Chapter 10: Chapter 10

. Adeline welcomed her daughter who had just arrived with a warm hug that meant longing. It had been so long since she and her ex-husband divorced and Rakia chose to live independently in Jakarta. She knows that the divorce hurts the child more or less, but she also doesn’t want to force everything under her control.

“Oh sweetie, it’s been so long. How are you?” she asked her daughter while staring and clasping her hands. Rakia had ordered her not to pick her up but she insisted. Longing to see the her daughter is so big and she has to finish it soon. And here she was, inside the Changi airport building with people milling around.

“Physicly I’m okay, but mentally...,” Rakia looked down for a moment to swallow the bitterness that was still so thick clinging to her, “I’m crack,” she admitted as she raised her eyes again to look at her mother. Her mother’s hand reached out to caress a few strands of her dangling hair. Rakia hated that look.

“You will come back whole, soon as possible, sweetie. Take your time here.” The mother smiled warmly. Rakia returned the smile then turned her gaze to her stepfather. Pedro smiled while waving a little as a sign of greeting. The man was standing not far from his wife.

“Glad you could come and join us,” Pedro said kindly, he approached his wife and put his arm around her shoulder.

“Thank you for accepting this poor woman, I promise to trouble you.”

There was laughter from the two husband and wife and Rakia felt a little comforted by seeing their laughter. In her mind she was remembering the last time she joked and saw her mother laugh at his joke.

“Come on, we have to go home soon to taste your mama’s delicious cooking,” Pedro said after his laughter died down. Rakia was dragging her suitcase but Pedro offered to help and took over the suitcase, Rakia took her mother’s arm.

“Have you contacted your father? I think he’s worried about you, sweetie.”

“Yes, he said he would come in the near future, but didn’t know when.” Rakia. Staring at the clean highways of Singapore. Pedro’s cell phone ring fills the car as they are on their way. Rakia focuses on the hustle and bustle that Singapore has to offer while Pedro and Adeline talk about Pedro’s schedule to check on one of his patients from Dubai the day after tomorrow.

Rakia stared at the food served on the table with lust. She misses her mother’s cooking, her favorite of all is crab in sweet and sour sauce. She loves seafood, especially crabs. Rakia had to lick her lips slightly when she stared at her favorite food, her gaze like a hungry predator staring at its prey.

“I know you miss that one,” said the mother who was nodded in agreement by Rakia as she pulled a chair to sit down immediately. Excitedly she took the rice that was still steaming then spooned the crab with the sauce and covered the rice with this heavenly delicacy. Pedro and Adeline were stunned to see Rakia’s enthusiasm for the food, they just kept silent while watching Rakia who started to eat voraciously.

“More precious than any beauty in this world,” Rakia said as her plate was about to empty and then she added rice and crab, repeating the delicacy she had before.

“So, what are your plans for the next, Sweetie?” asked Adeline who also started eating with Pedro. She scooped a bit of rice onto his plate and then scooped up the capcay, while Pedro enjoyed his favorite beef stew.

“I’m going to find a job here at a television station,” Rakia replied after swallowing her food. She focused on her food. Biting the shell of the crab claw until it cracked, she cleaned the shell so that the crab’s white flesh was exposed. She smiled then smeared it with sauce and ate it greedily. Adeline looked at her daughter with a happy smile. It had been a long time since she had seen the sight of her daughter eating her food with gusto.

“Do you want me to help you find a job?” bid Adeline.

“No need, Mom. I’ll try it first later when the hope is zero then mom will help.” Rakia turned to look at her mother with a toothpaste advertisement smile. Pedro and Adeline laughed lightly.

“Yeah, okay, mama will save the favor for later.”

After finishing the sweet and sour crab by herself, Rakia sat down on the couch in the middle of the house while leaning her back with her head on the top of the couch. She closed her eyes and felt satisfied with the full feeling after filling his stomach with dishes that she had not eaten for a very long time.

“Tell me about Benjamin.” Adeline took a late seat beside her daughter, she stared at the woman waiting. Rakia took a deep breath.

“As I said then. He ran away and married another woman in Mexico.” Rakia was getting sleepy from her fill but she tried not to sleep.

“Why didn’t you suspect from the start that he was having an affair?” Adeline wanted to know.

“I didn’t even know he was, Ma. But everything has happened, after all I already burned my wedding dress.”

Adeline glared at her daughter in surprise.

“Why are you always so reckless Sweetie, you shouldn’t do that, you could be in trouble later.” The tone of the mother’s voice was a little scolding. Rakia was unmoved.

“So what can he do? I just burned his money while he burned my heart to scorch. It’s not fair, Mom.” Rakia sounded like it was getting hard to maintain her consciousness, she started yawning. Adeline chuckled with a worried face.

“Still, Sweetie, he could do something because of your actions, besides the dress is still Ben’s property, did you accept his consent to have the dress?”

Rakia immediately opened her eyes. She stared at the white ceiling of this house.

“I’m the future bride, automatically the dress is mine.” Rakia’s forehead creased as she said that. The mother took a deep breath.

“No honey, that dress stays with Ben since you two aren’t getting married. All the expenses for your wedding preparations are from him, right?”

Rakia also straightened her head, she was starting to get distracted by the deductive logic that immediately appeared in her mind. Then he started to worry a little.

“Am I in trouble?” she asked, which her mother responded with a worried face and then the woman sighed.

“You have to be prepared for anything, Sweetie.”

