SUKMA: The Deal With the Devil

The Discarded Child

Ana's midwife was confused. The words of Mrs Ratmi who told her to throw the baby away, kept ringing in her ears. On the one hand, he felt sorry for the baby who was rejected, not even given the slightest ASI by his mother. But on the other hand, he also needs money for college costs as well as sufficient lifestyle. When he was about to enter the midwife's room, he looked for a moment into the nursery. Some of the babies kept there were still not calm, the sound of crying made the heart of Midwife Ana slashed.

Cancel entering his room, Midwife Ana returned to the room of the mother giving birth to meet Ms. Ratmi. Soon he entered his ward, then found that Mrs Ratmi was looking blankly at the corner of the room. Attended by Mr. Burhan's wife while smiling bitterly.

"Bu Ratmi," said Ana's midwife, whispering. He tried to be careful so that Mak Asih did not wake up.

"Mother Midwife!" sahut Bu Ratmi was shocked.

"Shh ... I'll calm down, yeah. Keep the sound down."

Ms. Ratmi nodded. "What's your mother coming here for?"

"I .. I want to ask. Is it true that you want to throw away your daughter? Poor him, still so small to be away from his mother."

"Why should I be questioned again? I really don't want it. It is better to have no children at all than to take care of the devil's son."

Ana's midwife pensive. "Didn't you want to see a psychologist first? Maybe I'm hallucinating."

"Why meet with a psychologist? It's no use. My husband and I made a pact with 'her' before they conceived the baby. I guess a child born will be like a human in general, but it turns out ...."

"Wait first. What do you mean by 'him'? I don't understand."

"Mom Midwives won't understand. Just throw the kid away. If she doesn't have a bond with me, then my husband will be safe."

"So, you really want to throw the baby away?"

"Of course." Ms. Ratmi looked at Midwife Ana with complete confidence. "Excite the baby right now! Later I will transfer the money, whatever the amount you want."

"Don't you want to see her for a second?"

"No. I don't want to acknowledge him as my son anymore."

Seeing the confidence in Bu Ratmi's eyes, Midwife Ana understood. The doubt in his heart disappeared, making him reckless to do the wrong thing. He said goodbye to Ms. Ratmi, then went to the nursery. Meanwhile, Mak Asih who heard half of their conversation, could not do much.

Upon arrival at the nursery, Ana's midwife takes Ms Ratmi's daughter to her room. The babies there went back to sleep. Ana's midwife gives formula so that Ms Ratmi's daughter does not starve. Stared fixed eyes of the baby, the hair behavior began to creep. Now that Ana's midwife was convinced, something was not right with Miss Ratmi's daughter.

"What a pity on you, Dek. Your mother doesn't want you, nor do I want to take care of you. You are very troublesome for the nurse here. Your friends in the nursery are not calm by your presence. But ... You were able to bring me good luck. By throwing you away, I can earn a lot of money and get rich quick ha ha." Ana's midwife laughed, imagining how much money Ms Ratmi would give after throwing the baby away.

After Ms Ratmi's daughter calmed down enough and fell asleep, Ana's midwife got up from her desk, then rushed out of the room. Looking to the right and left of the hospital corridor, not a single person passed by. His luck was on duty at night, making it easier for him to do bad tactics. In addition to the quiet atmosphere, many hospital officials are sleepy and fast asleep, so they escape to pay attention to the surrounding conditions.

Seduce Ana's Midwife down the corridor. Alert, he watches the surroundings. Afraid that someone might catch him carrying a baby patient. This time he did not use the elevator to reach the exit of the hospital. It was very dangerous for him to meet with another nurse.

On arrival at the hospital lobby, he hurriedly came out with a small run. It was a very quiet atmosphere at that time. Some guards fell asleep in a corner of the room, while others were still awake in front of the hospital. Ana's midwife doesn't want her presence known to them. He quickly ran in the darkness, towards the back door of the hospital.

