Dul
007. Mother's New Residence

Sunday afternoon was quite blazing, Dul already spent the water glassy white. The sun was unusually hot and the roof of his low-ceilinged house seemed to roast him inside. He looked back over the picture book. A little more and his homework will be done that afternoon. Just two tasks. Simple addition math and free themed drawing. Dul drew a blue sky with a small plane passing through space.

The sound of the wooden turnstile made him raise his face. “Mother is coming,” murmured Dul alone. The energetic and hasty hurl on the wooden fence was already the hallmark of his mother. Mbah Wedok was taking a nap and Mbah Lanang was at the stall which was his second home.

“Dul, what else?”

His mother's face came out of the unlocked door. “Picturing. Where are you going?” asked Dul who was a little suspicious because his mother was dressed more neatly. Suddenly the taste of drawing was evaporated because the desire to follow the mother appeared. No matter where, the important thing is that he can come.

“Mothers want to go to Mbok Jum. This morning I did not start because there was a job of cooking aids in the catering place. Home brought side dishes and vegetables quite a lot. I stay here for your dinner and Mbah.”

Dul observes his mother who goes straight to the kitchen with a package in hand. He immediately nodded and finished his work. A few minutes back struggling with the drawing paper, Dul turned his head again as his mother approached.

"What picture?” He sat down and looked down on his son's hand. “Good, Dul. You have a talent for drawing too. Come, doused. I want to take you to Mbok Jum's place to eat some of the dishes. Continue from there I want to take you to the new Mother's boarding place. Neighbor Mother friendly. Someone has a child your age. But she hasn't gone to school.”

“Mau—mau. Want to come,” exciting Dul.

“Come finish the task first,” pinta Sejah.

Dul quickly finished his work. His mother took out her little phone from inside the bag and typed for a while and then came back to watch him dye the sky.

Finished with his job Dul changed his traveling clothes. Trousers, T-shirts, hats and a pair of shoes he wore to all places. Although the sun was stinging, he left his house with a heart of flowers. Half the day will be spent with her mother.

Before that day, Dul had been invited to meet Mbok Jum. Old woman he judged more ‘jago’ made his mother talk than Mbah Wedok. Many times his mother said that Mbok Jum is a good mother, but disappointed his children. In contrast to his mother who often felt disappointed by his parents.

I don't know .. Dul felt that there were still many who did not understand the expressions of adults he considered as a form of disappointment. All he knew was that each time his mother invited him to Mbok Jum's place, that the woman was very friendly and treated him like a close relative. Even his mother looks comfortable sitting in front of a rickety house Mbok Jum with a thin walled board and sack patched around him.

“What is this not mostly, Jah? I'm just the same as my husband,” said Mbok Jum when he opened the package that was brought by Dijah.

“Yes, make it tomorrow morning. Can heat. The kerosene stoves still have their contents, right? If there's no let me buy it to the stall. Put me here again. So Mbok's husband is not left behind in time if Mbok to warung.”

Mbok Jum flicked his hand. “Still there. Later if the kerosene is not enough, I panned in the scorching sun aja,” as late as Mbok Jum, chuckling.

Dul smiled when he saw his mother laughing, hearing Mbok Jum's joke. Conversations about eviction issues colored a few minutes of their time there. Dul sat in front of Mbok Jum's house while looking at the mountains of garbage in front of him. Various garbage with various scents that every day his mother kissed. Some teenagers were also seen approaching the trash and walking on its edges.

Hot ... smell ... dirty .. My mom is great.

“We're saying goodbye now, yes, Mbok. I want to take Dul to my new boarding house. What I told the same Mbok the other day,” said Dijah, rising from a cardboard that has since been used as a seat.

“Monggo, Jah ...” Mbok Jum stood in the doorway. “Doain my husband quickly healed, yes, Jah. He said he wanted to help me earn a living. Udah bosen overslept,” said Mbok Jum.

Mbok Jum's view turned to Dul. “Dul who has always been silent about his mother. His son is sensitive to this. Must be great later to be a handsome man who cares and cares. Take care of your mother, yes, Dul. Diligent learning,” Mbok Jum's message.

Mbok Jum's words were ringing in Dul's ears. A little proud of the woman's praise. Especially the sentence Mbok Jum who said optimistically that he will be a handsome man who cares and cares when big. When taken by his mother away from the slum, Dul felt more dashing. He moved his legs more firmly.

Riding an angkot for no more than ten minutes, Dul was led by his mother across a wide highway. Right in a mall that is often seen by him, Dul followed his mother's footsteps into a street and straight towards an alley located on the right side. The alley is not wide. Only two motors can be driven. Right here there is a high wall of shophouse building in front, and the left side is a pile of bushes and trees that fill a house that has not been lived in for a long time.

“The cost-name is strange, Dul.”

“What is it?”

“Cage chicken.”

“Many chickens?”

“Malah does not exist. If you meet Mom do not be surprised, yes.”

“Why?”

“The voice is loud-hard.”

Dul nodded. If it was just a loud noise, it felt like he was full to hear the cry of his father. Even the contents of his screams were always accompanied by insults and insults harassing his mother. He himself felt confident, there was nothing else in this world that would surprise him anymore.

They entered the fence and Dul's feet immediately stepped on a fairly wide courtyard. The building is in the shape of a U-shaped letter that opens forward. Left right there is a room facing each other. In the right corner near the fence, a water guava tree grows lush and makes a shade of that corner.

Three women sat in front of the porch and her mother took her there. A woman who looks the youngest sits facing the courtyard. Another man is shorter than his mother with bright red hair that reminds him of a cartoon character of a heroine who is good at archery. And the other one was a strong-bodied woman with a hard-faced look.

“Eh, the Ma'am Colored with her son!”

The youngest woman realized their arrival first. Then, another red-haired man asked his name.

“This is my son, Mom. Name's Dul. Come, sit here.”

Dul asked his mother to sit on his lap. That afternoon he would spend time in his mother's arms. Just sit on the porch and talk to her mom's friends. However, Dul is very happy to meet other good people who live near the woman who gave birth to him.

To Be Continued