Several weeks after the last incident
Karamah Islamic boarding school...
Some time passed, and in the living room of the Karomah Islamic boarding school, Kiyai Latif, Nyai Hamidah, and Gus Azzam were sitting on the sofa. The Kiyai and Nyai, who own the Islamic boarding school, deliberately invited their son and asked the young man to chat.
"Azzam... do you know why Abi and Umi invited you here...?" Gus Azzam, who spends most of his time in Surabaya, has raised his face since the incident with Azzahra and felt embarrassed looking at his abi.
"I don't know, Abi... but whatever Abi and Umi decide, Azzam will obey..." In a low voice, the young man responded.
Since the day of the incident where the man stole his wife's chastity, Gus Azzam returned to the city of Surabaya. He didn't even pay attention to Salsa's phone call. Just leaving Yogyakarta was his goal at that time.
"Good, my son... who I hope will be the heir to this Islamic boarding school. "But seeing that your attitude and morals have not yet matured, Abi is hesitant to choose you as the heir to our family." Sharp words came out of Kiyai Latif's mouth.
Sitting beside the middle-aged man, Nyai Hamidah held her husband's upper arm. The woman seemed to want to calm her husband because she didn't want her beloved son to get angry with her husband.
"How is your wife? Do you know where Ning Zahra is currently?" Seeing his son's silence, Kiyai Latif spoke in a raised voice.
"My son... Abi and Umi's intention was to ask about the development of your marital relationship. "Honestly, we already miss holding our grandson... my son." To ensure that her son did not get offended, Nyai Hamidah interrupted the conversation.
Kiyai Latif looked at his wife, gesturing for the woman not to interfere in the conversation. With a pitiful face, Nyai Hamidah just nodded her head and smiled bitterly.
"Abi... umi..., forgive Azzam for not being a proud son. Ning Zahra's condition is fine, Abi..., Umi. Because of her final college assignment, Ning Zahra still wants to stay in Yogyakarta. Azzam's wife wants to postpone returning to East Java for the sake of her final college assignment..." While swallowing hard to cover his nervousness, Gus Azzam answered his parents' questions.
The young man was forced to lie because he did not know how his wife was doing. He called Ning Azzahra's cell phone several times, but it always indicated it was inactive. Gus Azzam even sent someone to visit the girl's apartment. Still, it turned out that Azzahra no longer rented the condo.
"Why is your voice shaking, my son... are you covering something up?" Kiyai Latif confirmed that he felt a vibration in his son's voice.
"Abi... don't divert your attention to others. Azzam has answered Abi's question, and according to Umi, there is a point. Once our daughter-in-law, Ning Zahra, has finished her studies, the girl can focus on preparing for the pregnancy program. And when our daughter-in-law gave birth, Ning Zahra also had a lot of time to look after our grandson." Not wanting her husband to judge her son, Nyai Hamidah again interrupted the conversation.
This time, the middle-aged man fell silent. Only his eyes were still looking straight at his son. It seems that Kiyai Latif sensed something odd about his son and daughter-in-law's relationship.
"If there is nothing else to discuss, allow Azzam to return to Abi's room..., Umi. Azzam will also call Ning Zahra to ask how she is doing. And maybe the day after tomorrow, Azzam will go to Yogyakarta to visit him." Not wanting to continue being grilled with questions about Azzahra, Azzam asked his parents for permission.
"Okay, my son... go back to the room. Get some rest, but don't forget to ask about my son-in-law." Nyai Hamidah answered quickly, while Kiyai Latif was still silent.
Having received permission from his mother, Gus Azzam stood up and returned to his room.
***********
On the room's balcony, Gus Azzam exhaled cigarette smoke with his eyes looking in an uncertain direction. The man felt upset because he couldn't find any news about his wife's whereabouts. After the incident several months ago, after the man stole his wife's chastity without thinking, Gus Azzam returned to Surabaya. And when there was a feeling of regret and trying to improve the situation, Ning Azzahra disappeared.
"Ning Zahra... I hope you are fine, wherever you are honey..." the man spoke softly.
The image of a beautiful and adorable face danced in the corners of his eyes. Without realizing it, the man smiled when he remembered his wife's lovely face.
"Have I become crazy about my wife, with you, Ning Zahra...? I, who initially rejected and felt disgusted by your presence, now miss you very much." Like a madman, the man was still talking to himself.
"What karma am I receiving that I lost information about your whereabouts. In fact, the campus also doesn't know your current whereabouts. They only said that Ning Zahra came to the Academic Bureau several months ago to ask for her study results. After that, the girl did not appear at UIN again."
Not only did he send people to look for his wife's whereabouts, but Gus Azzam also took action himself. The man came to Yogyakarta and visited the campus to find his wife's whereabouts. However, no one knew about the girl; even some of her campus friends said they didn't know. What made the man dizzy was that, according to information from Ning Azzahra's friends, the girl's departure coincided with the disappearance of his wife's best friend, Zaidan.
"Maybe Zaidan and Ning Azzahra had a relationship, and they both decided to leave the city of Yogyakarta..." Gus Azzam suddenly had terrible thoughts about his wife and good friend.
Since the incident where he forced his wife to have husband-and-wife relations, the son of the Islamic boarding school owner has never known his wife's whereabouts. It's not that the man was silent. Still, one week after the incident, and when Gus Azzam intended to apologize to Ning Azzahra, the girl no longer lived in the apartment. In fact, when they hired people he hired to investigate Zaidan, it turned out that the young man was no longer in the city.
"But is my wife an artist and doesn't think about her origins or her family lineage? If that happens, how insulting Ning Zahra's actions will be..." Thinking about what he suspected, Gus Azzam's face seemed provoked by anger.
The sharp eyes and clenched jaw indicated the current anger he was feeling. Without thinking, Gus Azzam took the cell phone in his shirt pocket. Shortly after.
"What's wrong, Gus Azzam... are there any more orders for my team...?" a man's voice was heard on the other side of the cell phone.
"Still the same task, find information about the whereabouts of my wife Ning Azzahra and that bastard named Zaidan. I suspect that my wife and this man have a relationship, proven by the disappearance of both of them at the same time..." In a high tone, Gus Azzam seemed to be giving instructions.
"Don't worry, Gus, even though there are no orders, we will not stop carrying out Gus Azzam's tasks. We have obtained new evidence, and it turns out that a young man named Zaidan flew to Turkey a few days ago. "Based on the information, the man participated in an internship program and continued his studies in that country..." Gus Azzam apparently obtained new information.
Gus Azzam was silent, and his thoughts seemed to be wandering everywhere.
"Is Gus still listening to what I said..." was silent for too long, the young male interlocutor asked again.
"Hempph... yes, I'm still here listening to you talk. "The news of my wife's whereabouts, or any information whatsoever, have you also managed to find her?" Gus Azzam looked nervous and changed the conversation by asking how his wife was doing.
"While there is no Gus yet..., one of my subordinates will visit the UIN campus today. Will find out by meeting the academic supervisor and the Gus Academic Bureau. No matter how small the information is, I will convey it to Gus Azzam as soon as possible." The man convincingly conveyed his plan of action.
"Okay... bye..." Without saying much, Gus Azzam unilaterally turned off the cellphone connection.
The man exhaled, and his eyes looked towards the clouds before him. His eyes looked empty; losing information about his wife's whereabouts had actually made him hurt like that.