SET DUSK
The Part 37
"Is this really his house?" burhan asked when he saw Ida staring doubtfully at the small whitewashed house in front of them. The turnstile is tightly locked and the atmosphere of the house looks quiet.
"If you see the address given by the nurse at the hospital earlier, this is the correct address," said Ida reread the address listed on the paper he held.
Ida fixed the location of Yasir's sling on his shoulder, then tapped the padlock on the fence while saying hello, "Assalamualaikum ...."
In the second greeting, a shadow of a woman peeked in the window, then opened the door.
"Rose!" he screamed when he saw the woman coming out of the house.
The sad-faced woman frowned trying to recognize the guests who had come.
"Geez! Ida! I barely recognized you," Ros screeched to open the gate.
"It was only a moment apart, you've forgotten me" Ida said.
"You're a long way off, Da!" said Ros with a sparkling face.
"Oh yes, Ros .. introduce this is my husband," Ida said when the gate had been opened Ros.
"Hello," said Burhan, holding out his question to greet Ros.
"Hello, Mister." Ros welcomes Burhan's hand.
"May ... Please come in," take Ros to both guests.
"Then who is this, this little one. .." said Ros to Yasir who had awakened in Ida's arms.
"I'm Yasir, Tek" said Ida imitating the voice of a child.
"It's funny your son, Da. Didn't expect you to be just a mom" said Ros.
"Do you know where my house is?" ask Ros when they're home.
"I went to the hospital looking for you, the head nurse said you were on holiday today. So I'm asking for your address."
"G ... I thought you'd forgotten your way to Bukittinggi."
"How could I forget my best friend."
"Accoland ...." There was the sound of a man saying his greetings at the door.
The man is Amir, his face has not changed much since four years ago. It's just that his appearance is more neat. Her hair that was once disheveled irregularly, now trimmed flat. Cheeks that used to be tapered, now more contained. The body that used to be squeaky looks more sturdy and muscular. Very clear cut military members from his appearance.
"Waalaikum salam ..." said those who were in the front room.
"Oh, there are guests" said Amir with his trademark smile.
His eyes were fixed on Ida's face, like trying to remember the face in front of him.
"You forgot this lady, sir?" gelak Roses.
Ida smiled at Amir, revealing dimples on both sides of her cheeks. Makes Amir remember the woman in front of him.
"God! Ida?" sama later.
"Yes, Sir. Why do you remember me for so long" said Ida.
"What did I say, Da. You've changed so far. Right, Mister?" ask Ros to seek her husband's support.
"Yes, you're changing away, Da ... Is this your husband?" show Amir to Burhan who had only noticed his wife's small reunion.
After a brief introduction, Ros pulls Ida into the back room. Letting husbands continue the conversation to get to know each other.
"How was your life after marriage? Did he treat you well?" leaning Ros after the two of them were in the back room.
"If you see my condition like this, how do you judge me, Ros?" Ida asked back.
"Looks like he treated you well" Ros guessed.
"Yes ... Alhamdulillah, Ros. He's not what I thought he was."
"Alhamdulillah ... After you get married, I really wish you could get your happiness, Da."
Late in the afternoon, after a brief reunion with his old best friend, Ida and Burhan pamit.
"What a minute you're here, Da. I still miss you" lamented Ros.
"I'll be here sometime, Ros. Tomorrow my husband has some business he can't leave."
"Next month I move to Bandung, Da. Amir was transferred," explained Ros.
"G ... Well, then, this is our last meeting before you leave?" ask Ida with a sad face.
"Yes ... Can I have your address? We will talk to each other in the mail. Wait a minute, I'll get you a paper and a pen." Ros passed into the house and returned with a paper and pen in his hand.
After writing down her address, Ida and Burhan leave Ros' house. A sad speck of Ida feels, considering Ros is the only friend close to her, will soon go across.
The sun of Bukittinggi city has begun to dim with clouds when Ida leaves the house Ros. The wind blew quite fast, making the cold air of Bukittinggi city more bone-chilling.
"Cover Yasir with a blanket, Da. The wind was so strong, I was afraid he'd catch a cold" Burhan handed Ida a small blanket.
The tiny baby wriggled quietly in Ida's sling without waking up in the slightest as Ida covered it with a blanket.
The bus they were riding through the hourly area just as the clock bells rang five times. Ida stared at the clock that became the pride of the city. The roof of the end of the clock tower has been replaced with a gonjong-shaped roof of the house.
Remembering Ida, he was first invited to Bukittinggi when he was seven years old, a year after his rampage died. He was so fascinated to see the clock mounted on the twenty-six-meter-high tower. The top of the roof of the clock tower at that time was still in the form of a dome with a statue of a rooster roosted on it.
"You know what, Da? The clock is finished at the same time as your birth" said amai at the time.
His gaze could not be separated from the tower that stood haughty in the middle of the city, the clock that he considered as a symbol of the year of his birth and as a silent witness of the struggle of his people to drive the occupation from the city of Bukittinggi.
Still clearly ringing in Ida's ears, when he heard the sound of sirens roaring from the clock tower of Gadang, giving a sign at that time the Dutch had handed back the city of Bukittinggi to the Indonesian government.
"What do you see, Da?" burhan asked when he saw Ida did not take her eyes off the clock.
"I only remember two years ago there waiting for President Soekarno, he said would come, but it did not so," Ida pointed at the building that stood not far from the fire clock.
"The day before the Dutch re-occupied, Bukittinggi, yes?"
"Yes." Yeah." Ida turned her eyes to Burhan, brushing aside the shadow of the tall, almond-eyed man who suddenly appeared in her memory.
"You can't think about it anymore, Da," he said in his heart.
They moved away leaving behind a clock, blurring every memory that had danced in Ida's mind.
Arriving at the station, the drizzle began to descend. The station was not too crowded. Only a few people were waiting on the bench on the platform. They rushed into the passenger car. The locomotives that were about to pull their carriages were already puffing out the thick smoke, a sign that the old steam train's engines were ready to make the journey.
Just when they had found a place to sit, the whistle of the car marker would run. Not waiting long, the old steam train moved slowly, leaving the city of Bukittinggi which began to rain.
