WE LIVE SIDE BY SIDE (CERPENE)

Chapter XII (Hindu Women of the Twilight Part I)

My name is Rahma, wife of a farmer named Gratitude, I married a husband since 1971, from the results of marriage, we have 9 sons with various characters.

As parents, we work hard for the children we love, almost every year of my life and my husband always stay in the garden, because it has to keep the plants from animals that like to spoil the harvest.

But, no matter how hard we try, we still cannot send our children to high school, my children who are still fairly young have also met their respective partners.

All left me and my husband in a small village, far away from modern civilization.

Every child who steps out of our old home will never come back.

When Ramadan arrives, I always remember my children when they were with me.

Every 2 am I wake up, to cook sahur rice, if my youngest son hears the sound of the coconut shaving I do, he will wake up and shake his head in my lap.

When I remember that, my tears always come. In my heart I always ask.

“Have they been deterred from being difficult people? So they don't know the way home? Or are they not living in a region of people?”

Thinking about it all my heart aches, in my prayers, do not stop trying to’ my children, so that they are always happy, healthy, even though they do not remember me, because I am also aware, he said, with me there is no happiness they get.

I still remember 2008, not yet dry my tears because of the longing for my children, people came to pick me up in the garden, they said my husband had died.

Coinciding on the last day of Ramadan. My heart grieves because the people I love leave me.

But I am still grateful because many residents enliven my home, even if only for a moment accompanied my loneliness.

2 Weeks later, I, sitting at the door, looked at the unpaved clay road in front of my house, and asked the Lord. “Are my children going home this year Lord?”

Every day after work, I always waited in the house with the door open, if there was the sound of the bus stopping, I who had this twilight ran the courtyard to see who was coming, who was coming, I often even stayed up late hoping that one of them would come home, even though I knew it was all impossible.

The days I spent were meaningless, there was no passion, no desire to live, until my grief ended in 2010, at that time I was laying my body on a mat in the house, suddenly someone came knocking on the door.

“Assalamu’alaikum! hello! There's no one inside!”

I immediately sat down and answered the greeting of someone I did not know.

“wa’alaikumussalam.” I open my door that has been crisp, because God there is a beautiful woman with two children on her right left.

“Sorry son, who are you?” I asked politely.

“I'm Bihan, these are my children, the biggest one is Ali, this little one is Zahra.”

I wonder why this beautiful woman came to my house with 2 children.

“Sorry son, mom forgot, let's go in first.” said I.

“No need, I again rush.” said the woman named Bihan.

“Alright, but sorry, who are you guys? Why come to mom's house?” ask me again.

“I am the ex-wife of a daughter named April!”

“April? But how come you only come three, boy?” I asked with curiosity.

“Well! That's the problem, me and April have divorced!” Answer my daughter-in-law in a high tone.

“Divorce? How can you do that, son?”

“ylYa can, after she knows money, she just wants to go with another woman! And it's been 1 year I was left by your son bu!” Screeched on me.

“Astagofirlohal’azim, forgive him yes son, son mother must be happy son?” I held my daughter-in-law's hand with regret for my son's actions.

“It's mom, we're both done! Alias over! And my purpose in coming here is, to give the children of April the same mother, anyways I do not want to be difficult because these children, the father just do not want to know, let the mother alone bear it, so that the mother who bears it, this is all because I did not want to educate April!”

Astagofirlohal’azim, so hurt my daughter-in-law due to my son's actions? I can't argue with the words of Bihan, who says I'm not good at educating my children, because the truth is that I often leave April to stay in the garden.

With my breastplate I accepted my two grandchildren, my grandchildren cried out to ask their mother not to leave them with me.But my daughter-in-law Bihan did not care about them.

From noon to evening, the two of them continued to cry until they fell asleep on the ground, I continued to persuade my grandchildren, to want to go into the house, until night came, a lot of mosquitoes outside were biting them, my grandchildren kept looking down the street with tears running down, because they felt their mother was not coming back, they finally called me in a stammering voice.

“ne net.”

For the first time my granddaughter called me grandma, “Ali my dear grandson.” I approached them both, then embraced my two grandchildren with great affection and pity.

I never regretted, angry or so they were given whatever I was, instead I was very happy. By their presence, I feel alive again.

I took the two of them into the house, and wiped their filthy bodies with a wet cloth.

After the two of them were clean, I took my grandson's shirt in the suitcase, while unpacking their suitcase, I accidentally saw a rapot, it turns out Ali's grandson, has 1st grade Elementary.

“Nek, you wait here yes, grandma wants to go buy the same side dish you guys.” said I while taking the money in my pillowcase.

“Grandma don't go, it's dark once nek.”

Ali said while holding my hand, I felt very sorry for them, because they previously lived in a city full of electric lighting, now even have to adjust to the wall lights.

“Quiet grandma, granny just to the stall in front of our house for a while, because in the kitchen there is no side dish, now good again there is money, so grandma wants to buy canned fish.”

After giving understanding to my grandchildren, they finally let me go for a while to the stall.

My heart was so excited, after buying the canned fish, I went back home, then I opened the canned fish, I continued to pour it into a small plate, and I shared it with my two grandchildren. “Eat nek,” said I, but my grandson Zahra did not seem to like it, then Ali initiative to feed his sister.

That was the beginning of my togetherness with my two grandchildren, I never felt burdened going to the presence of both of them, even I grew diligent work, I planted more vegetables than usual, I grew more vegetables than usual, in order to be sold to the market, receiving wholesale labor such as harvesting in people's fields and washing neighboring cloth. It was exhausting, but after seeing the faces of my grandchildren, all the fatigue and cape was gone.

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