Surabaya 1993
The sound of people reciting out loud the Surah Yasin filled every corner of the small and humble house. Two women were sitting against the wall clad in black. One older and the other about fifteen years old. They were hugging each other and crying inconsolably. Their eyes fixed on the figure covered in white fabric placed on a small divan in the middle of the room
“Bapak
[1], forgive me….” Cried the young girl. “This is all my fault……”
“Don’t put the blame on yourself nDuk
[2]……” The slightly older lady cried, “This is all God’s will. This is all God’s will. Don’t be sad, okay. You have me, I’m with you. I’m by your side. Don’t be afraid.”
A man approached them, “Bu
[3] Yanti, it’s time now.” He said solemnly
She held her daughters hand, “Sri, let’s go now, we have to lay your father to rest.”
The funeral procession moved slowly towards the cemetery. Friends gathered in sympathy to show support to the widow and daughter of Pak Burhan.
Sri and her mother stayed behind after everybody had left for their respective homes. The sun was beginning to set behind the horizon. But the two were reluctant to leave the grave of a man who had loved them and protected them all this time. Finally Bu Yanti stood up, and helped her step daughter to stand.
“Ibu, thank you for coming into my life. I love you….” Sri whispered, “I’m glad Bapak finally married you after so long and brought you into our family.”
“Sri, don’t hurt me like that. Why do you still consider me as your step mother? I was the one who took care of you since you were five years old, after your mother left the two of you. If you love me, don’t ever mention that again.” Her face showed sincerity.
She put her arms around her step daughter’s shoulder gently and helped her to walk back home.
A harsh pounding at the door scared them. Bu Yanti went out to the living room, not daring to open the door. Finally Sri walked to the door and opened it.
A woman in her late thirties barged into the living room. Her face filled with anger and hatred, looking at the two despectively. “Take this check!” She said to Bu Yanti. “And the both of you should leave this place immediately! I don’t want that whore of a daughter you have coming anywhere near my son. He’s not like you! He has a bright future, he is the heir of Jaya Abadi!”
“It was your son who coerced my daughter! He has to take responsibility for the child in her stomach!”
“Like I said to your husband, I will say to you. There is no way a decent and distinguished family like ours will even consider excepting her kind into our family. That child that she’s carrying is none of our business. That girl is just like her real mother, a tramp who follows men around. Take the money and go!”
Bu Yanti took the check from the lady’s hand and tore it to pieces fiercely, “How dare you humiliate my daughter!!” She growled.
“Ibu, wait.” Suddenly Sri who had been quiet all this time spoke up.
“I will agree to leave.” She said with full conviction holding the torn check in her hand, “I will leave and disappear with my baby. But only if you give me ten times what’s in this check. I can’t believe that your son is only worth this much to you. If you refuse to give me the money, I will tell him that I’m pregnant with his child.”
“Sri….” Bu Yanti yelled.
“Ibu, trust me…” The girl replied calmly.
“You ungrateful little bitch! I’m not surprise that you’re shamelessly selling yourself like that. We were kind to help you and enroll you in a good and prestigious school and pay for your studies, but look how you paid us back.” She took out her check book and wrote down the number then signed. “That amount of money means absolutely nothing to us. Take and disappear! If you dare betray me, I’ll make you pay.”
“And if you dare betray me! I’ll make you pay!” Sri replied bravely.
The rich lady turned around with disgust and walked out the door. Bu Yanti quickly closed the door and came up to her daughter. “Sri, how can you do that? Where will we put our pride? Did your father die for nothing?”
“Ibu, what pride? What pride do I have left? That evil woman humiliated my father and caused him to die of a heart attack, and I’m only fifteen, unmarried and pregnant. Neither you nor I work. My baby can’t live on pride, none of us can. Besides, this money is from my child’s own paternal grandparents. If anything my child deserves it.” She grabbed her mother’s hand, “Ibu, trust me. I realize now. I can’t let this tragedy destroy the life and future of my child, let’s leave this place with this money, we can build a new and dignified life for this innocent creature growing inside of me.”
Bu Yanti hugged her, knowing very well that Sri was trying to be brave, but deep inside she was scared and broken. “Okay nDuk, okay. Let’s start a new life.”
Jakarta present day
The sound of her stiletto high heels clacking against the shiny marble floor made people hurry to move and give way to her. Her body language shouted confidence and determination, giving out an intimidating aura. She was dressed in a striped black pant suite, with her hair pulled back into a bun behind her head. She wore red lipstick and her sharp eyes shined behind her glasses. She had a designer brand handbag on her shoulder and was carrying a gray briefcase.
