Minato, Tokyo – At Yuuma house.
"What? Did you quit your job?" Yuuma asked Hisao about his job while they both ate their dinner.
"Ya… I quit my job. So, can I work with you?" Hisao continued to eat while asking Yuuma to give him a job at Shimizu Restaurant.
"Errmm… Okay. You can be my waiter." Yuuma allowed Hisao to work at his restaurant.
"What? A waiter? Do you know who I am? I've been a lawyer for all my life before! How could you downgrade me?" Hisao feels slighted by Yuuma and refuses to be a waiter at Yuuma's restaurant.
"Hhhmmm… What do you want from me? I don't have any position suitable for you. Besides, I don't have an official waiter for my restaurant. It was Ayumi who did all that before. One more thing, this is not a law firm you want to claim you're a good lawyer here. Besides, this is just a small halal restaurant that was just established a year ago. Don't ask for too much." Yuuma wants Hisao to understand that he can't give him a better offer because the restaurant only opened a year ago.
"How about making Ayumi a waiter and I will be your manager?" Hisao gives suggestions to Yuuma about switching his position with Ayumi.
"I can't do that." Yuuma refuses the suggestion.
"Why?" He wondered why Yuuma refused his suggestion.
"Because she is my manager. The restaurant can't run without her. I need her as manager. Look, I only have one position for you. I can't turn down Ayumi because you are my best friend. Just take an offer or find another place to get the job. Take it or leave it." Yuuma tries to end the conversation and wants the deal off right away.
"Alright. Alright. I'll be your waiter. Hhmm… I can't believe it happened." Hisao is unable to refuse the offer. He can't believe what he needs to deal with now. He needs to start over his life after his struggles and sacrifices everything he must get what he had before, but he does not regret it when he chooses to cut off everything he had before and start a new life. Yuuma smirked when saw His behavior while they both continued to eat their dinner.
"I'm sorry, Hisao. I can't offer you a better position than you have before." Yuuma feels sorry for Hisao that he can't do more for his best friend.
"It's okay. I'm the one who wants to start over again. So, I need to deal with it. I hope I make the right decision." Hisao doesn't want Yuuma to feel bad for him and tries to convince himself that he made the right choices.
"You make the right choice. Trust me. I know you can do it because I made the same choice before I became a Muslim. I know you can through this path courageously." He feels so overwhelmed when Yuuma suddenly gives him some motivational words. Yuuma knew Hisao was staring at him with a very moved face, but he ignored it and looked at another place.
"Ya, of course. You know how strong I am, right?" Hisao puffed out his chest as he said arrogantly. Yuuma just grinned at that.
Chiyoda, Tokyo – The next day at Shimizu Restaurant
"Do your work properly Mr. Watanabe!" Ayumi nagged at Hisao when she saw Hisao not doing his work properly.
"I'm trying! How can I do two works at one time? You ask me to take the order and at the same time, you ask me to clean the other table and serve the food. How can I do that? I only have one body. You such a bossy Ayumi!" Hisao responds to Ayumi's nagging.
"Don't… ever… call… me… Ayumi again! You are now my co-worker. So, you need to call formally! Now, take this food and serve it to the customer." Ayumi hit Hisao's head with some paper in her hand and passed the ramen mee to Hisao.
"Yes, Ms. Himura. Ppff, she is so annoying." He obeyed Ayumi's orders without protest as he talked back about Ayumi to himself.
"Humm… I feel sorry for Mr. Watanabe." Daichi felt bad for Hisao when he saw how struggling Hisao was on his first day at work.
"Don't worry, Daichi. He'll get used to it. I know he can." Yuuma taped Daichi's shoulder when he saw Daichi looking worried about Hisao's situation while they were watching him in the cooking area.
"Come on, Mr. Watanabe! Do your work faster!" Ayumi shouted at Hisao to do his work as fast as he could.
"I'm trying! Err… Hahaha… Sorry about that. So, can I take your order?" Hisao felt so annoyed and embarrassed when Ayumi shouted at him in front of the customer. Hisao apologized to the customer for the issue.
"Kya! Are you new here?" A bunch of group ladies was so excited when they saw a handsome waiter serve them that time.
"Haha… Ya. I just started today." Hisao answered them shortly and started to be uncomfortable with the customer's reaction towards him.
"Gosh! They do know how to attract customers." The ladies' group talks to each other about how the restaurant knows how to market its business.
"Hahaha… They did. So, how can I help with your order?" Hisao felt so irritated when he heard them talk about how the restaurant used his looks for marketing when waiting for the customer to make their order.
"Mr. Watanabe! Stop playing! Just take the order!" Ayumi felt so triggered when she heard about what the customer said and asked Hisao to take their order quickly.
"Yes, yes! I'm trying! So, what do you like to order?" Hisao started to get annoyed and gave the group of women a fake smile while he was still trying to take their order.
