Chapter 6
The call to prayer at dawn woke me up. Immediately I went out of the room to take a shower and take ablution. The atmosphere is still quiet, maybe Mas Azzam and Sis Winda haven't woken up yet. It's also possible that they were tired after taking off all night long. They have been separated for more than two weeks.
I laughed amused remembering Mas Azzam's disappointed expression every night at my father's house yesterday. The first night, I lied that I was on my period. The next night, I clearly refused because I knew Mas Azzam was already married. Iqamah's voice from the mosque made me rush back into the room. Then complete the Fajr prayer. After that, I don't know what to do. Shall I just cook for breakfast?
Better not, I don't know how Sis Winda's taste in cooking is. I don't want to be blamed if my cooking doesn't suit their taste. I chose to be busy with my cell phone, so I didn't feel the time was passing quickly. Suddenly, the day was bright, the sunlight coming in through the window vents made me know that it was noon. While the atmosphere outside is still quiet,
I haven't heard any activity outside my room. When they haven't woken up yet, I glanced at the time shown by my cellphone screen. It's seven thirty minutes past, my stomach has also started singing asking to be filled. I slowly opened the door to my room and took a peek outside. It's still really quiet.
I took the initiative to go to the kitchen. I checked the contents of the refrigerator that was there. There was only one egg, the rest were empty bottles and piles of dried chilies and onions. It turns out that Sis Winda is very dirty, the shelves in the refrigerator are also black, it seems that it has not been cleaned in a year. With a shudder I took the remaining eggs, then looked for a place to store cooking oil.
Again I shudder amused to see the bottle of cooking oil. Fat from cooking oil seemed to accumulate on the lip of the bottle. Some are even black. I decided not to fry eggs, I chose to look for food outside the house. Who knows there are those who sell chicken porridge or ketoprak out there.
Arriving outside the house, I saw that there were already many people passing by on the road in front of Mas Azzam's house. Many children have also played, I approached a group of mothers who were sitting under the tamarind tree. They've been staring at me intently since I left the house earlier.
"Good morning, beautiful ladies. Can I ask you a question?" my greeting is familiar.
"Morning, dek. It's nice to say that you are beautiful. You know, but don't call your mother. Just call your sister so that you are more familiar. What do you want to ask?" replied one of the mothers, uh, the brothers with a big smile. I also smiled, not in vain I praised them.
"I want to find breakfast, but I don't know where it is."
"Oh, breakfast. It's on the edge of the market, deck. There are those who sell lontong, they also have savory rice. The food is delicious." he answered again.
"The market? Is there a market here, Sis?" I asked confused.
The feeling that time passed yesterday, I didn't see any sign of a market on the main street there.
"There is, Deck. If there is no market, where are we going to pass?" I still stand confused, the market to pass. What does it mean? Luckily one of them probably noticed I was confused.
"Where is Adek from?" he asked kindly.
"From Jakarta, Sis. Just came last night," I replied, no less friendly.
"Oh, from Jakarta. You just get confused. Here, the market is not a place for people to sell like in Jakarta. This place is called tax. The market, yes, the big road in front of me means, Deck," he explained at length.
"Oala, that's what he meant. Thank you, Sis," I said. I also excused myself to them, but one of them spoke again.
"Be careful when you walk ahead, Dek. A lot of times the trains are going too fast," he said. Huh! The train is running fast. Can the train run on the asphalt?
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I've arrived at the market, uh, the highway. However, I didn't see any of the trains that brother said There was a motorbike passing by at high speed. With shaking my head not understanding, I approached the Medan lontong seller stall in front of me. I ordered one portion to eat on the spot.
Curious about the taste, because the appearance of this food is very attractive with a bright color that seduces my taste. My eyes widen when a spoonful of lontong and its vegetables are already in my mouth. It's amazingly delicious, spicy and savory blends in my mouth. In an instant I devoured a plate of lontong vegetables.
"How much, Sis?" I asked. to the seller.
"Just ten thousand, Dek," she replied with a sweet smile.
Ten thousand? Isn't that wrong, huh? A plate of rice cake with complete vegetables, plus eggs and sauce only only ten thousand. Very cheap, I also gave a ten thousand note and then returned to Mas Azzam's house with a full stomach.
When I returned, I saw the group of mothers were still chatting under the tamarind tree. I immediately approached them, I'm still curious about what he said was wrong or from them earlier.
"Beautiful sister is still here," I greeted politely.
"We are already permanent residents of this place, Dek," they replied, laughing loudly. The hairs on my neck suddenly stood up, but my heart resisted the sudden fear. Period, yes, there are ghosts that can appear during the day. Can gossip again, it makes no sense!
"Eh, sorry. We were just joking, Dek. Don't turn pale like that Adek's face. We are still human, Dek," they said again, making me relieved.
To be continued