In the end, Lily gave up. She realized her safety was more important than her prestige, so she ran after Herry's steps, without saying anything. When Herry was about to open the car door, he was surprised. How could the girl with cracked glasses already be behind his back?
"What else?" asked Herry.
"You said you will take me home," Lily said hopefully, albeit anxiously.
A smile appeared on Herry's lips, a teasing one. Strangely, she didn't move at all. Lily was silent.
"Should I open the door for you?" Harry said.
Lily blinked, then finally caught what he meant, she hurriedly ran to open the door and sat comfortably in the car.
"Are you the lady boss I have to drive?" Herry grumbled from the driver's seat as Lily had chosen to sit in the back. She acted like an online taxi passenger. Or his lady boss, at that.
"I don't want any bad luck," she was still angry.
"I'm sorry, but there was something important I had to do, so I just left back then."
Along the drive, those two did not talk much. Only the sound of Herry trying to express his apology was heard.
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The jet black car made a trail on the shady green road. Leaves were blown away by a gust of wind, resulting from the rotation of the wheels on its axis. The car driven by Herry was stopped in a wide open space, presenting a beautiful classic place for worship right in front of them. It had a triangular pointed roof, similar to those castles depicted in a fairy tale.
Herry opened the car's door. Stunned, he stood observing the building, "You live here?" Harry asked.
"There," Lily said.
"Where?" Harry was a little confused.
"Turn your body to the left."
After turning the direction of his body, Herry saw it. It turned out that Lilyan was living in a Child Welfare Institution located near the place of worship. It made a deep impression on Herry.
"You don't want to stop by?" Herry seemed more interested in the place he was staring at, "If not, I'll go home," Herry nodded in response to Lily.
Just as Lilyan had moved some distance, Herry walked faster towards the door of the building he had been observing. Somehow his heart trembled entering that place, it had been a long time since he had been in this kind of place. Herry sat on the edge, on the bench number two from the front.
At some point in his life, he had been angry and chose to be absent for weeks. This young man came from a remote village in Manado. He lived alone after his parents got a divorec. His mother decided to return to Java and they never saw each other again. While his father died three years later. Little Herry ended up living with his uncle and aunt. A family with many children, who forced him to live his life inadequately.
When he graduated from junior high school, a distant relative returned to Manado, reportedly he was very successful in the capital city, Jakarta. Herry forced himself to go with his brother to wander. It turned out, when he arrived in Jakarta, he found out that his relative was only a market thug and a parking lot owner. Herry was trained as a thug at that time. Feeling that his life had never been lucky, he was angry with the situation. He no longer saw nor returned to the place he should have missed.
Herry's last profession was an amateur wrestler. Once he won, he would be the number one, famous, and obviously would earn lots of money he could use for fun, even though at that time, kids his age were taking their high school graduation exams.
That was Herry's life before Raka found him and trained him to be part of the personal bodyguard of this collegiate family.
So Herry was so proud when he was trusted and loved by Mahendra. Not many people could win the heart of the sole heir who had a slightly unique character and was very difficult to approach. No matter how unpleasant and violent Hendra was, Herry knew Hendra had a different way of expressing his affection.
He was often asked to read books of self-development, taught directly by Hendra and corrected when Herry was wrong, without any cursing or bullying like people who used to live in his darkest circle.
His loyalty to Hendra made him so proud as if he had found a figure who had been missing since his childhood. A child needed an adult as a guide in his life. What Herry was looking for was found in the way his master trusted him.
Now, Herry was no longer angry. He was more grateful and had reconciled in a quite unique way.
His face was wet with tears this afternoon. An athletic man with a height of 185 cm, crying silently as a mere human who once hated the world, just because some simple questions were not answered by God.
Why couldn't he afford candy at that time? Why were his clothes so ugly? Why did his parents leave?
Today, finally after a long time, Herry could curse his past stupidity, who went too far in blaming what was not wrong in his life, and chose to go away from the place he should go to every week.
"There's no need to cry, your prayers will be heard," Lily had changed her glasses, sitting next to him. This girl wondered why Herry and his car hadn't gone yet. It turned out that he was praying while the tears were streaming down his face.
A little strange for this masculine man, actually. However, it was natural for humans to find their own self again.
***
The woman who had just obtained the status of a wife was busying herself in the kitchen. Dea deliberately asked her aunt, Desi – who used to help her – to come home early when she and Mr. Surya arrived. So tonight Dea prepared dinner herself.
Surya wearing casual clothes, he slowly approached Dea intending to help her.
"Relax, I will clean everything. It'll be sparkling clean as before," said Dea hastily. This couple was a bit unique because the differences in their characteristics were too conspicuous.
Hearing Dea's words, Surya chose to sit comfortably at the dining table.
A moment later, his wife set the dishes on the dining table. Carrying bowls of food with a happy face and even a sweet smile. His mother once said 'a husband will be compliant if he is faced with a smile and good food'.
Dea was doing what her mother had said. And it turned out that Mr. Surya truly threw her some glances, repeatedly. Dea just didn't realize that one of the reasons for Mr. Surya's glance was because this girl was not wrapped in clothes that stretched from hair to feet.
Dea wore a knee-length negligee with sleeves that seemed short so that her armpits could be caught by observers. Her hair is thick black, with a shoulder-length bob haircut and sweet bangs covering his forehead. This was the first time he saw her like this, truly tempting her husband. Imagine how excited Surya was with Dea's cute appearance sans her hijab.
In fact, Dea could only be categorized as a woman with standard beauty. It could be said that Lily was the one actually being blessed with natural oriental beauty with her bold communication style. Lily was the most beautiful of the three inhabitants of the Magic Letter, except Laras.
Even Aruna was not as beautiful as Lily. It was just that Aruna was often categorized as sweet by the opposite sex, plus a charming smile and extraordinary hospitality.
But for cuteness, don't be wrong, Dea was the champion. Dea wearing a hijab was the complete opposite of her without a hijab. Sometimes, because this girl often advised her friends, Dea seemed to be more mature in her hijab.
When the cloth that wrapped her head was released, this girl's true behavior will be discovered. A Korean oppa lover. A bias from the idol boy group Exo, called Exo L, and all the contrasting behavior would later appear.
Dea was blessed with a religious family. Her late father was a fiqh[1] teacher at Madrasah Ibtidaiyah. No wonder, this girl was quite unique in all dimensions. Even tonight, even Surya had trouble swallowing the rice in his throat.
Once both of them finished eating, Dea hurriedly stood up, grabbing the plates and bowls to clean. Dea made sure everything was perfect, she knew her husband was too prickly about cleanliness. She was confused about where Mr. Surya had gone, even though she had just caught his movements, heating water and making something in a tall clear glass, Dea didn't have time to pay attention to him.
.
As soon as Dea entered the room looking for Mr. Surya, she saw two rectangular cloth mats spread out there. Dea blinked her eyes. On the nightstand, there was a glass of white milk that had been half drunk. Dea knows Mr. Surya was hiding behind the alley and was secretly observing her. He presented a symbol of love for Dea.
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[1]Fiqh: Jurisprudence in the Islamic law.
[2]Madrasah Ibtidaiyah: Islamic schooling alternative to elementary school.
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