Dul
019. Bereft

Dul never knew that the peak air could be that cool. Previously he had only heard from his friends that the peak was cold. Dul just imagined the cold word was like the cold of the night air. Apparently, the cold was even more piercing.

At dinner, her mother put a jacket on the shirt she was wearing. He and his mother looked very neat as if they were going to a neighboring wedding reception in their neighborhood. Even more neat than that.

His mother was wearing clothes he had never seen before. Bara seemed to be giving the clothes as a gift to her mother. Dul was unceasingly smiling. He saw his mother was beautiful. He also felt very handsome with clothes that for him very similar to Bara.

“Beginning soon in SD, right?” ask Bara after dinner. They were all still in the restaurant located on the top floor of the hotel. The question was directed to Dul.

“Yes, soon SD. I can't wait to stay with Mom,” said Dul, swinging his legs under the chair when answering Bara's question.

“Always stay the same Moms should wait for SD? How, so?” ask Bara.

“Kata Mommy, if it's already SD I must be more independent. Mom can go to work and I can take care of myself at home. I don't want to stay with Mbah anymore. Anyway want to be with Mom,” firmly Dul. “Mommy promised,” continued Dul, looking at his mother for a more convincing affirmation.

Dul saw his mother since earlier looking down while wiping the dew of ice water on his juice glass. “Bu ...,” call Dul. Made her mother wake up and returned her gaze.

"Yes, really. You're really. Later we stay together,” stressed his mother.

Dul remembered. Bara said nothing to comment on his mother's response. The man was silent as if he was choosing the right word to say. However, it ended up remaining silent because it might not find anything good.

The next morning starting at ten is the day on which Dul's first memories enter a playground etched in his memory. For the first time and the most beautiful thing on her mind. Run around and around trying all the rides. There is no ban from Bara. While his mother only occasionally reminded about the different rules in each vehicle.

His mother smiled a lot, even laughed a little. A very rare sight for him. If Mbah Lanang could see his happiness then, would the old man still ban his mother with Bara?

“Om, can you see my photo earlier?” dul asked with a breath of breath after descending from the children's special roller coaster ride.

“Can—can, briefly ...” Bara clicked a few buttons on his camera and thrust the camera's rear screen at Dul.

Dul Sumringah's face saw the results of the photo shots that he considered amazingly good. “What photo it can print like yesterday?” tanyanya.

“Can, dong …. It must be Om print for you. You have to keep looking at the teams. Let them know you go for a walk,” Bara said.

“I'll definitely watch everything. Ma'am, I can finally show off,” said Dul, widening his smile at his mother. And he got a swab in the head in response from his mother.

“Where? You are seneng?” bara asked, holding Dul's shoulder as he walked towards the exit of the playground.

“Seneng. Today is the happiest day,” replied Dul.

And that happiest day became the day he remembered most for the next few days. It seems to disappear from the face of the earth. Every hour Dul sharpens his ears to hear the sound of a call saying his name from outside.

However, no one called except for his mother who came with a tired and always hasty look. Even his usual father was always the one they avoided the most, not even showing a nose. For that, Dul was a little relieved even though his mind was filled with question marks.

Unable to deny the things his heart felt, Dul felt lost. Her mother never came with Bara again. The man disappeared and his mother never mentioned it in the slightest. One day his mother came to take him for a walk. His heart was happy, but covered in question marks. His mother looks different. It was more somber and his face looked tired again. There is no happy twinkle that Dul used to see every mother with Bara.

The last day of Dul's school that week, his mother came to pick him up. It was embedded in Dul's mind, every time his mother came to pick him up, surely they would go somewhere. Or there was something his mother wanted to do.

“Ke mall, want?” Her mother asked back.

“Mau—mau, eat well, right?”

“For so long not good?”

“Enak. But I like fried chicken. I never cooked chicken. I'm bosen eat eggs every day.”

“Let's eat fried chicken.”

That answer should satisfy Dul. But something still stuck in his heart. “Om Where is it, Bu?” Finally, he could ask that question.

“Om Bara is busy,” her mother replied briefly.

So short of that answer, Dul immediately dragged not dare to ask anything more. Moreover, they are already in the angkot. Many people will hear their conversation.

Dul is still waiting for what he really wants to show or even want to be conveyed by his mother. They broke into a fried chicken outlet and his mother gave him a complete package of fried chicken.

Then ... his mother's most fearful words came out as well.

“Dul, if we do not meet Om Bara again ... You are nothing, right?”

In that instant, Dul felt that it was not a question. It was a notice that his mother and Bara were no longer together. To whom did the error lie? All this time Bara treated him and his mother very well. Is this what Bara often said to her? That her mother is more difficult to approach? What does it mean that all this is wrong because it cannot persuade the mother?

“Why, Mom? I like Om Bara. The person is not stingy, the car is good, the motor is especially good. Om Bara cool. Why can't I see you again? Om Bara don't want to see us again, huh?”

“Bukan—not Om Bara don't want to see us. Mom just went to you. Yes, I've been eating it.”

An answer that does not satisfy him at all. There must be something. His stomach was instantly full. The usual fried chicken is always appetizing and can be spent unceasingly, now half stooped. His mother did not want to force him to finish food as usual. They are both running out of energy.

In his mother's hand into the alley that afternoon, Dul stopped his footsteps. His hand moved from within his grasp now clutching his mother's hand.

“Bu .. what we can't keep together with Om Bara. I think Om Bara wants to be my father. I want to be Om Bara's son, Mom. Om Bara both and Om Bara once said that the money is a lot. I don't need to start anymore. I'll be in SD soon. We can stay together. Can, right, Ma?”

Dul's question already resembles a plea. His eyes did not look at his mother. How to tell that he has fallen for Bara and is not willing to let go of the man.

Her mother let go of their hands, and the strong hand held her shoulders. “Dul .. if a little water can save us from thirst, there is no need to ask for more water that might even drown us, Nak.”

I don't understand what his mother said. But Dul remembered that he shed tears after his mother said that.

To Be Continued