Along the way, Ana's midwife felt watched. Sometimes he looked back, but there was no one at all. Ana's midwife thought that it was just a suggestion. However, after a few steps left the hospital, apparently there was indeed a figure following him from behind. The creature was still the same as the one that followed Mr. Burhan and Mr. Ratmi from home, the white-painted female and covered her face with her long hair. The hair of Midwife Ana is getting creepy when away from the hospital. His legs were sluggish, he tried to run as fast as possible.

When it reaches a TPS, Ana's Midwife's body falls down like someone is pushing her from behind. But when he looked, there was no one behind him. Fear increasingly gripped the inner Midwife Ana. Regardless of the baby he left behind near TPS, he ran as fast as he could to return to the hospital.

...****************...

Azan Fajr. The gripping night has passed. As usual, after the tahajud prayer, Mr. Risman went to the mosque to perform the congregational Fajr prayer. Despite his profession as a scavenger, he still wears neat and clean clothes when facing the Creator. The man believed that sustenance would come sooner if he got up early and worshiped early. However, he believes God will give a better life, because sustenance and destiny are only He who determines.

After finishing the prayer, Mr. Risman returned to his bedeng house. Soon he changed his clothes, then took a piece of iron and sack that he used to wear every day. When he was about to go scavenging, his wife named Bu Inah, held him for a while.

"Not breakfast yet, sir?"

"Later on the road. Usually there are traders who give food."

"Oh, yeah, be careful on the road, sir. May the sustenance obtained today be more than yesterday."

"Aamiin, Mum. Then you go first. Assalamualaikum."

"Getishalight."

So went Mr. Risman to the streets to seek sustenance. The atmosphere began to crowded with the rise of the Surya. Carefully, Mr. Risman crossed the street, then picked up the old drinking water packaging and put it in a sack. All this is done sincerely, especially when considering the presence of his only puppet princess named Atikah. He became more upbeat at work whenever the shadow of his three-year-old daughter flashed through the eye.

While crossing the TPS, Mr. Risman accidentally felt something different on his iron stalk. He saw something closer about the iron earlier. How surprised Mr. Risman found a baby who was still red fell asleep at TPS. Luckily, no dog came to disturb him.

Carefully, Mr. Risman carried the baby. The baby who had fallen asleep, immediately cried as loud as he was in Mr. Risman's arms. The man looked around, no one was aware of the baby's presence. Mr. Risman felt sorry for him. He decided to go back home and bring the baby.

Upon arrival at home, Ms. Inah greeted him with a frown. Seeing the baby in her husband's arms, she was stunned while smothering her two mouths. Mr. Risman quickly approached his wife, with a smile.

"Astagfirullah, sir! Who'd you bring?" ask Ms. Inah, stare.

"Father found this baby near TPS. Poor him, his body was still very small and dirty. It seems like she was just born, her skin is still red."

Lovingly, Ms. Inah took the baby from Mr. Risman's lap. "Oh my God, there are still people who throw away their babies. It took us a few years to have a child, while the man who dumped this baby .. had a lot of heart for him."

"Yes, Sir. Mother also often heard from Ustaz Ramlan, he said the boy was a fortune-teller. Hopefully this baby will be a good child and proud parents later, yes, sir."

"Aamiin, Mom."

Shortly after, their daughter, Atikah, arrived. Rubbing his eyes, he approached them. When he saw the baby on his mother's lap, the three-year-old was stunned.

"Mother, who is she? Do I have a sister now?" tanya Atikah looked up at the baby without blinking.

For a moment, Mr. Risman and Ms. Inah looked at each other and smiled. Mr. Risman held Atikah, then let his daughter look at the baby.

"Are you happy to have a sister?" asked Mr. Risman smiling knot.

Atikah nodded quickly, her eyes twinkling. "Yes dong, sir. Yesterday, I told you that Mom and Dad want to have a sister. Uh, now my prayers are being obnoxied."