She walked to the reception table to register her presence, “Padmawati to see Miss Nuraini Saleh from human resources.” She said directly to the point.
“Y..y..yes, Mam.” The receptionist stuttered, feeling daunted by the charismatic person in front of her. She picked up the phone and quickly called the HR department, her voice was still shaky as she announce the arrival of the woman standing in front of her. “Please wait a few more minutes, Mam. Miss Nuraini’s assistant will come downstairs to show you to the conference room where you will be having the job interview.”
“Thank you.” She replied courtly. Padmawati waited for a few minutes, then a young lady appeared before her.
She had a pleasant disposition and a soft sooth voice, “Bu Padma?” She asked.
“That’s me.” Padmawati replied.
“Good morning, Mam. I’m Shinta, I was the one who called you to arrange this interview.”
“Mbak
[4] Shinta, it’s a pleasure to finally put a face to the name.” Padmawati extended her hand to shake the young girl’s.
Shinta was surprised to feel a steady grip from the slim and tender hand of the woman in front of her.
"Please follow me, this way.” She walked in front of Padmawati, then passed her security card in front of the scanner to open the security rail. Padmawati followed behind her, her tall frame over shadowing the girl walking in front of her.
They reached the conference room that was located at the end of the hallway. Padmawati entered and quickly scanned the room, she took a mental note of the two people who were already sitting at the oval conference table.
"Mam, can I get you something to drink?" Shinta asked.
"Some water would be nice, thank you. "
Padmawati chose a chair to air in. She opened her briefcase and pulled out her tablet. Seeing that the people who were in the room were still busy chatting with each other, she concluded that the top dog hadn't arrived yet. She leaned back against her seat and waited patiently.
A few minutes later three other people walked in, two men and a woman.
She could guess who this woman was, it had you be Nuraini Saleh the HR Manager .
The petite lady came up to her and smiled, demonstrating the level if kindness typical of human resources people when facing a candidate.
"Bu Padma, thank you for giving us the chance to introduce you to our company." She opened the conversation. "I’m Nuraini the Human Resources Manager. I hope after this meeting you will be interested to join us as part of our team" She continued while handing Padmawati a card.
"Nice to meet you." Padmawati also handed a business card to her.
"This is Pak Eddie, he is the Vice President if the company, This is Pak Budiman he manages our finance. These gentlemen here, Pak Ahmad, Pak Karmat and Pak Warto are all members of the Board of Directors.
She shook their hands one by one and gave them her business card.
“Please take a seat.” Eddie smiled charmingly, “Let’s begin the meeting.”
“Please don’t. I’m afraid, I don’t want to do this.” The young girl cried.
“Come on, you should prove to me that you love me. You’re my girlfriend, this is something that people in love do.” The boy about the same age as her replied.
“But I can’t, this is not right. We’re not married to each other.”
“Shhh…..if anything happens, I’ll take responsibility. I promise.” He coaxed her again.
He pushed her on the mat and lifted her skirt, she tried to stop him, but he grabbed both her hands in his right hand and pressed it down against the ground above her head. His left hand free to remove the barriers that remain.
“Yud, if you love me, you shouldn’t ask me to do this, please Yud….” She pleaded.
“Sri….”He sighed then kissed her lips to stop her from saying anything else.
She muffled a scream and cried, feeling a sharp pain on the lower part of her body, as he burst into a pleasure that he had never known before. He fell limp on top of her, letting go of her hands and breathing heavily. She pushed him away and sat up, her eyes where filled with tears and her body in pain. She quickly stood up and fixed her clothed then moved to run out of the store room.
“You’re mean….” She cried
He sat up too and grabbed her wrist, trying to stop her from leaving, but she pulled her arm away with all her strength and ran. He felt something moist on the palm of his hand that was on the dusty mat, he put his hand up to see what it was, it was blood. Guilt flooded his consciousness like a tidal wave, suffocating him and causing his head to spin out of control……
“Sir…sir…please wake up, we’re about to land in Soekarno Hatta International Airport, you have to straighten your seat and put on your seatbelt.” The flight attendant gently woke him up. Freeing him from the reoccurring nightmare that had haunted him for the past five years.
He passed his hand over his face and took a deep breath. That nightmare again, he said to himself. As always her face was blurry, he can barely remember what she looked like, but the overwhelming feeling of guilt and remorse was just as harsh as the day it happened twenty one years ago.
His guilt revived and snow balled, after he heard his mother’s confession in her death bed five years ago. The young girl was pregnant with his baby.
