The Rose of De Haas

Chapter 12: The New Life

"What you say is true, my husband. But, is not your nation the noblest on the land of my colonized land?"

Hearing his wife's question, Mr. De Haas could only faintly smile.

Indeed, the Dutch who are arrogant with all the wealth they get from the results of colonizing this rich country often say so.

"Just like the natives who are not all innocent, the Dutch are not all evil" said Mr. De Haas trying to give an explanation to his wife.

Madam De Haas nodded in response to her husband's remarks, reluctant to argue further with the husband.

Neither Mr. De Haas nor Mrs De Haas are equally reluctant to fuss. They tend to choose to budge if they have to argue for something not so important like this.

"Yes, husband. Then we better start packing to help the Babu so that their work is finished soon," said Mrs De Haas then as she gently pulled her husband's hand towards their room.

The two then walked parallel while holding hands towards the room interspersed with small laughter, responding to a joke from the husband that sounded not funny.

The Babu have indeed started packing important items of the De Haas family such as important documents and some other objects.

Mr. De Haas was deliberately unwilling to carry too many items.

After all, they can still buy new items if needed in Batavia.

After all carrying large items such as cabinets for sailing would be very troublesome, making Mr. De Haas and his wife choose to take practical steps only.

Mr and Mrs De Haas began to pack with the Babus, while the Rose that Aunt Inem was taking care of only what the adults in her house were doing quietly.

"Roses, may our life in Batavia be much better yes," said Mrs De Haas with a smile full of hope while gently rubbing the top of the child's head just a puppet.

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

The day of the long-awaited move finally arrived as well.

Mr and Mrs De Haas are now on the dock, preparing to depart for Batavia on a luxury passenger ship owned by the Dutch East Indies government.

"Don't forget to send Mom and Dad a letter yes, son," the mother Tuminah recalled to the princess, reciprocated with a warm hug from Sarinah.

"Be careful there, son. Take good care of your child and wife lest anyone harm your family" Goenawan said, hugging his son-in-law in a much higher posture.

"Yes. You don't have to worry" Mr. De Haas said briefly with a thin smile, as usual.

"Let's go up, Mr and Mrs De Haas. The boat will be leaving soon, "call Uncle Darijo mannered after coming out of one of the dock rooms.

Once again, Mrs De Haas hugged her parents to give her best farewell, trying to express all her affection to the two who had given birth and cared for her since childhood.

"Mothers and mothers are always healthy. Don't be late to eat, drink water should be enough, too" Madam De Haas tried to say her words even though her face was now wet with tears.

The sensitive Mr. De Haas quickly thrust a white handkerchief out of his pocket, hinting to the wife to wipe her tears.

"We left yes, sir, Mom," said Mr. De Haas finally while holding his wife's hand to go directly to the boat that was waiting for them.

Goenawan and Tuminah could not hold back their cries, but inevitably had to give up their children, grandchildren and sons-in-law to start a new life on the island of Java.

Madam De Haas's footsteps were heavy, but the woman was determined to continue stepping up onto the ship that was about to leave for Batavia.

The ship's captain then honked the ship's horn twice, a sign that all preparations for the voyage had been completed and the ship would soon be moving away from the dock.

With a heavy heart, De Haas's married couple remained firm in their stance to continue the journey to Batavia to meet a better life with the Rose of the Princess.

"Are you okay, Sarinah?" asked Mr. De Haas after they managed to arrive at the passenger seat according to the ticket number.

In a hurry Mrs De Haas wiped away her tear marks using a handkerchief, not wanting her sadness to make her husband become sad let alone to worry.

"I'm fine, Adolf. We have to live better in Batavia for the sake of the Roses, right? I am sure that after getting used to living in Batavia my sadness will disappear by itself" replied Mrs De Haas as she looked out the window of the ship, looking at the stretch of water that will take her to the opposite island.

Mr. De Haas smiled. "i think so too, Roses should grow better in a place with a good environment."

Roses that became the topic of conversation from Mama and her Papa are now busy following the direction of the view of the Mama out the window of the ship, exclaiming glee with a voice that is very adorable to attract the attention of several other passengers.

Yep. That kid is too interesting to ignore. Look at the two white, puffy cheeks of the little girl who can tempt anyone to touch her, not to mention his blonde hair which is now being pigtailed in two using red tape is increasingly increasing the level of beauty as well as adorable from it.

"That's adorable, ladies and gentlemen. What's name?" asked a middle-aged indigenous woman in Javanese clothing, looking at the Roses with interest.

"His name is Rose, Madam," Madam De Haas replied kindly.

"A very pretty name, exactly with the beauty of your child both," praised the woman with a smile so warm.

"Thank you, Madam."

The conversation gradually became longer and more interesting, making Mr. De Haas can only smile understandably while paying attention to the interaction between the two women of different ages.

After becoming Nyai and finally marrying Mr. De Haas, Sarinah has indeed almost never mingled with anyone other than the people who work at the house of Mr. De Haas.

Life as Madam De Haas which is very inversely proportional to the original character of Sarinah the innocent girl from the village makes the woman inevitably have to adjust herself.

From the first usual eating using hands directly, after bearing the status as Madam De Haas she should be able to eat using spoons, forks and knives.

Although it sounds trivial, but such rules are very important. Wrong in the least, the name of his Dutch husband will be smeared and could make the husband lose both financially and non-financial.

It was only a small part of the unwritten rule that became the unreasonable standard of the day-to-day association of the Dutch neighborhood in the old residence of the De Haas family, so that made Sarinah choose not to get along with the Dutch people around her.

In fact, being the mistress of a wealthy Dutch Lord was not necessarily able to guarantee the happiness of your life at that time.