CINTA*), the little girl in the third grade of elementary school, was crying, her shoulders shaking and sobbing, her eyes puffy. She gripped the cell phone tightly to her ear. Next to her, the household assistant sat on the floor, letting the little girl cry as she didn't know what to do.
Her body is small and thin, not because undernourished. Her parent comes from a wealthy family. They own a general hospital in the town. This little girl has many friends but rarely talks. There are various kinds of toys in her house, even in the backyard equipped with a swimming pool. Books, magazines, and everything else available, everything is there.
What's not there, is her mom and dad.
Her parent was touring with their Moge*) group in Aussie. It feels like just yesterday I heard that they were on tour to Germany and now they have gone to another country.
The other senior household assistant, Bu Hari, complained that Cinta cried all night and wouldn't shut up. In the end, Bu Hari could only be grumpy and angry as an expression of her frustration.
I lifted the little body and hugged her, letting her finish crying. Sweat and tears mixed down the little girl's cheeks and neck. Some of her hair fell to her face, got wet, and stuck to her cheeks.
"Bu Hari, may I borrow a comb?"
Bu Hari brought a comb and rubber and handed them over to me. I brushed Cinta's hair gently and tied it back. Now the little girl's face seemed lighter.
"Let me borrow your cell phone. Who do you want to call, Cinta?"
"Mama..." She said softly. I was relieved to hear her voice.
She gave me the phone.
"Maybe mom's phone ran out of battery, so she didn't know Cinta was calling. Besides, on the road the signal likes to disappear, so you can't get through." I explained seriously while looking deeply into the little girl's eyes.
The household assistant told me that all night the child tried to contact her mama but couldn't, tired of crying she fell asleep and woke up again, then called her mama and cried again and fell asleep again and called again all night until this morning.
"Next time, please do not call Mommy again, okay? Later, when her work is done, she will surely come. Now Cinta just plays, okay?"
Cinta silent.
"How come the grown-up child doesn't want to understand," complained Bu Hari.
"Bu Hari, Cinta already understands, that's why she's crying. When she was little, she never cried when her mom and dad left her, because she didn't understand" I explained while looking at her face.
Now Mrs. Hari was silent.
"Cinta just wants to be hugged. You see, the proof is that she is now silent." I said again while hugging her tightly once again...
"If I hug her, she won't want to" The junior assistant who sat beside her raised her voice.
"Next time when Cinta cries, call me, mbak. Let me hug." My message to the two assistants. "But it looks like she won't cry anymore, she's a smart kid," I said again.
Everyone was silent.
"Cinta, want to play with Bright's? Let's come; Bright has a lot of good books,"
The girl shook her head.
"We have many books here," said Bu Hari hopelessly.
I quietly left the big house, past the lined-up Harley Davidson motorcycles, a little dusty and frozen silent. Those expensive items were of no value to the child at all.
A moment later I came back, "This is it... the magazine from Bright for Cinta. Look at these fancy pics, surely you'll like them."
I put the magazine next to Cinta, then left her alone. Through the glass window, I glanced. Cinta looked at the magazine and grabbed it, flipped the page on her lap.
***
In the past, Cinta was closer to Bu Hari than her mom. She sleeps with Bu Hari daily even though her mom is at home. When Bu Hari is on leave, Cinta gets sick, so Bu Hari can never take an extended vacation, very often the personal driver picks her up in the mid of her leave.
Once her parent took Cinta vacation out of town. Bu Hari just stayed at home. During the trip, Cinta vomited and her body temperature was raised, she got a fever missing for Bu Hari. Finally, they turned back home and canceled the holiday.
Apparently, Cinta is growing now and she can feel the difference between her mom and others. Even though her relationship with Bu Hari is so close, the older woman can't replace her parents. Cinta starts to 'fight' Bu Hari. That's why Bu Hari is often grumpy.
Fortunately, there was a new household assistant who helped her, when Bu Hari started to get angry with Cinta, the new assistant would defend Cinta and yell out, "You don't have the right to scold her!!!"
That's the story.
The old woman felt mistreated.
Whenever there was a problem she snuggles down to me when I was outside in the yard, gardening, venting for support, like the story of Cinta crying last night.
So I know then the condition of Cinta.
***
I remember the first time I was at home on a weekday after my resignation from the office.
It was raining heavily with lightning and thunder.
I found Bright curled up on the bed in the corner of the room, hugging a pillow while covering her eyes and ears with her little fingers. She had always been afraid of fireworks, lightning, and thunder.
Apparently, she forgot that her mama was at home that day. Maybe she didn't know that her mother no longer worked in the office.
I saw how Bright's facial expression changed when she realized her mom was in front of her, She immediately smiled embarrassed, and ran to hug me. It was my first gratitude moment upon resignation; I was near when she needed me.
I don't know how many small moments like that I would have missed if I was still full-time working in the office. Moments of togetherness and happiness will always be remembered and shape her adult life.
I don't know how much that's worth.
***
*Cinta, Love
*)Moge stands for Motor gedhe: Big motorcycles with engine capacity above 400cc