To Mutia

Water and Fire

Despite asking Faisal to pretend to be deaf and indifferent, in fact, Mutia is now on her way to a food stall near her home, which is often made a place to gossip.

"It seems like a pleasure to make someone as a gossip."

Suddenly the whispers of the Mother-Mothers' society came to a halt and turned at Mutia who had just made her voice.

"Eh, Mutia. What are you buying, Mut?" Fadila, the forties woman who was the owner of the sembako stall, walked over to Mutia with a friendly smile.

Mutia grinned. Knowing full well that Fadila was trying to distract, because she felt uncomfortable after being caught talking about it.

Instead of responding to Fadila's question, Mutia was staring around the food stall, as if she had just come to the stall for the first time.

"This place is a field of sustenance for Fadila bu, where sellers and buyers meet, interact and simultaneously enjoy. But why did Madam Fadila turn it into a field of sin?"

"I-I didn't talk about you, Mutia." I got caught, Fadila tried to defend herself.

Although she was older with a fat and tall body, she still felt anxious as Mutia looked at her sharply, like a sword ready to stab her heart. This must be just because I was caught talking to him, his mind would not admit that Mutia managed to intimidate him.

"Bu Fadila may not be talking about me." it was definitely a satirical sentence. "But joining the gossipers, listening to what they are talking about, silencing and not advising the gossiping person to stop, is the same. Like, if A goat and Mom were nearby, then I'd smell goat."

"Mutia, how presumptuous of you! Talk to old people like that. Don't be an orphan, you're being disrespectful to older people."

There goes. Mutia grinned wide. Since then he had indeed waited for the woman who talked about it so loudly, opened her mouth and threw a provocative sentence.

"Is talking about other people polite, Miss Rini?" directing a gaze at the menor-looking woman, Mutia smiled mockingly. "Mom knows, ghiba is sinful, let alone talk about things that do not know the truth."

"I know, you don't have to remind me!" his hissing, did not accept because it was advised by people younger than him.

"Well, if you know, then why do you keep doing it?" Mutia threw a bomb right over Rini's head, making the two children's women's faces red with embarrassment of having been hit hard.

"It's not true what I'm talking about is true. If so, it would be slander. Just like I said, yesterday I met Rosa at the pharmacy and she was buying a tespack."

"Don't just talk to you!" Rini windy. Scramble the table before getting out of the seat, followed by other Mothers with a panicked look. Fear of a physical altercation between Rini and Mutia.

"Well, you're angry, right, when I'm talking about a mother's child who hasn't been told the truth? You don't like it when you hear your child is slandered, do you?" taking one step forward, Mutia put on a serious look with her black bead highlighting coldly. "Just like you feel, so do I. Before you hurt anyone else, you should feel the pain first."

Reversing her body, Mutia set foot to leave the field of sin where she is today. But only two steps Mutia stopped her foot movements and looked at the horde of Mothers who were now silent sculpting.

"And one more thing, I didn't lie when I said I met Rosa at the pharmacy yesterday afternoon and she secretly bought a tespack. So. instead of Rini's mom busy talking about other people, you better go home and ask Rosa the truth. Do not talk about the rottenness of others, without realizing that yourself save *borok."

(*suffering wounds)

* * *

"Assalamualaik."

Leaving the room, Mutia moved out. His lips are polished lipstick pink, reviewing the smile when he found the figure of his sister stepped in.

"Wa'alaikumsalam's chat. You came home this afternoon, Sal."

Usually Faisal was at home at exactly two o'clock in the afternoon, but today his sister just came home when the ashar adhan had been reverberating.

"I forgot, it's Thursday. I'm going straight to les."

Mutia nodded slowly. Just remember that his sister was allowed to go home late this morning. As Faisal walked into the room, Mutia left the living room, returned to the kitchen to check on the cuisine.

"That's so sweet, Yuk. So hungry." suddenly Faisal was standing next to Mutia. His head gawked into the pot to look at Mutia's cooking which gave off a seductive, fragrant aroma. "Wahh. Share, Yuk."

He placed a bowl full of porridge before Faisal, while another bowl for him. He sat across from his sister who started devouring his porridge. Occasionally gaping and hissing as the hot porridge entered his mouth.

"Slow-slow, Sal. You eat it so much."

Faisal grinned wide. "Although I was sad because of Ayuk's failed marriage, but on the other hand I also felt happy. Because.. by the divorce, now Ayuk comes home to this house, so I am not alone anymore and do not bother to think about what to eat."

Without Faisal knowing, his words successfully hit Mutia.

Since marriage, Mutia has rarely interacted with her sister. At the beginning of the marriage, Mutia would meet her sister a maximum of twice a week and never miss texting or calling Faisal every day. But entering the age of half-year marriage, precisely when he began to love Haikal, Mutia was too focused to get Haikal's heart, until he forgot his sister.

Perhaps her divorce with Haikal was a rebuke from God as well as her parents, for having forgotten Faisal.

"Sorry." Faisal stopped bribing when he heard Mutia's voice. He looked up to see a woman six years older than him.

"I should've kept an eye on you no matter what. Because you are my only sister and at any time, the blood ties between us can never be broken like mine and Haikal."

Faisal looked at Mutia with a guilty look. He realized that he had offended his brother. With a forced smile, Faisal flicked his hand.

"That's over, no need to discuss. What matters now is that Ayuk is with me again." persuading is not his skill, Faisal hopes Mutia understands what he is saying.

But when he saw Mutia's face that still looked gloomy, Faisal sighed softly. He thought of all the things he could use to distract his brother.

"Oh yeah, I haven't heard people talking about Ayuk in days. There is usually no day without gossiping by making Ayuk the object."

A smooth cry on Mutia's forehead, inviting a sigh of relief out from between Faisal's lips.

"Know where you are? They can talk about me in secret, can't they."

"The mothers of our village, if you want to talk about people do not know the place. Buy some vegetables, gossip. Again buy some groceries, gossip. Even more the way to the mosque, still had time to talk people. So. I'm sure, they're not talking about Ayuk anymore."

Mutia smiled slightly. "Yes nice dong. Thank God Mothers in our village no longer hoard sins by gossiping."

"I'd say no more talking about Ayuk, instead of really stopping gossiping." Faisal took the time to feed the porridge into the mouth, before again making a sound.

"Now, the object of gossip is Miss Rini. Her son is pregnant and her son's boyfriend doesn't want responsibility. Rini's mother and her husband intend to report to the police, but it will certainly be difficult to remember Rosa and the man are dating. Rini's family certainly can not throw accusations of abuse, let alone rape. Men will say they do it on the basis of liking. Rosa is twenty years old, not a minor. He is considered an adult to make decisions and accept risks later on."

Hearing her sister's words made Mutia gawk. He was surprised to find out that what he said a few days ago to Rini's mother, turned out to be long-tailed. But in addition to that, Mutia was also shocked when she realized something.

"Sal, you're good at reading situations and analyzing. It suits you to be a prosecutor or a lawyer." praise Mutia, make Faisal grin wide.

"I intend to become a lawman, Yuk. So from now on I started reading books about the law."

"Good." Mutia held out one thumb. "Student study so that your wishes are fulfilled."

Faisal agreed and resumed eating.

"Sal, I'm going to the stall first. Buy some sugar. You abis this shower, keep praying. Not praying, right?" then Mutia waltzed away after getting a nod from her sister.

Mutia is like fire and water. In one condition, Mutia can be a fire that burns and burns anything. But in other conditions, Mutia can be cool water.

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

...TO BE CONTINUE'S...