Mr. Risman and Ms. Inah seemed relieved by Atikah's words. Now there are no more obstacles for them to take care of the baby. He brought the baby into the house, and Mother Inah prepared warm water for a bath. Atikah was so happy to play with her new sister, especially when she found out that the baby was a girl.

"Mom, what do we give him by name, huh?" asked Mr. Risman half-shouting.

Ms. Inah walked from the kitchen to Mr. Risman and his two daughters. "How about we name Sukma?"

"Good name, Mom. All right, we'll have a small sideline for this baby's name."

"May there be a cost, yes, sir."

"God willing, Mom. Then you go first for work. Hopefully today we can have more sustenance to buy this baby milk and salvation."

"Please, Sir. I pray for a blessed sustenance."

Mr. Risman nodded, then rushed away while carrying the sack and iron to scavenge. His spirit grew even more after Sukma came into his life. He is optimistic, today will be a good start to pick up sustenance.

The weather gets hot as the sun rises. The streets are crowded and polluted, not a problem for Mr. Risman. As long as the intention of making a living is sincere, various obstacles are faced without hesitation. His belief in God will be the reward obtained, never fade from his heart.

While picking up garbage on the sidewalk, Mr. Risman accidentally found a suitcase lying on the side of the road. He picked up the black suitcase and opened it slowly. Both Mr. Risman's eyes were wide open when he found out the contents of the suitcase. There's a lot of money in it. The man looked left and right, figuring out who had thrown away that much money. However, no one had time to pass around him. It is possible that the suitcase fell out of a car.

Between the piles of money, there was a piece of paper in it. Mr. Risman took the paper, then read the contents. There is a sentence that says thank you for a loan from a company. Mr. Risman who is clean and honest, does not want to bring the suitcase home. He put it in his sack, then traced the address in the letter.

Mr. Risman doesn't have enough fare to take the freight. While scavenging, he searched for that address. Although his feet felt sore down the streets many kilometers away, his determination to find the address of the recipient of the suitcase was still strong. No matter how hot the sun stings, Mr. Risman continues to walk while occasionally resting under a tree and drinking water for a moment.

It didn't feel like the sun was rolling into the western horizon so fast. Mr. Risman's intention to return the suitcase was not extinguished. He entered an industrial park. One by one the factory searched, until finally arrived at a textile factory whose name was in accordance with the address in the letter. Soon Mr. Risman entered the factory. However, not yet touching the gate, a security guard confronted him.

"Who are you? What are you going to do here?" ask the man's security guard to grumble.

"I'd like to meet Mr. Burhan, the owner of this company. Is he inside?"

"No, no. He's not inside. Go home! What does the owner of a large company have to do with you?"

"I beg you, sir. I just want to give money from Mr. Jumadi. He borrowed money from Mr. Burhan."

"Then just hand me the suitcase! I'll give it to Mr. Burhan."

"No, Sir. It would be better if I gave the money to Mr. Burhan."

The security guard pushed Mr. Risman to his knees. "Suppose you! You think you're a hero, what?"

From inside the factory area, a car drove towards the gate. Hilman, the driver and brother of Mr. Burhan, was curious about the incident in front of the gate. Soon he drove the car up to the gate, then went down to the security guard and Mr. Risman.

"What's this?" tanya Hilman snapped.

"A-anu, Sir. This scavenger forced his way inside, so I kicked him out" explained the security guard.

"But that's not the way either. You think you're the boss of this factory?"

The guard was down.

Hilman helped Mr. Risman to rise. "I'm sorry, sir. The security guard didn't mean to be rude to you."

"It's okay, sir," said Mr. Risman grimacing.

"Yes, what interest did you come here to force to enter everything?"

Mr. Risman put the sack to the ground, then took the suitcase with money in it. He handed the suitcase to Hilman, to make the security guard's eyes widen. Hilman was surprised by the goods handed over by scavengers like Mr. Risman.

"I found it on the street, sir. Looks like it fell. Lucky in it there is the name of the sender and receiver, plus there is a company address. So, I can return it here," explained Mr. Risman, feeling uneasy.