(The alarm on the smartphone ringing)
"Hoaammmm... Not bad, the important thing is that you've slept".
And those were Doctor Zein's words after waking up from his hibernation.
He hurriedly washed his face, changed clothes and wore casual clothes. Doctor Zein will visit his parents' house today and stay there.
Doctor Zein did not forget to buy some souvenirs on the way, just to please his parents.
Arriving at the front gate, Doctor Zein opened the gate himself which happened to be unlocked at that time, and then put his car into the front yard of the house.
"Salamu aleykom, Dad.. Mom..", Doctor Zein greeted the residents of the house.
A few moments later, the answer to the greeting was heard from inside the house.
"Aleykom assalam.."
A woman who was actually old but still looked young and a little like Doctor Zein, came out of the house and greeted Doctor Zein.
"Masha Allah, Zein..!!", the old woman felt enthusiastic when she saw who had come.
She was Doctor Zein's mother, named Hajjar Basrah, 64 years old.
Immediately Doctor Zein kissed his mother's hand with affection and respect as a child to a parent.
Behind his mother, an old man followed. He was Doctor Zein's father, named Abdullah El-Ghifari, 68 years old.
Just like he did to his mother, Doctor Zein kissed his father's hand as a form of courtesy to his parents.
"Where have you been, Zein, why don't you visit us often?", Mr. Abdullah asked Doctor Zein.
"It's okay, Dad, I'm so busy, you know what a doctor's job is like", Doctor Zein answers his father's questions.
Mr Abdullah just nodded his head, and told Doctor Zein to come in. But Doctor Zein seemed to remember something.
"Oh yeah, wait a minute, I forgot..", said Doctor Zein.
Doctor Zein then jogged to his car, opened the car door, and took out some souvenirs that he had bought earlier.
Seeing Doctor Zein buy quite a lot of souvenirs, Mr. Abdullah and Mrs. Hajjar smiled, feeling proud of their child.
No matter how bad a child's behavior is, if he gives something to his parents, even if it's a little, it's enough to make the parents smile.
"Here are some oranges, apples, pears, sweet martabak, and some more. It's all for you, guys", Doctor Zein handed over some of the items he had bought on the trip earlier.
And while helping to carry the souvenirs, Mrs. Hajjar said,
"Woah.. This is quite a lot. We can't eat this much"
Doctor Zein laughed then said,
"For stock at home or can also be shared with neighbors, lol"
Mr. and Mrs. Abdullah just smiled while shaking their heads.
"By the way, Hameed came earlier. He's behind the house", Mr Abdullah said that Doctor Zein's cousin from his mother's side, named Hameed Basrah, 30 years old, came to visit.
"Wow, great, I'll meet him soon", Doctor Zein immediately rushed to the back of the house and see what Hameed is doing.
"That naughty boy. He left us with this much stuff", Mr. Abdullah couldn't believe what he saw in front of him.
"It's better than carrying a lot of debt. Come on sir, please help your beloved wife", said Mrs. Hajjar.
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(Behind the House)
A man with short curly hair and a thick beard was seen feeding Mr. Abdullah's cockatoo. He was Hameed Basrah, Doctor Zein's cousin from his mother side.
Doctor Zein greeted Hamid, but he didn't respond. Hameed was too busy feeding the cockatoo. Finally, Doctor Zein shouted quite loudly right into Hameed's ear.
"Salamu aleyka Yaa Hameed...!!"
Hameed was spontaneously shocked. The cockatoo also looked very scared when he heard Doctor Zein's scream.
"Allahu Akbar.."
"Yaa Allah Yaa Kareem.."
"A'oodzoo beellahee meenash shaytaneer rajeem"
Hameed replied with surprise and spontaneously called the name of God and asked for protection from the temptations of Satan.
Hameed saw Doctor Zein laughing hysterically in front of him. He was very upset with Doctor Zein at this time.
"What the... You stupid Zein!! You just surprised me!!", Hameed shouted.
"Well, I don't know what you're imagining at the moment. I said hello, but you didn't answer. That's all. But, I admit, I really like it when I scream in your ear. Ha ha.. It was like the devil was peeing on your ear, so you didn't hear my greeting, lol", said Doctor Zein who was laughing out loud.
