The next day, the money was there. And Mr. Sholeh's wife wasn't wearing any jewelry anymore.
Stupid me. I didn't notice. I didn't ask Mr. Djohari where the Tagonian instruments were. I returned the money to him. This disappointed the children.
Our disappointment grew stronger by the day.
Finally, I decided to move back to Al-Fatwa.
I invited the children to join the study group. Most of them refused to move. The only ones who did were Dedi Ochol and Udin Bako.
One day, we did move. But the teacher, Mr. Solihin, wasn't there. He had gone back to his village in Garut.
In the end, we just played around. It was a mess.
While we were playing, Mr. Sholeh came over.
"You're so weird, huh?" he snapped.
We were all shocked.
"Let's go study at At-Tawakal," he said as he left.
We followed him.
Even though we'd moved again, our disappointment didn't go away.
The religious study group couldn't be maintained. It all dissolved on its own.
2. The love story of Aryati, a beautiful girl.
One day, the author was looking for Anes. His full name was Cornelis. He was feared for his bravery, even though he looked the same as the author. There was something that made everyone afraid: when other people hunted chickens, he hunted stray dogs and cats to roast. While the RW was still ilahar, many Batak people loved it. This was a cat. He said roast cat meat was delicious. It had a sour taste. Refreshing.
Meanwhile, its skull was made into a necklace. So that's what made everyone afraid.
The author did the same. Although he searched for any possibility of wrongdoing, he found none.
After meeting, without shaking hands, he said, "Djang, Anes made a mistake, Udjang. Anes is a school slave. You're stupid, Udjang."
It must be Aryati, the White-Eyed One. "Oh, that's it, Nes! It must be Aryati's slave. "I'm so stupid. I've been in a relationship for a while."
"It's really hard, Anes. It's really hard."
"It's really hard, Nes!"
The author felt proud. A man with a crush on Cornelis, aka Anes Jeger, from the Perlon gang (The Most Delicious Taste of the Nonoks), where the Karees kids joined. So, the influence of alcohol and drugs was the influence of the Perlon gang.
3. An Accidental Meeting with Aryati.
The author had been studying too hard and was bored. The room felt stuffy and needed some fresh air. The author headed to the mosque courtyard to watch the kids play soccer.
It turned out Aryati was already there. The two of us chatted about this and that.
As we were about to leave, Aryati said, "Ameng atuh Kang ka bumi."
The author felt happy. The tip of love, the side dish, had arrived.
The author didn't waste the opportunity. The author immediately visited her house that afternoon.
The author's soul penetrated space and time. The author found himself walking with Aryati.
It was drizzling rain. The author felt very happy. It felt good to hold hands with her.
However, the author thought negatively. I wasn't meant to be with Aryati. My soulmate was a woman from out of town.
A year had passed. The author wanted to repeat the walk with Aryati like last year.
This scene was accompanied by a song called "Along the Road of Memories."
Along the Road of Memories
I came to your city on purpose
It's been a long time since we met
I want to repeat it again
Walking like last year
Along the road of memories, we always hold hands
Along the road of memories, you hug me tenderly
The light rain at the beginning of that month
Added to the enjoyment of that romantic night
Even though I have now Together
You are no different
But the memories along the way
I can't forget them
Along the path of memory, we always hold hands
Along the path of memory, you embrace me tenderly
The light rain at the beginning of that month
Added to the joy of that romantic night
Added to the joy of that romantic night
From then on, the author approached Aryati. Each time, Aryati greeted the author with a handshake and then returned to her room. It was like that for a year.
During the year of our relationship with Aryati, the author experienced extreme boredom because Aryati never accompanied him.
The writer only flirted with his shadow, accompanied by his father, who was busy preparing cloth for sewing the next day.
At that time, the writer's love was monkey love. The monkey holding fruit in its left hand also wanted the one in its right hand. Even that wasn't enough. Its paw holding food was the same as the one in its hand. The same thing happened to the writer. The writer felt that just being with Aryati wasn't enough. The writer needed relationships with other beautiful girls to relieve boredom.
4. Heart stolen by Puteri Solo.
The writer walked west. At one house, the writer stopped for a moment because he saw a beautiful girl. The writer had known her since childhood. Her childhood was ordinary, not attracting attention. The writer didn't expect Atit Wibawati, her full name, to grow up to be such a beautiful woman. The writer immediately fell in love with her beauty.
The Puteri Solo's appearance reminded the writer of the tall, world-renowned top model, Twiggy.
The writer intended to develop this encounter into a serious relationship. However, there was a problem: we had different traditions. The author is of Sundanese tradition, while Si Puteri Solo is of Javanese tradition. Both of her parents are from Solo.
Therefore, the author intended to contact Iyam, her childhood friend, to obtain accurate information about Atit.
The author immediately waited for Iyam to return from school.
Not long after, Iyam returned from school. He only glanced at the author briefly. Then, he entered his house. The next day, the same thing happened.
On the third day, the author took the initiative to greet Iyam.
Unexpectedly, Iyam took the lead by saying, "Iyam is a pious man, Kang Udjang. Kang Udjang is a playboy. First, Ikah teras ka Rosita teu lami ti dinya ka Aryati."
The author wondered where Iyam got this misleading information. He assumed the author was courting him, when in fact, he only wanted to obtain accurate information about Atit Wibawati. This incident galvanized the author to visit Si Puteri Solo directly.
The author sought a way and formulated a strategy. The author will express her love through a love poem she composed herself.
The author has arranged the poem in such a way that the first letter of the poem is attached to the first letter of her name. So, if you read the first letter of the poem from top to bottom, you'll read the name Atit Wibawati.
The author has forgotten the lyrics of the poem. She only remembers one part: "Love me a little but forever." The first letter of the poem is attached to the first letter of her name, which is Tj, now C.
This scene is accompanied by a song entitled "Poetry."
Poetry
Poetry Song Lyrics
Singer Jikustik
I am the one you once strengthened
I am the one you once raised
I am the one you once gave me feelings
From when I was awake until I fell asleep
For all that time I will always remember you
Chorus:
When will I write for you again
My beautiful writings
That used to be colorful
My most beautiful poetry world is only for you
Will you come back again
Accompany me to write again
We will navigate poetry together
My most beautiful is only for you
When the author wanted to deliver the love poem, Atit had not yet returned from school. So the love poem was entrusted to his younger sister, Ita.
Not long after, the author returned to the house of the Solo Princess when she returned from school. The author wanted to know how the Solo Princess would react after receiving the love poem from the author.
After meeting, the author did not receive the reaction he had hoped for. He anxiously awaited further developments.
From inside the house, Ita emerged and said, "Kang Udjang, your letter was torn to pieces by Mbak Atit."
"ITA," Atit snapped, but that was more than enough for the author. What was torn to shreds was the poem, but what felt torn apart was the heart. It felt shattered. The author immediately said goodbye and went home. The author's budding love affair had died.