Will Not Be Substituted

Sweet things are thrown away

Netra Abhimanyu opened as sunlight started to enter his room. He was not surprised to see the first sight in front of his eyes was the wife.

Abhimanyu still remembered what happened last night. An event in the past is back in his dreams. Dreams that often haunt him since he was a child until now. A dream that he really wanted to forget, but the dream seemed to stick firmly to him and would appear in his night at any given moment.

However, it was different from last night, when he decided to ask Caca to accompany him. A sense of calm instantly absorbed into Abhimanyu's heart. The worries that always arise every time the dream comes are gone somewhere. No matter what, Abhimanyu did not know. He definitely regained the comfort he so longed for.

Abhimanyu got out of bed after confirming Caca had not woken up. He even raised the girl's blanket to the chest so that Caca did not wake up .

The young man went down into the kitchen. He was looking for his favorite green tea. He brewed the tea himself without the help of his mother or a domestic assistant.

“Large lecture, Bi?” asked Nabila when he saw Abhimanyu still using a T-shirt last night, even though the day was enough.

Abhimanyu who had almost come out of the kitchen finally stopped for a moment. “No, my lecturer said he was sick again, so take a day off first,” he replied.

“What did you do just now?” ask Nabila again curious.

Abhimanyu lifted his cup and replied, “I make green tea.”

Nabila just a joke. It seemed that the woman was so focused on her cooking that she was unaware of something.

Abhimanyu returned to his room. He sat on the balcony enjoying his favorite green tea. Abhimanyu's view was straight ahead. He recalled that dark time. A time when he fought alone against fear. When he had to fight some people, even had to lose someone who was so meaningful in his life.

At that time, Abhimanyu was met with a female doctor who gave him such full affection. The trauma that had once been present in his life, slowly disappeared with the help of the doctor. The doctor is none other than his own father-in-law.

Putting a fire on a cigarette. Abhimanyu sucked the nicotine stuff slowly. Enjoy it without burden, while trying to forget the dream last night.

**

Slowly open your eyes. Caca tried to open her eyes which still felt so heavy. However, the sunlight that felt increasingly hot made it force both eyelids to open.

Caca tried to remember how he could sleep comfortably on the bed. As he remembered, he woke up there yesterday. Shouldn't he be on the couch this morning? thought the girl.

While rubbing his eyes and sitting down Caca tried to remember what happened last night. Until finally Caca's memory returned to the incident, when he was about to fall asleep then heard Abhimanyu whining, and finally he accompanied the young man to sleep.

Caca's head goes around. Her eyes combed through the room, trying to find her husband. However, it seemed that the young man had woken up since earlier, seeing that the temperature of the side of the bed next to him had been cold.

Caca stood up to clean up, because this morning he had to attend morning classes. The girl shook her head looking at the wall clock hanging in the room already showing at six in the morning. That means the mother-in-law's cooking is almost ready, and she woke up very late this morning.

Caca's eyes squinted as he passed through the open balcony door. He who initially wanted to go into the bathroom immediately shut himself up. The girl walked slowly toward someone who seemed to be smoking there. Seen from the puff of smoke that emerged from behind his head.

“Morning already smoking,” chirps Caca while leaning her body on the balcony door.

Abhimanyu who was surprised to hear a voice suddenly immediately looked back. He just shook his head to see his wife still wearing his great shirt last night.

“Semalem lo why?” ask Caca. He did not care about Abhimanyu who seemed indifferent to him.

“Ngigo,” replied the young man's origin. He came back to smoke his cigarette and then exhaled his smoke slowly.

“Lo inget not Bi, if semalem lo it suddenly me? And now you're treating me as if the incident never happened?” Caca's eyebrows are raised next door. Exasperated by Abhimanyu's behavior that did not care about him at all.

“Ngak inget,” replied Abhimanyu again with origin.

Caca was really upset with her husband. He even squeezed the air and pretended to punch Abhimanyu in the head to vent his regret.

“Maybe this term runs out sweet as discarded,” muttered Caca. He immediately left Abhimanyu alone.

Abhimanyu's slanted smile just appeared. He deliberately ignored Caca a little. He did not want the girl he thought was chatty to ask him a lot. Abhimanyu is still not ready to explain what happened last night.

**

“Ca, this please you continue for a moment, Mother there is a phone from your assistant in the store.” Nabila hurriedly gave a spoon to Caca, then just went out of the kitchen.

Shortly after Caca finished, Nabila arrived. The woman smiled broadly at the sight of the entire breakfast having been cooked and well prepared as per her container. He was not wrong in getting a son-in-law, he thought.

