Why Different?
Unexpected
Surprised, astonished, astonished. Roughly, that was the reaction Zahira could show when she found an uninvited guest standing at her doorstep. Early in the morning, it was 8 a.m.
Confused and awkward to be one, yet he still treated the guest as well as he could. He welcomed using a smile, he invited into the house, he let sit on the living room sofa, then he also resigned to come bring drinks and snacks. Not to forget, he also dragged Abi and Umi to participate in meeting the guest, so that he was not alone in absorbing this confusion.
“Good morning.” Greet the Guest as Abi and Umi approach.
“Good morning, mother Juan?” ask Abi to make sure. Before being pulled here, Abi did have time to ask first who the guests who came until his daughter who used to look calm became hot.
“Betul. I am Chyntia, her mother Juan.” Women in short green dresses below the knee justifies.
Zahira is so tired, already, he was afraid that Juan's mother's arrival here was to affirm to him and also Abi and Umi so that the relationship with Juan that has been established for 5 years is not continued again. Scenes from plays he had seen in the school days had sprung up, making his perception even more agitated because after the justification, Juan's mother never spoke again.
Zahira's panic grew - so when she saw the movement where Juan's mother began to notice every corner in the living room. Starting from the walls, furniture, to the picture frame of the graduation several years ago displayed there did not escape the attention of the woman. In Zahira's point of view, what Juan's mother did was a form of selection— to further establish that Zahira was not as level as her son.
“So, Mom, if you can know, what is the need for Mom to come here early in the morning?” fortunately, Abi quickly ventured to ask.
Juan's mother stopped her activity, then looked at Abi Hamzah with foreign eyes that no one there was able to translate.
There was no answer, in fact, Juan's mother asked permission to do other things that made them nervous not to bother.
“May I drink the tea first?”
This time, Umi who replied, “Bby, please drink.” While sharing a thin smile that may reach Juan's mother with the same sincere intentions.
Chyntia reaches for a cup of warm tea previously served by Zahira. As was customary, the cup was brought closer to the nose for her to inhale the scent before the reddish liquid touched the tip of her tongue.
The warmth that slowly spread throughout the throat after the tea he managed to drink made Chyntia feel a little relieved. To be honest, just as the Zahira family were eagerly waiting for an answer, she was just as nervous about giving them the answer they wanted.
Three sips, Chyntia's tea cup drops it back on the table. He took a deep breath, then looked at the three Hosts in turn before his last gaze he gave to Abi Hamzah who was sitting to the left of Zahira, flanking his daughter.
“I mean my arrival here is to propose to your daughter, Zahira, to be the wife of the child only, Juan.” Chyntia said in one breath.
The three people before him were speechless. They were compactly silent before beginning to show each other glances, perhaps asking if this was real or if they were just dreaming compact.
“Sorry?” after some time, Abi Hamzah spoke again.
Chyntia took another breath, “I'd like to propose to Zahira, sir. To be Juan's wife, be my daughter-in-law.” Withstanding the taste of greget, Chyntia repeated.
In fact, he was not so surprised to see the reaction of Zahira and her parents. Given all this time he was very determined to oppose Juan's courtship with Zahira. More than just being surprised, Zahira and her parents may feel confused.
“Five years is not a short time, so I think it's time they move to a more serious level again.” Chyntia continued, when none of the three men spoke her words.
“Sorry, Aunt.” It's Zahira's voice. After gathering some courage, he was finally willing to open his mouth. “Tante is like this because he was forced to be Juan, huh? Juan threatened this auntie, huh?” tanyakanya.
But hearing that, Chyntia immediately shook her head, and instead spread a smile that Zahira had never seen before.
“Juan likes the absurd, but he will not reach the snack that kind of make dapetin what he wants.” Chyntia. “That's about him running away from home, that's just an excuse. He originally owned the house, and he wanted to move there. It just so happened that the moment was right, so he used the same reason to fight me so that he could move faster.” Further.
Back, Zahira didn't say. Still do not believe that the arrival of Juan's mother here is to propose, and it was also of his own volition, not on the basis of coercion from Juan who was already excited to ask for marriage.
“Pardon in advance,” Umi Maryam back interject. “But, are you sure? Yeah, it's nothing, but as you can see, we're not from a family. You could say, we are far from the level of the Mother family.” Not to demean their own families, but Umi Maryam knew that the unfavorable blessing for Juan and Zahira's relationship was due to differences in their social and economic status. So rather than something that is not good later, it is better to straighten everything from the beginning. No matter how much Zahira loved Juan, and no matter how Umi Maryam and Abi Hamzah wanted to make Juan a ghost, he still believed that the parents' blessing was the main one.
“But Juan is comfortable to be here. I heard so many stories about this family from the mouth of Reno, Juan's cousin. He said Juan told me a lot about how you would accept my son, protect him without ever looking one eye. In fact, when you who obey this religion know that Juan has different beliefs, you still accept it well, still guiding him to be a better person.”
“As a mother, I certainly want my child to get the best. And in my current view, there is nothing better than Zahira to be a wife to my son. Tidal is better off being a second parent to my son than Mom and Dad. That's why, I by gathering all the courage came here to propose Zahira.”
He said, no matter how hard a chunk of stone, it will still be weathered if rain continues to trickle down on it. Zahira knew it was not just a mere proverb, he knew things on earth could go back and forth according to how much effort we had, as well as how God gave his permission.