"Chiis! That woman is so noisy and bossy." The ladies' group started to dislike Ayumi when they often heard Ayumi yelling and getting angry at their handsome waiter.
"Mr. Watanabe!" Ayumi became more triggered when they bad-mouthing her. Once again, she called his name out loud as a sign to stop talking and be playful with the customer.
At night when the restaurant is about to close.
"Huhhh… I feel so tired!" Hisao sighed with tiredness.
"Here Mr. Watanabe. I made your green tea. You must be so tired today." Daichi makes green tea for Hisao to support him with good work that day.
"Good work Mr. Watanabe! Because of you, we got a lot of customers today. Now I know why Mr. Shimizu gives you this position. Your appearance helps us to market our business." Ayumi praised for his work today and gave him a thumbs-up sign for good work.
"Are you trying to seduce me after you nagged and shouted at me in front of others hold this day?" Hisao pried up all the things Ayumi did to him that day.
"Oh, don't be such a baby Mr. Watanabe. Whose want to seduce, ha?" Ayumi felt triggered by him and was ready to give him a fist.
"Hahaha… I think I will get used to it starting today." Daichi said to himself while sipping his green tea and ignoring the cat-dog fight.
"Wa… wait! Where's Yuuma?' I didn't see him since we closed." While he was busy getting into a fight with Ayumi, suddenly Hisao realized that his best friend was not by their side.
"Oh, he's Isya' praying. He always prays before we go home." Daichi told Hisao where Yuuma was as he continued to sip his drink. Ayumi left them both to get ready to go home.
"Isya's prayer? How many times do Muslims need to pray in a day? I saw Yuuma do it four times already today." Hisao wondered how many times Muslim needs to pray in a day.
"Five times. Daichi-Kun, tells Mr. Shimizu I am going home first. I want to meet my friends. Make sure you guys close all the doors and switch off all the lights and the fans." Ayumi answered Hisao's question directly before she gave an excuse to leave. Daichi just nodded his head as he understood Ayumi's message.
"Five times?" Hisao is curious and keeps thinking about obligatory prayers that Muslims need to do.
"Yes, the obligatory prayer is five times a day, it only takes 5 minutes to complete every prayer. Don't worry, Mr. Watanabe. It's not a big deal when you learn and understand. You'll get used to it. Islam is a simple religion if you understand it." Daichi explains the obligatory prayers and assures Hisao that he will understand when he learns about Islam. After the explanation, Hisao got up from his seat and went to the toilet while thinking about the obligatory prayer. After performing the Isha prayer, Yuuma again saw his best friend waiting outside the prayer area.
"Hisao? What are you doing here? I told you to help Daichi to clean up before we closed." Yuuma wondered what Hisao was doing outside of the prayer area.
"Everything is done. We only need to wait for you to be done. Let's go home. I'm tired. I have never done such hard work in my entire life." Hisao called Yuuma to come home with him. After closing the restaurant, Daichi excused himself to leave, the two best friends walked together to go home.
"Hey, Yuuma." As both walked to the train station, Hisao suddenly called out Yuuma's name because he had something to ask. His mind kept questioning the same thing since at the restaurant until now.
"Errmm? What's up?" Yuuma wondered why Hisao was calling his name out of the blue with a serious look.
"Can you teach me? Teach me about Islam and how to be a Muslim?" Hisao asks Yuuma to teach him about Islam.
"Are you interested? Why?" Yuuma wondered about Hisao's thoughts about Islam.
"Yaa… I mean, I don't know. I was just wondering when I saw you change a lot now. You used to have a bad temper and be such a playboy. You know since we were in high school, you are the type of person who never chases after women but with your looks, you always get whatever you want. They will never refuse you. They will die for you. You always play with their heart and ask them to give you everything they have. But since I met you the other day, your eyes have never seen any woman in front of you. Even if they came to you and tried to seduce you at the restaurant you refuse and ignore it. Even Ayumi, you didn't look directly into their eyes. You watch the gap between you and them. I've been wondering what Islam taught you. Is that how it will be when you do learn about Islam and practice becoming a good Muslim?" Hisao told Yuuma everything on his mind at that time about how his best friend changed and how Islam changed his best friend's life.
"You curious about it?" Yuuma smirked and wondered about Hisao's interest in Islam. Hisao just nodded his as a yes.
"Hahaha… Okay, then. I guess I didn't have a choice to be your master. For now, you need to call me master" Yuuma teases Hisao about being his teacher.
"Yes, master!" Hisao teased Yuuma back and they both looked at each other and laughed about their joke.