“Already, Ca?” ask Nabila.

Caca returned a smile Nabila no less wide. He nodded slowly before rearranging his freshly cooked cornstarch on a serving plate.

The two men set breakfast on the table. While a household assistant cleans the kitchen and washes the furniture that was used by Nabila.

When both of them returned to the kitchen, Nabila remembered something. He asked Caca, trying to ascertain his conjecture.

“Ca, Mommy wants to ask,” said Nabila.

Caca turned his eyes to Nabila after putting a glass of water that he had just taken from the refrigerator.

“Ask what, Bun?” ask Caca.

“What was Abi last night nightmare?” Murat was worried about clearly meeting Nabila's face. The woman was initially unaware when suddenly Abhimanyu was in the kitchen and was brewing green tea. He only remembered when the young man had already come out of there.

Silence, Caca seemed confused as to what to answer. The girl did not know what happened to Abhimanyu last night, but seeing from the anxiety that arose when the young man still closed his eyes, Caca inevitably speculated that her husband was having nightmares.

“Iya, Bun. I think Abi's having a nightmare. When I was just about to go to sleep, I heard him screaming, not a few times. I kept waking up Abi, when he woke up suddenly hugged me, he said tell him to nemenin, he was afraid,” he explained the incident last night. Soon Caca's forehead wrinkled, not knowing how her mother-in-law knew Abhimanyu had a nightmare last night. Trying to reduce her curiosity, Caca asked,

“Kok, Mommy knew last night Abi had a nightmare?”

Instantly Nabila turned to hear his daughter-in-law's question. The woman exhaled a weak breath before telling a story.

“So, Abi was always having the same nightmare every time she was exhausted. Then, in the morning Abi will make green tea that he always provides in the kitchen. Now Mommy believes Abi is smoking on the balcony.”

Caca blinked his eyes. How could her mother-in-law know Abhimanyu was smoking on the balcony of the room. Does that mean Abhimanyu often has nightmares like last night? ask in the heart.

“Abi often nightmares, Bun?” Caca really couldn't stem her curiosity, and the girl ventured to ask further.

Nabila nodded, but then shook her head. “Not very often, Ca. Only if Abi's soy sauce is a nightmare. Repeatedly like that. Even his dreams never change, always the same, ” replied the woman. His gaze turned soft, as if this was a very heavy burden for the woman.

“Emang Abi what dream, Bun?” Caca was getting curious about her husband.

Sighing deeply, presumably Nabila was a little hesitant to tell the story of the son in the past.

Caca who slightly understood the gelagat the mother-in-law was finally only able to wipe the woman's arm while saying, “If it can not be a story do not need to be understood, Bun.” Caca smiled gently at Nabila.

Nabila. He had to tell his son-in-law about the story of Abhimanyu's past, which was indeed scraping the wounds of anyone in the house.

“Then at the age of ten, Abi was kidnapped. He was held in a very dark room. He was yelled at, fed with improper food, and sometimes he was beaten if he did not comply with the kidnapper. We were trying to find Abi. We deployed many people to search for Abhimanyu's whereabouts, but because his captivity site was out of town made it difficult for our team to search for him.” Nabila took a long breath back.

“At one day, Abi can escape. On that day we were able to trace his whereabouts. Abi's grandmother who was nearby immediately looked for Abi. Unfortunately at that time Abi's grandmother was too rash to not bring people with her, Oma Dian was only with her driver. He walked the plantation where Abi was held captive until they met, but ...” Nabila seemed powerless to continue his story.

Caca who understands the condition of the mother-in-law can only wipe her arm. He did not demand that the woman continue his story. A housekeeper told her that Arjuna, Dio, and Abhimanyu were waiting at the dinner table.

The two women finally chose to stop the story and rushed towards the dining table for breakfast.

Caca no longer wants to know about Abhimanyu's past stories that even today still haunt the young man. He thinks the story is too disturbing for the whole family and Caca does not want to see them sad just because the past is revealed again.

***

Gaess sorry, yes, if you wait for this story is very long. I tegesin once again, if you guys are still waiting, you can stay just this story.

I was not able to update every day like other authors. I am busy in real life. Especially during this month I was sick several times and activities on campus were many more. I can't just ignore that. But, as long as time allows me to keep trying to write. And even before I'm up to the story I have to read this story over and over again until I'm actually incantating and in-up.

So, for those of you who don't want to wait, don't wait. So thank you🙏