A few days later.
Ning Azzahra returned to her daily routine on campus, and Zaidan seemed loyal to accompany her. Slowly, the girl's image of Gus Azzam was pushed aside, and Ning Azzahra tried to forget what had happened between them. Moreover, being in Yogyakarta, far from her parents and in-laws, made it easy for the girl to ignore everything.
"Zahra... how was your presentation today? Was it smooth?" Ning Azzahra, who was reading an online novel, was shocked by Zaidan's voice.
"Hmph... Zaidan. Can't you say Assalamu alaikum instead of surprising me like this?" shaking his head, Ning Azzahra reprimanded the man in a sarcastic tone.
"He.. he.. he.., sorry Zahra. You looked serious all along, even ignoring those who had been standing in front of you for a while." Zaidan made an excuse. Without asking the girl's permission, the man pulled a chair and sat in front of Azzahra.
If she saw an expression like that, the girl could do nothing. Ning Azzahra just sighed and accepted her friend's behavior.
"You haven't answered my question, Zahra. The law is obligatory in providing answers to people who ask questions." It turned out that the man had remembered his question. While joking, Zaidan reminded Ning Azzahara.
"Thank God, Zaidan. I have prepared the material well, and I can explain it well because I made it myself. "The lecturer even rewarded me for getting an Excellent grade." With a smile, Ning Azzahra finally gave the answer,
Zaidan looked severe, listening to Ning Azzahra's story. Occasionally, the man chimed in, and it was evident that they complemented each other. The two young people, who at first seemed to be joking, turned out to be discussing problems in lectures,
"Zaid… Zahra, it turns out you two are here. I've been looking for you two.." While the two of them were still discussing, two young people came up to them.
Azzahra and Zaidan turned to the source of the sound, and smiles appeared on their lips when they saw who had come.
"Mahmud... Irwan, what's wrong with you..." Zaidan greeted the two young people,
The two young people smiled and looked at each other, then...
"I want to invite you two to prepare a proposal for a research grant. The supervisor said that if we succeed in winning, we will receive a conversion of grades for the thesis course. Apart from that, we will also receive recommendations for continuing your studies abroad. Interesting, right?" Mahmud enthusiastically explained the purpose of his arrival.
"Then, what are the conditions and criteria? Are you two sure we have the standards to meet his requirements?" Zaidan wanted to be confident in his abilities, so he asked about the criteria and requirements.
"Of course, Zaid..., Zahra. We have already taken the English language certification test using TOEFL-ITP. And we managed to get a score above 600 points. The requirement is only 575, so we can meet the initial requirement." Irwan added.
"Mmmpphh... that's good. "Then let's look at other criteria first." Zaidan seriously welcomed the plans of the two young people.
Irwan took four quarto-sized sheets of paper from his bag and gave each sheet to his three friends and one to himself. Not waiting long, the four young people were seen studying the paper containing the competition information. Several times, they discussed it, and Zaidan was seen taking out a gadget to write down several ideas that came to mind for the four of them. They were very enthusiastic about being involved in forming a task force for the benefit of the grant.
************
Al Munawwir Islamic Boarding School
Nyai Camelia placed a cup of hot tea on the table before Kiyai Ameer. Then, the woman was seen sitting in front of her husband and taking a cup to sip her own drink. For a moment, the woman watched her silent husband, who seemed to ignore her.
"Abi... are you thinking about something? Why have you been ignoring Mum here?" In a low voice, Nyai Camelia asked her husband.
Kiyai Ameer stuttered, then smiled and looked at his wife, who was looking at him.
"No, Umi... Abi only remembers and misses our daughter Ning Azzahra. "How is our daughter doing, Umi? Is she okay?" The middle-aged man explained what he was thinking. After that, Kiyai Ameer took drinking water and took several sips.
"That's right, Abi... actually, Mum also feels the same way. However... we have to understand, don't we, that a girl will belong to her husband after marriage. Just ask via cell phone or visit, and we will find out how it is." Nyai Camelia responded to her husband's words.
In her heart, the woman also really missed her daughter Azzahra. However, with her married status, her daughter is no longer as free as before.
"Abi did it a while ago, Umi. Our daughter is already in the city of Yogyakarta to continue her studies. "We must be grateful, Umi, because Kiyai Latif kept his promise not to suppress Ning Zahra's dreams."
Hearing her husband's words, Nyai Camelia was shocked. The woman was aware that her daughter was very close to her kayak. It's just that her husband contacted Azzahra without her knowing, showing that her husband really missed his daughter.
"According to Umi... Abi. Since Ning Zahra has returned to Yogyakarta, can we visit our daughter in that city? So.., we don't need Kiyai Latif's permission.." Nyai Camelia suddenly had an idea.
"You're right, Umi... but that's not quite right. "Especially if Kiyai Latif finds out that we met Ning Zahra without him knowing, it will not be good later." Being in an Islamic boarding school environment, which is always an example of behavior for its students, requires Kiyai to be careful in their actions.
Nyai Camelia sighed. Even though the woman disagreed with her husband's statement in her heart, Nyai Camelia always obeyed the man's words. The woman suddenly remembered Gus Zizan, her eldest son. She had a good idea to find out about her daughter's condition.
"Abi... it looks like Umi will ask Zizan to help visit Ning Zahra. Next week, Zizan will return to Egypt to continue his studies. Maybe Zizan can take the time to visit his sister first." Carefully, Nyai Camelia conveyed her idea to Kiyai Ameer.
Hearing the words his wife said, Kiyai Ameer thought for a moment. Then..
"I agree with your idea, Umi. Maybe we can also visit our son in Yogyakarta. I will tell Kiyai Latif so that we don't misperceive our actions. Whatever the future holds, Umi, even though Azzahra is our daughter, because we are married, we must always ask permission from our in-laws or in-laws." Finally, Kiyai Ameer agreed with his wife's idea.
Nyai Camelia smiled and nodded her head. The woman remembered, however, that a wife must get permission from her husband to go to heaven. Seeing that his wife agreed with what was said, Kiyai Ameer's heart looked happy. Before her daughter Ning Azzahra married, the girl had a close relationship with her. At night, or when Kiyai Ameer was alone, being with his daughter was always on his mind.