THE NOURA VAN KEMMERS

Secrets in the box

"What's this?" my many.

Noura just smiled faintly. His eyes looked as if he was asking me to open the chest. The size of the box was not too big. What is it? it's heavy too. We headed towards the small terrace in front of the pavilion to open the chest.

"All the secrets of my life are here" Noura said.

I curiously opened the chest, and my eyes opened wide. The chest contained several photo albums, there was also a doll made of cloth, a music box, a pair of knit socks, a hat, a hat, a necklace with a photo pendant of himself and his family and also a former perfume bottle that I know very well, the scent of golden rose.

"These are my family's remaining relics."

I looked at these things with amazement. All of the objects were already very very worn out, but the conditions were still observable. Includes some photos saved in this photo album.

Steadily, Noura recounted all the contents of the photo album. There are photos of his family, photos of him, photos of his brother and sister, his grandparents, and other Van Kemmers extended family. The photos show the togetherness of their families. Some of the photos were taken in this house and the rest were taken in the plantation area and also in the Netherlands.

My eyes were stunned to see a pair of little boys and girls in a photo. Geez, those two boys I've seen in my dreams.

"This is Marie and George, my cousins," Noura explained, as if she understood my curiosity.

"This is their papa and mama, om and my tanti." Noura pointed to a photo of a handsome man who she said was her mother's sister, as well as a beautiful curly-haired beauty with beautiful round eyes.

I looked at the photo of the blonde girl posing on the porch. His body was thin and had glasses. Also a teenage boy about fifteen years old.

"This is Sophia, my sister and Benjamin, my sister. Benjamin continued his schooling in the Netherlands. He returned to the Dutch East Indies only to fill his school holidays at that time, before the fateful event occurred," Noura's facial expression looked so sad.

"You why?" my many.

Noura. His eyes were empty.

"I'm sorry if it makes you sad." It was like a sad story I caught from his eyes. The story he wanted to tell.

"I'm not gonna force you to tell a story, even if I'm super excited."

"This is Sudarman, a worker on the plantation. I can tell he's also my papa's assistant. He lives not far from here. She was very kind to me" Noura explained. Noura's face was red when she looked at the photo

The native youth looked handsome with his sturdy body and thin mustache. He was about twenty-five years old.

From a sad expression and now smiling shyly, I grew even more suspicious.

It seems Noura is covering something up.

"Hey, what's wrong with you? you looked sad and now you are smiling shyly. What's up?" I'm getting curious.

Noura's face looks more and more sad. While looking at the photo, he continued his story.

"He is a man I admire. He taught me a lot about things. She was also the one who had saved me," Noura's tears started to drip.

"I'm sorry, this guy seems to mean a lot to you. Really so?" ask slowly.

"This man was the first man that made me fall in love. I really like it. And I always wished she had the same feelings as me."

"Sudarman has been working with Opaku since he was a teenager. Both of his parents are dead. He's very diligent. As a child, he always accompanied me whenever I played in the woods or on the river. He also taught me how to ride a bike, climb a tree or fish."

Unlike Sophia, her sister, from childhood Noura preferred to play outside rather than read books. He preferred things related to the wild, and Sudarman was the one who always accompanied him.

"Looks like he means a lot to you? didn't you?" I tried to tease him.

Noura nodded. His eyes were like trying to recall a fragment of a past story.

"Tell me everything and don't hesitate. I'm ready to listen."

Seriate.