He had lived his life as a playboy, moving from girlfriend to girlfriend because of her. He was only fifteen back then when his parents told him that his high school sweetheart had accepted some money from his mother to leave him before skipping town. After that he found it hard to trust the opposite sex let alone to commit to a woman.
Now it all made sense, his mother had emotionally pushed her father to death, and she was left alone in the world as a pregnant teenager with no one to protect her.
The plane taxied in the runway and then stopped. The seat belt light turned off, and several passengers jumped up from their seats to reach for their luggage so they can quickly get off the plane. Yudhistira waited until the aisle was almost empty before he stood up and reached for his hand luggage in the overhead compartment. He walked calmly towards the door, he politely nodded and thanked the crew as they cordially bid farewell to all the passengers leaving the plane.
He always pecked light when travelling, opting to bring clothes that were easy to mix and match. This allowed him more flexibility in moving around, just in case he needed to make any detours in his trip. He pulled out the handle and dragged the suitcase on its small wheels behind him. He had his passport ready in his hand to show the immigration officer.
Outside he looked left and right to find his transport. Eddie waved at him to get his attention. “Mas Yudi, how was your trip?” Eddie asked cheerfully once Yudistira walked up to him.
“It was good. These suppliers although new, they actually were able to compete with the others. I think we can save a good amount of money working with them. Above all, I liked their quality control system, unlike our previous supplier who send us crappy goods most of the time.” He replied.
“You were gone for a month and a half this time, how many manufacturers did you visit in China?” Eddie asked while helping his cousin with his suitcase.
“I lost count after the second week. You won’t believe the stories I have to tell.” He smiled.
“Well I have good news for you, we were able to scout a very experience lady to fill the position of Marketing Manager. You saw her resume, very impressive.”
“Ah yes, what was her name again?”
“Padmawati. But don’t be fooled by her name, she’s by no means a gentle flower. She’s sharp, direct and tough, she’s only been with us for a month and she’s already made strategic changes to our marketing department.” He updated, then cheekily smiled. “In short she’s not your type of woman.”
“But she’s yours?”
“Let’s just say I truly hope she goes for younger guys.”
Yudhistira smiled shaking his head. “We’re just in time to dodge the traffic and arrive at the office just as people get back from lunch break.” He pointed to a restaurant, “Let’s get some easy to hold food so we can eat in the car.”
They pulled up behind a white Toyota Kijang, from the front passenger seat a tall woman got off and then closed the door.
“That’s her.” Eddie pointed out, “Padmawati our new Marketing.”
She was just about to turn around and walk into the building when from the driver’s side a young man in his early twenties hopped down and ran around the car and caught up with her. They seemed to converse for a little while, then she nodded held his face with both hands and kissed his cheeks.
“Well that answers your question!” Yudhistira said with full blown sarcasm, “She does go for younger guys.”
“Hey, but doesn’t that young guy look familiar? Where have I seen him before?” Eddie wondered.
The young man got in the car again and drove away.
They got off the car and entered the building, while the valet parking moved the car to the garage. They were alone in the elevator, so Yudhistira saw the opportunity to continue teasing his younger cousin, “My poor little cousin, I bet you’re breaking up inside, now that you know your flower belongs to someone else.”
“I don’t know that.” Eddie rebuked.
“Oh? Then why would she kiss him in public if there’s nothing between them.”
“Well there’s definitely something between them, of course, but it could be anything, brother and sister, or aunt and nephew, who knows.”
“Boyfriend and girlfriend….” Yudhistira said in a fading tone.
They arrived at their floor. Some staff stood up from their chair to greet the big boss. Nodding their head in respect. Yudhistira entered his office immediately. His office was spacious with a large desk at the center. Behind his desk was a big window, with a view of the building across the street. Something that dreaded him so much.
Somebody knocked on the door, “Come in.” He said.
Eddie opened the door and entered, he was followed by Padmawati, “Pak Yudhi, this is our new Marketing Manager, Bu Padmawati. Bu Padmawati, this is Pak Yudhistira the President of the company.”
Yudhistira turned around to face his new employee. Padmawati moved back a step, her face became pale, but years of experience made her an expert in controlling her emotions. She quickly braced herself, and her expression was impassive once again.
“Bu Padmawati, how do you do? I’m glad that you decided to join our team. Please take a seat.” He said kindly.
[1] Bapak is Indonesian for father
[2] nDuk is Javanese for lass
[3] Bu abbreviation of Ibu to refer to mother or honorifics equivalent to Mrs. Or Miss
[4] mBak honorifics for older sister, but also used in style of Miss.
Candi Prambanan[/caption]
City of Batu town square[/caption]
