The little boy nodded.