After four years, Hisao and Yuuma became business partners. Hisao helps Yuuma develop his restaurant business by opening another restaurant in the district. Daichi became the chief chef in their new restaurant at Shibuya while Ayumi was still the manager of Shimizu Restaurant at Minato. Hisao and Yuuma agreed to change the restaurant name to Y&H Restaurant which stands for their names. After four years Hisao learned about Islam, and he is now a Muslim who still wants to learn more about Islam together with his best friend, Yuuma. He also hopes his other best friend Youta will join them one day.
Life is a journey,
Life is a test,
Life is also a choice,
The answer we choose will become a fate in our life,
Is it A or B,
Is it right or left,
Is it up or down?
If we fail in our test,
Is it our journey to become worse,
Is it we'll drown in the darkness,
Who will help us if we drown in the darkness?
Rich is a test,
Poor is a test,
Health is a test,
Sickness is a test,
Even a death is also a test,
Everything in this world,
How big and small they are also a test for us.
None of the creatures in this world wouldn't take the test,
Every single one of us even how good or bad we look,
We'll never miss to take the test,
By hook or crook,
We'll be forced to take the test without consent.
From the day we were born in this world,
The test has already started,
That's why every baby who is born into this world has cried out loud
when they step into this world,
Because they are scared to be a failure in this world,
The test will continue and never end until death has come to you.
The path that you take will be your life determination,
Every path has a lamp that will be light around your dark path,
Whether you take the lamp as your guide or leave it is your choice.
Every journey and path we take has happiness and sadness that we need to go through,
Every journey we take always has someone who is waiting for us in the middle of the path,
Either they will be our guest to company us in our journey,
Will come and go whenever they like,
Or the person who will be our home and stay with us in thick and thin in this world,
Hold our hand and never let go of it until we get into heaven together with them.
"Honey! What took you so long to come here? I was waiting for you." Suddenly Hisao heard a lady voice who's calling her beloved. He recognizes that voice. He looked around and saw a beautiful lady standing under a big tree smiling and waving at him, waiting for him to come by. She looks very stunning while wearing a white dress and hijab on his head. Without any doubt about her, he waved and smiled back at her and took a step to come to her.
"Hisao! Wake up!" Out of the blue, someone taps his shoulder and calls his name, and he sees Yuuma in front of him trying to wake him up from his nap.
"Oh, Sorry. I fell asleep. What is it? Is something happening?" Hisao wondered why Yuuma looked so happy when he woke up from his nap.
"Come. There is someone I want you to meet." Yuuma wants Hisao to follow him because he has someone to introduce to Hisao. Hisao suddenly became curious about it because his best friend had never introduced someone to him since high school. He only went on a date with them that day and the next day he dumped her just like that. That's why he wondered who the special person he wanted to introduce to. Hisao got up from his chair and tried to follow him from behind but suddenly heard someone calling Yuuma's name.
"Love…" Hisao suddenly whispered calling his beloved without him realizing. He was stunned when listened to the voice because he knew that voice very well. He was waiting patiently for that person to come into his room.
"Yuuma! What is it? We'll be late if we don't go now. You promised me we'd go to watch a movie tonight. Why do you want me to come to your office? Is something there?" Hisao heard all the nagging from that voice. Yuuma just smiled in front of the door while waiting for the person from the voice to come to him as he held out his hand.
"Don't worry. We'll not be late. I promise. I want to introduce you to someone." Yuuma still smiles at that person and convinces her not to worry that they'll never miss her movie. Finally, that person comes closer to Yuuma, and both stand in front of Hisao's room. Hisao was shocked when he saw the person who stood by Yuuma's side and that person was Alisha Baharudin, the lady whom he had been waiting for all this time to meet again. Yuuma gestured as his head and eyes pointed towards the room. Without a doubt, Alisha looked into the room as Yuuma told him and she saw someone standing in the room waiting for her with a startle on his face. She did not say anything when she saw Hisao for the first time. Hisao flinched and felt nervous and anxious when he saw her staring at him. Alisha looks at Yuuma and he gives another signal for her to get into the room. Alisha stepped into the room to come towards Hisao.
"It's been a while. How's your journey, Mr. Journey?" Alisha smiled at Hisao and asked how he had been doing as she came close to him.
"Errr… It's much better now. Hahaha…" Hisao tells Alisha that he has been doing great. He feels so glad that she still remembers him as Mr. Journey. At that moment he realized all the spectrums he had four years ago, that they met each other was real, and it was not a dream. He was so happy because all the waiting was worth it. He knew they would meet again one day as they were meant to. At that time, they started to talk and laugh as they knew, and it had been a while since they had seen each other. However, when the two of them were chatting, there was someone who could only observe them without interrupting them and it was Yuuma. Yuuma just watched the two from outside the room but suddenly felt triggered and jealous when he saw the situation, but he tried to control it as he didn't want to ruin the reunion. He tried to be positive and happy for his best friend as he took steps to leave the room and give them time together.
WILL CONTINUE..