RAIN
London was rather quiet this day. Perhaps, it was
because it had been rained all afternoon. Amanda, a girl who looked sweet in
red sweater and brown hair, was sitting in the edge of the window of the TAP
Coffee’s corner she used to be, looking at the people outside who many of them
were running from the rain. A cup of hot coffee in her table had been served
since a few minutes ago but Amanda still had no intention to drink it
immediately. She was busy with her mind and the rain which reminded her of her
experience when visiting Indonesia three months ago.
It
had been already a week for her in Semarang, the capital city of Central Java.
It one of her destination city due to her tour in Asean country for hunting
photos when she knew that little boy. Just like this day, it was also raining
and she was standing in front of one of the historical building near a mosque
in Kota Lama, one of famous tourist area of Semarang. Then she saw a little boy
were walking along the street and offering an umbrella to the Kota Lama
visitors (lately Amanda knew from his Indonesian friend that the
offering-umbrella act was called ojek
payung). It was an interesting, unique and unusual object for Amanda who
had never seen that scene in London. She immediately took the picture of those
scenes for her photography project in enthusiasm.
Her
curiosity was getting rising when she noticed that the little boy who still in
his white-red uniform was the only little boy who were doing that
offering-umbrella job in the area since as far as Amanda could see, the others
offering-umbrella doer are adult. When the little boy came and sat next to her
to take a rest, Amanda really wanted to ask the boy why he was doing the job
but Amanda thought that it may be impossible for the boy could know how to
speak in English.
“Good
afternoon Miss.” that small voice of a greeting was sounded from the boy. Of
course Amanda was surprised to hear it.
“Can
you speak English?” asked Amanda to the boy. She was interested.
“Little-little,”
said him with a shy smile in her face and Amanda also smiled hearing it.
“Why
are you doing this?” said Amanda, pointed to his yellow umbrella. She hardly
tried to choose the easiest word so the boy could understand.
He
was silent for a second. Amanda almost thought that the boy may don’t
understand what she was saying but he finally answered,
“I
need money for my father” said the boy.
At
that time, what’s on Amanda’s mind was that the boy’s father was sick and the
boy needed to help the financial need of his parents. But Kota Lama gave her
another unusual experience. It happened that Amanda’s assumption about the
boy’s reason for money was wrong and the true answer was greatly surprising for
her. An unpredictable answer which is coming from the little boy had never come
across her mind even once. She had never thought that there was an answer like
that came from a little boy like him.
The
boy was fourth grader. His father was a parker and his mother's didn’t work because
she had to take care of his sister who suffered brain system disorder. His
grandfather was a veteran so he and his family were a little familiar with the
English language because his poor grandfather often spoke in English.
“Is
your father sick or something?” Amanda asked him.
“I need
to earn money as much as possible so my father doesn’t need to work really hard
so he can have a time for God.” answered the boy to Amanda.
“How
come?”
“What
miss?” the boy did not understand Amanda.
“I
mean, really??” Amanda tried to use another words so the boy may understand.
“One
night, I heard my father told my mother that he couldn’t do his duty toward God
because God has given him so many problems in his life. He is too busy to deal
with the problem so that he doesn’t have time for God. He need to earn money as much as possible so
he can make me become a success person and he also want to provide the best
treatment for my sister.” he continued in a stammer voice since it is the
longest English statements he ever had. And Amanda was almost crying hearing
that boy’s explanation.
Kota
lama was still raining. Amanda was looking at the little boy from his head to
toe. It made her got to tears because she didn’t find any expression of
disappointment, sadness, or indisposed toward God and his father as well.
The
night of that day, Amanda couldn’t sleep at all. Her mind kept thinking about
the boy she saw in Kota Lama.
‘How
could there be a father like that? How could someone not have time to his God?
Does it mean that he does not trust his God? If someone is not doing his duty
to God, of course he's sinned and unfaithful, isn’t he?’
Those
questions kept disturbing Amanda all night. The boy and his family was a Muslim
and Amanda was a Christian. Amanda did not too understand about Muslim and the
religion. Over her life, she always thought that the differences between
religions were only in the name of the religion and she believed that all
religions taught the same thing that was to be faithful to God.
The
next day, on Friday, Amanda wanted to meet with the boy again and she planned
to meet his father too. She went to the place when she met the boy. It was at
12.30 pm in Indonesian time. She was standing at the same place with the day
before, in one of the historical building near a mosque. There were so many men
in the mosque so she moved a little farther from there. She knew that there was
a special time to pray for men who is Muslim in Friday. While waiting for the
boy, there was an old man in about 50th years old came to her,
“Is
there anything I can help Miss?” the old man greeted her friendly.
“Oh
no, I’m just waiting for my friend.”
This
old man was not going to the mosque so she thought that he may not a Muslim.
The curious Amanda could not restrain herself not to ask about what she had thought
last night.
“Ehmm,
I’m sorry sir. But I want to ask you something, may I?”
“What
it is?”
“A
friend of mine knows a poor Indonesian man who doesn’t do his duty toward God
because he’s too busy dealing his problem which is given to him like a rain by
the God itself. What do you think about that as an Indonesian?” she asked very
carefully because it was a sensitive topic.
The
man was smiling and answered,
“When
you work and your boss gives you a lot of works, will you dare to meet him if
your works has not done yet?” The man threw another question back at her.
"Of
course I wouldn’t dare"
"Perhaps,
someone you’re talking about thinks the same" said the man.
Amanda
couldn’t say any word. She wondered if it could be put like the man said.
“If
he doesn’t do his duty, it doesn’t mean that the man you’re talking about do
not believe in God. He may think that he can serve his God with another way.”
said the old man again.
Suddenly
the old man shouted and pointed to the mosque where the Muslims had done with
their pray.
“Ah,
here is my son” he said.
Amanda
looked over and realized that a son whom the man called was the boy whom Amanda
was waiting for that day. The boy was coming from the mosque.
“Hello
again Miss,” the boy greeted her.
Amanda
was still staying at her seat in TAP Coffee’s corner and then drinking up the
last gulp of her coffee. She was winding up her daydream of A BOY in Semarang
three months ago and till now, she had not found the answer of her curiosity about
it yet. The old man had given her his reason for his decision but still she
couldn’t understand. She was clearing her stuff and preparing to leave the café
when a middle-age waitress she used to know run into her,
“Have you done?” said
the waitress to Amanda.
“Yes, I have,” She
smiled to the waitress.
“Is there any bad thing
happens? I observed you and you doesn’t look really good my friend,”
“Oh No. No, it is not
like that. It is just some questions in my mind and I haven’t found their
answer yet,” asked Amanda hesitantly.
“Don’t
think it too hard. Sometimes, life happens to be like that. Knowing the answer
will only make it uninteresting.”
“Why?”
“Why not?” said the waitress in
smiley expression.
***
##cerpen #shortstory #sastra #literature #writing #writer #post #original
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