"Oh.. C'mon man, Fine, aleyka assalam Zein, my cousin... Happy now?? So, tell me what you're doing here? It's rare for you to come here", Hameed replied.
"Oh my God, I should be the one who saying that Hameed, this is my Dad's house. You're really annoying" said Doctor Zein.
"Woah.. You're right, dude. Ha.. Ha.."
Hameed replied again and a few moments later, the laughter from both of them echoed and was heard all the way to the front of the house.
"What are those two idiots doing? Their laughter can be heard coming here", Mr. Abdullah said to his wife while enjoying a pear.
"Watch your words, honey!!!", Mrs. Hajjar glancing at Mr. Abdullah. He just grinned.
"Uh.. by the way Zein, I will introduce a beautiful woman to you", said Hameed while showing a WhatsApp contact named Zara.
Hameed clicked on Zara's profile picture, and a beautiful woman in a hijab, with a very sharp nose, and of Middle Eastern descent was visible.
Doctor Zein who saw it only felt ordinary. Moreover, even though Doctor Zein is also of Middle Eastern descent, he prefers native Indonesian women.
It can be seen from the late wife of Doctor Zein who was an Indonesian woman.
"What do you think? Ha.. Ha..", Hameed asked with a meaningful smile.
"Just normal, that's what I think", Doctor Zein responded to Hameed's words.
"Uh, stupid, I've come all the way to Subang to meet Zara in person. I've introduced you to her. I'll send you her WhatsApp number"
Hameed does something to his smartphone and a moment later, an incoming message was sent. Hameed sent a WhatsApp contact numbered 081********* to Doctor Zein.
"Anyway, you get to know Zara first, she's also looking for a partner", Hameed continued his speech.
"Well, you're just wasting my time, dude. I can't send messages to someone I don't know", said Doctor Zein who almost immediately deleted Zara's number, but Hameed stopped him.
"Hey Zein, if you're being idiot, just be a normal, don't be a super idiot! Respect me for coming all the way to Subang!", said Hameed who felt that Doctor Zein didn't appreciate his efforts.
"I'm not asking you to introduce a woman to me", Doctor Zein answered with reasons.
"You know Zein, I feel sorry for your parents. They're already old. Meanwhile, you are the eldest son. You haven't even gotten married yet. Both of your parents are expecting grandchildren from you", Hameed tried to explain.
Doctor Zein pondered for a moment then nodded. There was some truth in what Hameed said. So, finally he decided.
"Okay, Insha Allah, I'll try to send a message to Zara", Doctor Zein softened a little.
Hearing that, Hameed was very happy. Hamid currently felt that he had contributed enough to Doctor Zein, his cousin.
"That's it!! Did you know, If I had a face as handsome as yours, I would definitely have more than one wife. Ha.. Ha.."
Hameed jokingly and then tried to embrace Doctor Zein, but this was so difficult because Doctor Zein was 15 cm taller than him.
And finally, their conversation ended with laughter together. For a moment, Doctor Zein felt a little comforted.
======================
In the evening, after performing the Isha prayer, Doctor Zein tries to send a message to Zara via the WhatsApp application.
'Salamu aleykom Zara', Doctor Zein started the message.
A few moments later, a reply came from Zara's WhatsApp number.
'Aleykom assalam, who is it?', Zara replied to the message.
'This is Zein'
'Zein? Which Zein is it?', Zara replied briefly.
'Zein El-Ghifari, Hameed Basrah's cousin'
'Oh, Finally.. Nice to meet you, Zein', Zara replied with a little enthusiasm.
And who knows how many hours Doctor Zein and Zara sent and replied to each other's messages.
Doctor Zein then thought.
'Hmm.. maybe it's time for me to move on. I will try it.. Hooff!'.
After thinking for a while, the time was already past midnight.
Luckily tomorrow was Sunday. It was a happy moment because I could have a day off from work.
Doctor Zein would use his vacation this time, to get to know Zara more intensely. If necessary, maybe they could call each other.
Deep down, Doctor Zein still harbored doubts about Zara. Especially since Zara admitted she was only 24 years old.
Meanwhile, Doctor Zein kept his age a secret.
'Quite a significant age gap from my 43 years... Hooff...!!' , Doctor Zein thought to himself, letting out a deep sigh.
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