Basta returned to Malaysia, the same place he had last seen Aura, the blind girl who selling flowers. Still the same as last time, she was still peddling her flowers with a big smile on her face. The burger seller caught Basta's figure and smiled knowing his presence. Basta just ordered two hot dogs so he could give it to Aura. While waiting for the food to be made, Basta accidentally saw two young men taking some flower stalks without permission. Seeing the strange behavior of the two youths who seemed to be of school age who were about to leave without paying, Basta immediately caught both of the boy's wrists.
"I saw it. If you really can't afford it then don't steal!" Basta said which of course broke the concentration of Aura who was also there.
The two young men looked scared and immediately said, "I'm sorry, actually we wanted to buy it for our mother at home. It just so happened that today was Mother's Day and we wanted to give them something, but we didn't have enough money."
"Your mother wouldn't be happy either to know you gave them stolen flowers!" say Basta again.
"Excuse me, what's wrong?" Aura asked who heard the commotion.
"Ah no no, there are two young men want to buy flowers from you," Basta immediately gave money to the two young men and although confused, Basta asked them to give the money to Aura.
"Th-thank you," said one of the young men.
"Don't do this again!" Basta said in a muffled voice because he didn't want Aura to hear it.
"Hi Aura. I'm coming again," Basta greeted after confirming that the two young men had left from there.
"I remember your voice. Basta right?" Aura asked.
"Hahaha. That's right," Basta said when the burger seller gave him two cooked hot dogs.
Basta immediately paid and thanked her.
"Aura, here I bought two hot dogs. One for you and one for me," Basta said handing a bag of hot dogs to the girl.
"Ah thank you. Sit here. It must be uncomfortable if you continue to stand there," said Aura who invited Basta into her tent which was actually also open.
"I texted you several times yesterday but you didn't reply," Basta said honestly.
"Ah really? Sorry I didn't answer. You can see I'm… blind?" asked Aura which Basta immediately regretted.
"Ah gosh, sorry sorry. I'm the stupid one. How could I forget if you-" Basta's words were cut off.
"No need to hesitate. If you need anything you can just call," close Aura again.
"Ah I see. Yes yes okay I will do it next time," Basta said.
"So do you need flowers?" Aura asked again.
"Ah me? Yes yes I need flowers. But later, I want to chat here for a while. If you don't mind of course?" Basta said suddenly awkwardly, while from the catch of his eyes the burger seller gave him a thumbs up while smiling strangely.
"Is that so? Of course it's fine," said Aura.
"Why don't you eat the hot dog? It's going to be cold," say Basta again.
"This? No. I'll give it to my son. He'll love it," said Aura.
"Son?" Basta asked very surprised. Basta cursed himself for not finding out beforehand about Aura's identity. Turns out she already has a family.
"Yes, he will come in a moment. Usually he always accompanies me selling," Aura said with a shady smile.
"But last time?" Basta's words hang.
"Yes, at that time he did not come because there was a group study with his friends. But this time he will come. After his homework is done he will definitely show up," said Aura happily.
The atmosphere became awkward and Basta was about to leave the tent until a boy came and called Aura with Mom. A child of about seven years old rides his bicycle alone. The round face and red chubby cheeks still look adorable.
"Hello, Boy," said Aura who seemed to be hugging the boy.
"Who is this uncle, Mom?" asked the boy named Yusuf innocently.
"This? Ah, this is Uncle Basta. He wants to buy flowers here. Ah, this uncle also brought Yusuf, a hot dog," said Aura.
"Ah hot dog? I likes it. Thank you very much, uncle Basta." Yusuf said plainly.
"Oh, you're welcome," Basta said then turned his gaze to Aura.
"Ehm but, why did Yusuf come alone? Is your house close from here?" Basta asked.
"Yes, our house is quite close from here. It's only about a 10 minute walk for me. We rented a room in a small apartment," Aura said still friendly.
"But isn't it dangerous to let Yusuf come here alone every day?" Basta asked honestly he was really worried about the boy.
"Yes, he's already used to it, especially since he started elementary school. If he doesn't get used to being independent from an early age, eating will be difficult for both of us," Aura said starting to look a little melo.
"Both? Doesn't Yusuf have-" Basta's words stopped again.
"Yusuf, can you play with the Mrs. Lina first?" asked Aura who immediately obeyed by her son. The mother who sells burgers also seems to be used to Yusuf's presence in her shop. Basta only pays attention to the situation.
"Actually, Yusuf doesn't have a father. He only has me, his mother who is blind and only a flower seller. Therefore because of his condition he had to grow up to be a strong person from an early age. Since he was a toddler, it wasn't me who took care of him more but the opposite," said Aura again.
Basta somehow felt a little happy and sad at the same time hearing Aura's story. "Ah sorry if I'm presumptuous Aura. If you really don't want to talk, I will understand."
"No-no. I honestly don't know why I'm suddenly so open to someone I've only met twice. But I can feel you're a nice person. And I tell you everything because I want to," said Aura again.
"Ah I see. So sorry for being very curious. Where is Yusuf's father?" Basta asked.
"Yusuf's father died in an accident when Yusuf was only two months in the womb. More precisely, we had an accident together and that also makes me blind until now. I was too devastated by the death of my lover at that time, moreover I imagined how difficult my life would be with the baby after I know that the baby in my womb is safe. Because of the trauma and stress of the incident, I made it like this," said Aura.
"I'm sorry. I had absolutely no intention of bringing it up," Basta said.
"I already said it's okay, after all it happened eight years ago though I have never forgotten it one bit," closed Aura.