However, still, Zahira still did not expect that the moment where she was finally accepted by Juan's mother would come as well. What's more, the moment came at an unexpected moment, just the day before her birthday. This could be the sweetest birthday gift she will ever receive in her entire life.
“Just like humans in general, Juan also still has a lot of shortcomings. So I hope, Zahira will accept the shortcomings and help Juan to turn those shortcomings into an advantage.” Chyntia ventured forward, and she took Zahira's hand, passing to her a velvet box containing a ring with a beautiful jewel.
Hearing Chyntia calling herself ‘mama’, Zahira increasingly could not control herself. Basically he is a crybaby and easily carried away, he even mewek instead of taking the ring and said ‘iya’.
But as if he had understood the habits of his crying former candidate, Chyntia did not look confused at all. The woman moved closer, grabbed Zahira's body and hugged her as she patted her son's lover's back slowly.
“Sorry, yes, Mom. His son is a crybaby.” Umi Maryam who felt bad also spoke.
Chyntia did not reply, just smiled faintly and continued to accompany Zahira in tears.
“The taste and crybaby, so Mama should be careful if you behave. If this proposal gone wrong, Reno does not know anymore to help Mama like how again.”
That was the warning Reno gave before Chyntia came here. It was the boy who helped her go pick the ring without Juan's knowledge. Reno also said Juan had actually prepared a ring to propose to Zahira, but had not yet gained the right momentum to do so. Be Chyntia move first. He doesn't want Juan for too long and they will miss the chance to get Zahira.
It was not without reason that Chyntia could suddenly come to Zahira's house to propose. This is not a fairytale story where magic and all sorts of things are still powerful enough to turn a human heart as cold as snow into a wood-fired fireplace in just one night. No, it's not.
There was a very logical reason for Chyntia to have Zahira as a son-in-law, although she initially rejected the idea outright.
Exactly eight days before today, Chyntia managed to capture a moment that touched the deepest part of her heart, which no one had even managed to touch as long as she lived.
That afternoon, he came to the hospital by driving his own car. His intention was to have regular check-ups based on Doctor John's advice. At that time, because he was too lazy to get down to the basement, he also preferred to park his car in the front parking lot of the hospital.
The IGD seemed to be busy that afternoon. Several gurneys were pushed into the building, where above the gurneys lay several people who had severe injuries all over their bodies, especially on their heads. And because she was reluctant to go into the hospital along with the patients who were struggling for their lives, Chyntia decided to wait first in the car.
The safes were still popping up, leading him to assume that there might have been successive accidents and that the patients were part of those involved. However, for a few seconds later, Chyntia's attention was no longer on the fast-moving medics moving the gurney into the hospital building.
The presence of a shabby-clothed boy and not listening to the sandals managed to keep Chyntia glued. The boy, aged 8 or 9, was walking along after the medics were running around. In the sling of the child, there was a cat that was no less shabby. His head and legs were injured, possibly a hit-and-run victim.
The boy stopped his steps, looking confused because people seemed busy with their respective jobs. When she tried to stop a passing medic, Chyntia witnessed the child being ignored after being spoken to for a while. In fact, the hospital guards who actually did not work much also ignored the boy. Either because of his shabby appearance or because of the existence of the cat that is not too important to him.
Chyntia's heart moved. At that time, he only suddenly remembered Juan who also liked cats. Despite the fact that his son has an allergy to cat fur, it still does not reduce Juan's love for the hairy creature. So happy, Juan asked to make a shelter for stray cats that he found on the streets. The shelter was eventually built some distance from the Big House, and Juan would occasionally come to visit there to simply feed. Until now, there may have been about 60 cats living in the halfway house.
Armed with a little sense of humanity, Chyntia was about to descend. The money he has in his debit card may be able to help the little boy solve problems with his cat.
However, just now that Chyntia's hand touched the car's door handle, she's been made to snooze.
A hooded woman with a doctor's suit was attached to her body out of the hospital. Splitting the traffic of other medics who are busy dealing with emergency patients. He then walked up to the boy, crouched down to equalize the position of the body with the child and then asked the child to speak.
After talking for a while, the woman took the child into the hospital. He even spoke to the security guard who seemed to object to his actions, looking reassuring before taking the child away with him and the cat.
And, right, that woman is Zahira. Juan's lover who until that day is still reluctant to give his blessing.
The view that afternoon was not the only reason. After returning home from the hospital, Chyntia begins to find out more about Zahira. He asked his colleagues, tracing his footsteps since college in Noesantara, to go to places where Zahira apparently had done volunteer work.
The results of his quest all made him dumbfounded. There was no flaw in what people told him about Zahira. What he hears always: Zahira is good, Zahira is humble, Zahira is sincere, Zahira is the embodiment of an angel without real wings. No one presented him with the ulcers that the woman had.
Yes, Chyntia knows no human being is perfect. But at least, he knew Zahira had not failed to humanize the other humans around him. And far more important than all that, Zahira was the only one who dared to look at Juan through a different point of view.
So after going through such a long consideration, Chyntia also made this decision. The decision to propose to Zahira, so that the woman was not taken by another man other than her son.
“So Mama's daughter-in-law, yes, Za.” His whisper, when in his arms Zahira's cry had subsided a little.
Zahira pulled her body, wiped the tears that made her face red, then nodded her head.
“Iya, Zahira wants.”
And that answer is relief for all. Well, everyone. Unless Juan money doesn't even know anything and still uses his time to worry about Baskara.
Seriate