Rakia immediately turned sour, she hoped that there would be no chaos because of the incident.

“For now, don’t do anything weird anymore, okay!”

Rakia nodded obediently with the same expression on her face as before. The sleepiness she felt was eroded by the anxiety she felt due to her mind not stopping to assume.

“Wanna come with me to the greenhouse?”

Rakia’s attention was quickly diverted by the offer.

“Greenhouse?”

The mother nodded with an enthusiastic smile.

“Mama is on a project to manage a plant breeding site together with students from one of the universities here majoring in gardening.”

Rakia just nodded a little then she gave her mother an enthusiastic smile.

“Okay. Maybe I can get one of the handsome students there.” Rakia chuckled at the end of her sentence, the mother smiled and then pinched one of her daughter’s cheeks playfully.

“Don’t be naughty and rude, honey,” said the mother and they laughed together.

**

Staring in amazement at the entire greenhouse, Rakia touched the ends of the flowers she passed while walking casually around the greenhouse. The scenery and atmosphere presented at this time made him forget for a moment the worries she had thought about a moment ago. Several students and female students were paying attention to the explanation of a male lecturer who was about the same age as Rakia. Wearing glasses, pants made of smooth black combined with a long-sleeved shirt that he rolled up to his elbows. Around the man was her mother who also listened to the man’s explanation. Rakia decided not to join as she wasn’t really interested in hearing material about plants. Now her interest in everything has disappeared. She also sat on one of the wooden benches and waited for her mother while surfing the internet.

“Hello, excuse me are you Mrs. Adeline’s daughter?” asked someone who turned Rakia’s attention to her cell phone. She looked up and for a moment stared at the owner of blue eyes behind those thick black-rimmed glasses. Rakia smiled and nodded, “Yeah, that’s me.”

“I’m Steven. Nice to meet you,” the man said politely with a gentle smile. Rakia knew what kind of man Steven was. Nerdy and mysterious.

“Please, don’t be so formal, just call names.”

“Interested in something in this place?” Steven looked around for a while then back to Rakia.

“Not really. I came here at my mother’s invitation. I’m not an expert in botanical matters,” Rakia admitted.

“Want me to show you something? We have a beautiful collection of tulips,” Steven offered.

“Tulips? You planted it here?” Rakia looked like she couldn’t believe it and was curious at the same time. Steven smiled with his lips pursed so as to show his dimple on the right. Rakia admits he is sweet and handsome.

“We grow some plants that aren’t here for study and research materials.”

Rakia stood up from her seat and said, “I want to see those tulips.”

They walked a bit slowly while talking lightly.

“I know your father, we met here several times.”

“Has my father been here before?” Rakia was slightly surprised. It was new information for her.

“Yeah, it’s often enough to see your mother and me. We discussed a lot about botany. Just then he came to inquire about one of his discoveries of ancient plants in the Tigris region.” Steven told the story and Rakia was interested in listening.

“I think you know about it, the discovery was covered by some international media. Your father is one of the archaeologists who discovered many human civilizations in the past.”

Rakia’s smile grew but that was also what made her father not have time for his family. Rakia’s mind also realized something, the reason why her mother filed for divorce from her father was because he had too little time with her. Rakia sighed as she thought of that assumption.

“Yes, but, he left the future civilization to find the past civilization.” Rakia looked down for a moment at the daisies planted in several pots that were neatly lined up that she was passing at this time. The two of them were silent until they arrived at the place where the tulips were in a different greenhouse. Rakia was amazed by the colorful tulips that really spoiled her eyes.

“This is beautiful,” she said in the midst of her astonishment.

“Who runs this place?” She asked while walking towards one of the red tulips in front of her.

“My wife and I. This hotel is her family business, formerly the land here was going to be used to expand the hotel, but my wife said it is better used to make a flower garden in a greenhouse, hotel visitors are free to enjoy the view and order flowers from this place.”

Steven excitedly told her about the greenhouse and the plants. While Rakia was between paying attention to the tulips and listening to Steven’s explanation. What she caught was only part of it, her mother found this place because Pedro had come here to attend a medical seminar with her mother.

“Steve!” called someone who made both of them turn to the source of the sound. Rakia, who was currently in a semi-bent position to smell the scent of purple tulips in front of her, turned and found a woman wearing a peach-colored kaftan with a small hijab waving at Steven, then the woman approached the man. Rakia straightened up and stared at the intimacy between the two of them. She guessed that it must be Steven’s wife.

“Honey, This is Mrs. Adeline’s daughter Rakia.” Steven introduced them both.

“Nice to meet you, Rakia, call me Lila, the wife of this nerdy man.” Lila smiled as she tilted her head towards her husband for a moment.

“Nice to meet you too, this place anyway...” Rakia looked around in amazement for a moment then looked back at Lila and said again, “Amazing. I didn’t know there was such a beautiful place in Singapore.”

She didn’t lie about that. Even though she wasn’t interested in caring for plants, she did enjoy the sight of the plants here. Even at her mother’s house she was happy with the garden behind the house.

“You can come here any time. I’m sorry because I can’t accompany you to tour further, I still have business at the hotel. See you soon, Rakia.”

“Let me take you,” Steven offered and then the two of them left Rakia who stared at the couple’s departure with a little envy. She remembered the misfortune that befell her, dumped and abandoned. Rakia exhaled roughly, hands on her waist as she looked up with her eyes closed.

“Everything has passed, just accept your fate, Rakia,” she said to herself in an effort to make her strong and steadfast.