Sharing Love: Puspita East & West
Under the Starry Night
“How are you?” amir asked with a friendly smile. Several days had passed since their return from the expedition. On this sunny afternoon, Anastasia was alone enjoying a cup of tea on her porch.
“Welcome, Sir,” The girl hastily got up and bowed her face respectfully. Somehow, he was not ready to see Amir again since his cold treatment the other day. However, he can still simply answer, “My condition has improved. Thank you for the attention of Mr.”
“Asya, you do not need to talk formally so,” said Amir while wiping Asya's head wrapped in a veil, but some of his blonde hair still looks a little. Amir also took the initiative to improve it to look better. “You are my wife and my wife is neither a servant nor a slave.”
Asya was even getting bowed in. He was ashamed to show his face red. His hands trembled, making Amir think that his wife was still not improving. The man took his hand off Asya.
“Are you really healthy?” amir asked a little worriedly. Asya did not answer. He reflexively took a few steps back, then lowered his head, making sure Amir really did not see his red face, “Please forgive my sassness. I'll make dinner soon.”
Asya rushed into the house and left Amir alone on the terrace. Before heading to the kitchen, he calmed his heart first in the room. Again she acted coldly to her husband. The anxiety again infiltrated his chest. What if Amir is offended by his attitude? What if he gets angry later? What can be explained to him?
With those thoughts weighing on him, Asya cooked in the kitchen. He cannot concentrate on his cooking so that some ingredients are exchanged, the dosage is less or excessive, and various other problems. Fortunately, the results still look beautiful.
When the food was served to Amir, the man was reading. He turned his head and smiled to see the results of Asya's cooking. If you look at it at a glance, it is clear how delicious the food is. The fragrant aroma also spread to the corners of the room that is not too wide.
“Sit! Let's eat together,” Amir keeps trying to show his attention to Asya. Dinner was ready in front of him. As he tasted the first mouthful, his tongue immediately felt faint.
A very thick salt filled his mouth, then followed by a bitter evenly. Soon, a pungent spicy taste seemed to pierce his tongue. Amir realized that something was wrong with his food. In fact, he was sure that the cuisine of Asya before the expedition was not this bad.
Amir watched Asya who was still hiding her face. He covered his mouth to investigate something disturbing on his tongue. Pepper!? There was whole pepper in the soup that the girl made. The amount is quite a lot for a two-person soup portion.
“A, what is my dish not good?” Asya asked nervously as soon as she saw Amir sigh long. He himself has not been able to feel the masterpiece of his kitchen. His heart was still in ruins because of the inner conflict that never subsided.
“Enak kok,” lied Amir with his angelic smile. He continued his bribe by force. The soup reminded him of Aminah's vegetable in the early episodes. The difference is, Aminah deliberately made the vegetable very salty to punish him, while it is possible that Asya is still not accustomed to cooking and must learn more.
Asya was very stunned when he tasted his own cooking. He realizes that Amir lied to him. The man lied to keep his wife. For some reason, Asya's heart felt warm because of that.
Amir got up first from the dining table to go to prayer. After the man's back disappeared behind the door, then Asya could sigh in relief. She felt stupid thinking her husband would be angry with such a small matter.
Day after day passed as usual. Amir came to West Joglo with the rest of his work in the afternoon, then left in the morning. He and Asya never slept in the room because the girl was still showing signs of objection. So, Amir thought not to burden him, even until the last day he lived in West Joglo.
That night, the full moon came to decorate the night. Her beautiful dim light soaked-dyed flushing kegelepan. The stars do not want to lose coloring the sky. They glimmered with pleasure, thinking to the Almighty God.
Asya intends to continue his sleep, but somehow he can not. His consciousness was slowly gathered. His eyes began to open according to his will. His ears were getting clearer listening to the soothing chant of the heart. He looked at the door and thought of hearing it closer.
The full light accompanied Asya's gaze. The meeting beam came through a window that had not been open since when. The room should be very cold. The wind also came in from there.
Asya left the window open. He walked with a blanket on his body. His footsteps were barely audible. He walked slowly like a thief who had infiltrated the darkness in someone else's house.
Upon arriving in front of the room claimed to be the headquarters by Hanif and Sharif, Asya stopped his steps. He sat there curled up and heard the beautiful chant. His eyes looked at the ceiling of the house. His mind began to fill with memories he had experienced lately.
The girl sighed. His head was bowed. His eyes began to close. The severe drowsiness returned. He almost fell asleep when suddenly the chants he enjoyed stopped sounding.
“Asya, what are you doing here?” amir's voice shocked Anastasia. The girl who was curled up in front of the door immediately got up. He threw away his face, hiding an unbearable embarrassment while hoping for darkness to cover the red hue on his cheek.
“Cold nights like this, you can't sleep?” amir asked as he raised the blanket on Asya's shoulder. He smiled when he saw the girl nodding. This might be a good opportunity to get to know him better.
“This evening is very beautiful, want to accompany me outside?” Amir extended his hand. Her friendly smile was not too obvious in the dark room, but Asya could still feel her sincerity. He accepted the hand with a bit of hesitation. As the hands of the two joined together, Amir took her to the courtyard.
Awkwardness broke out as soon as they began to sit down. Both of them looked at the sky in silence. Actually, Amir wanted to invite his wife to chat, but he was confused to determine the topic because of the burdening air.
“Why ..?” Asya finally opened her voice. The question was interrupted, so Amir just looked. After a few silent jokes, then he continued, “Why are you so kind to me?”
“Hm? Didn't I tell you? You are my wife. Do I need more reasons than that to do you good?” amir replied with ease. Anastasia put her blanket together to hear this. It turned out that he was not looked at one eye even though he was just a prisoner. The girl was still trying to hide the red hue on her cheek so as not to be seen by Amir. He asked again after remembering the situation, “What about the Big Lady? Does he have any problem with my presence?”
“You mean Ami? I'm sure he'd feel weird if you called him that. He's obviously jealous of you. Hais ..he even has the heart to punish me,” confided Amir. This time, Asya tightened her blanket embrace as she felt guilty. As he had expected, surely he would not be accepted by Amir's first wife.
“But, instead of him not accepting you,” continued Amir explained, “I've been saying since yesterday. He's waiting for your visit. When you look moody on that day, he worries about you too. Ami is the best woman and wife to me. I love him because of God. Try to learn from him.”
“Really?” Asya still did not believe that Aminah would take it for granted. When Amir began to discuss to the religious realm, he was reminded again by something and asked, “Why ... why do you always strictly tell us to use the sultry veil?”
“Serah? Ah, that's natural. You must not be used to using it. However, I hope you understand. Muslim women are advised to wear veils because they are valuable,” explained Amir while smiling looking at the bright starry sky, “Women are noble figures. We protect her wholeheartedly because of our affection for them. That's how Islam elevates women, let alone a mother over her children.”
